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Making Sense of the Senseless
 It was none other than National Hero himself, Jose Rizal who once
warned against being like crabs in a bucket; each little crab wanting
to climb out, each in a struggle to get free. Unfortunately, no one
gets out because each motion upward is coupled with a tug downward by
other crabs at the bottom.
Memories of discussing crab mentality goes way back to grade school.
My teachers described it as a social problem wherein personal gain
gets in the way of team building and development. Years later I look
back at this parallelism as I gaze upon the socio-political and
economic landscape of the country. I find that very much of it is
alive today.
A professor in college once said that stories appeal to an audience if
they can find that certain factor which connects them with that
particular issue. Affinity is and always should be your peg. Today I’m
experiencing this hands on. Struggling with a semblance of
Independence, I am burdened with all the bills to pay, the
overwhelmingly high cost of living and the decreased value of the
currency. Now more than ever want to know the news, I care about how
things will play out because in the end I know will be one of those
affected. Ironically the news sickens me, and if not for the
profession that I have chosen to bear, I would probably have blocked
this all out of my system.
As I look at the world around me I am left baffled by how things are
at present, knowing that they have the potential to be better. Over
the last four years I have developed from one passive audience member
to an active participant; at the same time have seen how conditions
have gotten worse and worse.
It seems that as a country we had fallen into a sand trap a couple of
years back, and as time goes by, we continue to sink deeper and
deeper. Controversies have sewn their web left and right, it seems
impossible to get free from this entanglement. Everyone has decided to
go on his or her own way. We lack any sense of direction therefore
everyone pulls toward a different point.
We are a nation in crisis; divided by class, divided by strife,
divided by conflict. Democracy has gotten the worst in us, so much so
that if we don’t get what we want, we fuss about it and blame it on
anyone who meets the eye. We are nation who once boasted of Christian
foundations, yet whose moral fiber has been corrupted by the pangs of
power and wealth.
Rizal lived in a time when struggle was against the foreigners who
invaded our land and abused our resources. Sadly today, the struggle
is against ourselves, against our own people. It seems like everyone
is focused too much on their own agenda that they fail to set their
eyes on the goals for industrialization and progress. Wouldn’t it be
great if we all lived in security and prosperity, where everyone had
jobs, where people had enough to meet their most intimate needs, and
at the same time have enough to set aside for rainy day, a place full
of harmony, a place free of vice, a better place?
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