In class, we discussed the concept of responsibility towards others. This responsibility is both a begging and a demand from the other from us. Unfortunately in present day, we seem to have deemed to begin questioning the concept of helping others. There is a fear to step of out of our bounds to help others. We fear the extent of which we can no longer keep giving the support or keep providing the help on a consistent level. And because of this we seem to have blamed everything on the process. The government isn’t doing much and because of this I cannot choose to do anything. It is very much like my mindset that I do not choose to vote simply because I think that the system will simply be cheated. That my one vote will not matter nor will it count.
In terms of this class, I have realized it was the self simply refusing to leave its comfort zone. It’s very much like the concept of love. If we do not choose to risk, we cannot have anything to receive. High risk high return, low risk low return. Right now, I believe it is a question of leaving the il ya. We do not choose to stand out and therefore we choose to stand by the sides and not do anything. We can give and it can hurt, but it is simply painful because we still choose to expect. As ideal as it may sound, I think at some point we cannot choose to expect anything in return. It sounds very Ignatian, but in the development field it applies very much. The development field doesn’t provide much return for the self but rather for others. You constantly work in communities who refuse to listen and revert back to its old issues. At some level, you just choose to give up because the NGO’s themselves choose to fight with each other rather than help each other along.
As mentioned earlier, higher risk higher return. You cannot choose to provide a little of something and expect a lot and for that matter should be expecting nothing at all. I believe this is the take home lesson of responsibility and what it truly means to be one for the other and to be the other for the other.
One very common instance in which we are called to help others is when street children comes up to us, or blocks our way for a small amount of change. I really find that situation...hard, because first of all, there is a law actually forbidding people to give alms to these street children. (Not that this law is strictly enforced.) But then, you think why that law was made and passed in the first place. Maybe it says something.
ReplyDeleteI now come to think that maybe, the government is telling us to help the poor in other ways. Giving a small change is very easy. But in order to help these street children in the long run, I do think we have to do what you said in your blog: go out of our comfort zones, try to do something more meaningful and helpful with our lives after college. And perhaps that would bring the real help, the real change to these street children.
I agree that the structure in the society we live in influences the choices we make in responding to the call of the Other. In a world where many people cheat, steal and hurt each other, it is really hard to identify those who need the help you can give and those who just want to take advantage of or, as we say in class, lamang-ate you. One very common example are people asking for donations for a certain cause. Most of the time, we are unsure if the cause is for real or if it is just one of the many scams that are common today. This growing fear of the Other hardens our hearts and makes us turn a blind eye to the calls of the Other.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'd also like to point out that even if at times we cannot give what is directly asked of us (coins, food, etc.), I have realized that there will always be another way in which we can respond to the call. Giving coins and donations isn't the only way we can help the people who ask for them. We are given freedom to say "yes" is many ways, the only challenge is to figure out what they are and which ones can help the Other the most.
It is indeed a burden to know our responsibility for the other. Especially when we see other people totally ignorant of their own responsibility for others. In my case, I experienced this some time ago, when I finally had a clue what to do with my life. I already had plans, and dreamed of a better life, for me and for others. I recognized the responsibility I have, and tried to answer to this responsibility through the things I do and choose everyday. However, I saw one time when I went home to our province, a barangay official shamelessly demanding for money else he would declare the stalls in the public market to be illegal. I was really troubled. Not that i wasn't aware of the gravity of corruption in the country's system, but because it happened so near to me, and hell I even witnessed it. I started asking myself, should I even try to do good? Should I even bother to? I was scared that what I do won't matter, or that it won't make a difference. That my little acts of goodness will just be swallowed up by the injustice that beleaguered our society. I was afraid to pursue what I really wanted to do for me and for others because I was afraid it will all be in vain. There will always be fear to do good because others might take advantage of us.
ReplyDeleteI lessened my fear by constantly reminding myself of my own responsibility. That I can't give up because I no one could replace me from this responsibility. Moreover, the discussion in class about how goodness can create its own space really struck me. It was as if I heard someone saying, "It's alright, don't be afraid." I realized that I can't be in fear all the time. Living in fear will prevent me from doing what I should be doing, from taking up my responsibility for the other.