Breaking the Law

by Patrick Cruz

Rethinking that time when I had made the choice of joining the relief efforts for the areas struck by Typhoon Yolanda, I question myself: is it really for them, or just for me?

In many cases, not just in that particular situation, that I constantly raise that question to myself. More often, I end up still remaining clueless because the issue at hand seems to be putting me in a circular track. But as Dr. Garcia discussed Levinas’ Law of the I and Law of the Other, certain things got clarified. Before going to this, the laws, Law of the I and Law of the Other, must first be understood carefully. Law of the I basically defines one who has already gone out for the other, but still chooses to return to himself purposively. All the things that this person does is always in reference to himself, where he is the center of the universe and he has already become the law. He sees things merely interconnected for his own benefit and his personal growth. He never creates ultimately meaningful relationships as he is afraid to fully set off from himself and risk for the people around him. For example, when this person lends a hand to his friend, he already thinks that his friend would start to have utang na loob to him. This person knows that someday, he should also ask a favor to him. The same case can be said when a person simply gives a help he’s most comfortable with. Every interaction with other is always seen as an opportunity for nourishment of one’s self alone, without having any concern on the other.

Totally opposite to this idea is the Law of the Other. This law defines a person who has gone out for the other and remains journeying through the mystery of the other. Here, Levinas speaks about dis-inter-ested-ness, how a person removes himself as the center of his own universe and includes other people to share his own. The person remains in the loving struggle of seeking the otherness of the other in building more meaningful relationships.


As I said earlier, certain things became clear as these ideas occupied my mind. One is that certainly, a person does things not only for himself. I might have felt the joy after I have helped, but that only comes after the choice that I made, where the affected people are much included. Another is that a person cannot fully relate with the other people by simply sharing tangential worlds with them. He must fully open himself in order to construct a bigger universe where more and more people can come in, even if he does not realize yet his growth along the way. There, I have sought for them, and not to find a place for myself. Truly, though I have not known yet to whom the efforts I exerted went to, I will always seek them and they will always remain to me.

Questioning Him

by Polo Guillermo

There have been various calamities that have struck different places in the world. From intense earthquakes to heavy rainfalls due to typhoons, these types of natural disasters have unfortunately been a part of our daily lives. One that hits close to home was the recent super-typhoon Yolanda. A month has already passed yet victims of affected areas are still experiencing the aftermath of the storm. More than 10,000 people have been confirmed dead and thousands more are still missing. Infrastructures, livelihood and residences were wiped out completely destroyed.

At times of disasters, people tend to question why such things happen. People have been vocal about their complaints against government agencies for not having predicted the intensity of the super-typhoon and the efficiency of the precautionary measures that were instigated and planned by local government units. Some even berated the terms (storm surge) issued by PAGASA and media for allegedly it has caused confusion and apathy since people are not aware of this natural phenomenon is. People assumed that it was just like any other storm that would bring scattered rains. They never expected that such a catastrophe would actually take place.

There are also people who blame God for everything that has happened. They assume that these disasters happen because God is punishing us for all of our sins. Why would a merciful and loving God let his people suffer and consequently destroy His creations? Isn’t he an all-knowing supreme being capable of manipulating what is bound to happen in the world? It is during these times of discomfort, pain and suffering when people try to look for people to relate to or simply blame in order to lessen the grief of what they are experiencing and try to have some explanation to whatever they have dealt with. But is God really to be blamed for everything that has happened or does these disasters say something to humankind that is commonly ignored and taken for granted?

I believe in God but I cannot say that I have been the perfect Catholic. However, I have always believed that everything happens for a reason and that each event of our lives is a part of God’s greater plan for us. Some things may happen that might shake or hurt our faith but I think it’s just God’s way of testing our faith and commitment to Him. God let bad things happen for a reason but this does not necessarily mean that he enjoys seeing us suffer. Most of the time our judgment gets clouded by our initial and intense feelings at times of problems that causes us to not immediately realize or comprehend what is happening or the bigger picture. We forget to trust Him and believe in his greater plan. These realities only affirm Marcel’s view on ontological humility of human beings. There are things in our lives that are beyond our capacity to grasp and understand since we are finite beings. Each person in the society shares this finitude which becomes a certain sense of commonality that should bind and unite people all together.

Experts from the field of science have interpreted these events quite differently. Global warming has been an alarming environmental concern that continues to exacerbate as time goes by. Anthropological activities have been the most significant contributors to why it even started and continues to persist in the environment. Since we were capable of starting such a problem, logic would only imply that we also have the capacity and means to mitigate and eventually resolve it. This realization has been alive in environmentalists and concerned citizens from different parts of the world with their efforts of preserving the environment. This green movement and involvement of people in saving Mother Nature only underscore our nature as relation beings. The phenomenon of global warming proves that one’s action inevitably affects others and the entire society. Therefore, we must be more conscious with what we do and think of its consequences not only to ourselves, our neighbors but the environment as well.

At times of disasters, blaming people or even God will not help or change what has happened. Even if it is difficult or even impossible for some, we must try and learn how to trust God and His greater plan for us. Holding onto our faith can be a source of hope and strength at times of suffering. Events like these also call us to act as one unified and loving community in facing reality. At the end of the day, we are relational beings and we are our neighbor’s brother/sister.

My Neighbor?

by Renee Arabia

What does it mean to be a neighbor? Who is my neighbor?

Reflecting upon the parable of the good Samaritan, I have come to realize what it truly means to be “neighborly.” That one person you did not expect to reach out actually did, and the people you did expect did not do anything. It doesn’t matter where you stand in society or who you are. What matters is the fact that you went out of your way to just help out without expecting anything in return. Come to think of it, this reading from Ricouer could not have come at a better time.

Typhoon Yolanda was a category five storm, and is one of the strongest storms recorded, and has proved to be devastating. The funny thing about wide-scale tragedies in the Philippines is how it can bring out both the best and worst in everybody. Pictures of relief goods slapped with stickers from a certain politician circulated the internet. Journalists were put on the spotlight for reporting the harsh realities on site, and some were questioned for sugarcoating. It’s amazing how many people have turned their acts of charity into their very own press conference or publicity gimmick. But what’s more amazing are the people who have given their all because of the simple reason that they just wanted to help.

During my experience at the relief operations in campus, I’ve seen such people. 24 hours of packing, running back and forth, and keeping their energy up just to carry on. They gave, and even when literally everything started to hurt, they didn’t stop. These people don’t know who their family packs will go to, some don’t even personally know anyone directly affected by the typhoon. They didn’t care either if these people will ever know how they stayed up all night for the packs. Now that is what I’d call a true neighbor.

True, being a neighbor should be 24/7 and not just when disaster strikes, but I think these calamities can serve as wake-up calls. If we can display this much strength at such a time, then imagine how much we can give in less chaos if only we kept that neighborly spirit constant? I guess now is also a good time to remember that we are Ateneans and we are always called to be men and women for others.

Silence

by Kyla Relucio

Before going to bed this evening, I did my usual routine of checking emails and notifications on Facebook. This evening however, I could not help but feel very disheartened and disappointed as I scrolled through my news feeds for the only thing people are posting about are their complaints on the current situation our fellow Filipinos face and their angry comments full of discontent with the assistance of our government, most especially our President.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that there is nothing wrong. I just think that during moments like this, people online who can obviously have the time to sit in front of a laptop in their peaceful homes while other Filipinos are out there trying to survive and put together what’s left of them, should clearly just be silent.

Now is not the time to ask whose fault it is or why this is happening to us. Probably this is the time to answer how we could make things better. The answer to this question however can only be seen and given meaning through our actions.

I understand that some of us may feel angry, because we want things to get better and we feel like people who have that power to make things better aren’t doing their best. I also understand that it is very difficult to “let it go”, and to just ignore other angry comments or articles involved in criticizing the current situation we all face as Filipinos.

What must we do then?

The challenge for us is to be silent and to be peaceful. Our complaints wont do anything to make things better. It will only exacerbate the situation by putting emphasis on how unfortunate things have been. Silence does not mean we do not care or that things do not matter. Silence simply means that we do feel something yet no words can capture our emotions and sentiments.

Today, we are challenged to be human. Human, not in the sense, that it is innate for us to be angry and to react to this tragedy, but human in a sense that we can overcome and acknowledge our capability to do so.