Fishes in the pond

One of the intriguing philosophical questions my father used to discuss with farmers during their social action seminars went something like this, “In a situation where you have a toxic pond that is populated by infected fish, which should we clean up first  the polluted water or the dirty fish?” It’s a question that comes to my mind now having seen the tragic events that recently unraveled as a result of the House and Senate hearings on corruption in the military. If there are two things that are clear to me, it’s how filthy the entire system is and that no one is clean. It’s a reflection, I believe, not only of the situation in the military but also of the conditions in all the other major institutions of government. I dare say that a similar, though not as fatal, malaise has now also descended on the private sector and, in some cases, even in organized religion. In such a situation, what indeed can we do to reform society? Many of the idealistic men and women that we pin our hopes on are overwhelmed and ultimately corrupted by the rotten system. Moreover, positive changes made on the system are also eventually perverted by the crooks and transformed into a breeding ground of bribery and crime.

In his usual classic ideological reasoning, I can still hear my father saying that the problem requires simultaneous attack on two fronts. Externally, we need to perform fundamental changes on the laws, programs, and institutions of society. But perhaps more importantly, there needs to be a “revolution from within” in the sense that true reform has to begin with radical changes in the concepts and attitudes of the people in the areas of morality and social justice. Only then, he argued, could power structures really be changed and societal reforms sustained. For the first part of his formula, we need heroes who are willing to charge the windmills and lay their lives on the line. I guess that this is where the Rizals and the Bonifacios come in, and yes, even some of the whistleblowers who have recently come out to expose the abuses of those in power. Like many Filipinos however, I certainly do not consider myself to be a hero and so cowardly leave this aspect to the nobler and more courageous minority among us. Yet as my father explained, it may be in the majority’s collective “smaller” roles as parents, teachers, and normal citizens that will have the bigger long-term impact on society.  

It is in this light that I try to make some sense of what we can still do so as to not lose my sanity amid the brazenness and utter lack of shame of some of those in power. Instead of losing hope because of what’s happening around us, let’s focus inwards and be more determined to become better individuals in every way we can. If we can change ourselves for the better, maybe we can positively influence others, especially our children. And like a small pebble tossed in the middle of a pond, these small ripples will move outwards in an ever-expanding circle that can touch other people as well. In time, maybe there can be enough of these small swells so that they can collectively form a large wave, perhaps even a tsunami, of change that our heroes can ride and use to wash away all the filth in our society.

And so as our senators grill yet another forgetful witness about the missing millions of the state, I will also ask myself if I am being a good example to my children even in the small things that do not seem to matter much anymore such as stopping at a red light. Or not slipping a folded bill into the hands of a greedy policeman who jumps out of his hiding place to entrap me. And so as our congressmen continue to act out their worn-out spiels on TV about another law they want to pass to protect our nation’s coffers, I will also ask myself as an educator if our schools are now simply factories that produce human fodder for big business. Or are they still free institutions that encourage the youth to pursue their natural talents, inclinations, and idealism? Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, once wrote… “We should not be asking: what does a person need to know or be able to do in order to fit into the existing social order? Instead, we should ask: what lives in each human being and how can this be developed? Only then will it be possible to direct the new qualities of each emerging generation into society. Society will then become what young people, as whole human beings, make out of existing social conditions. The new generation should not be simply made to become what present society wants it to be.” It may already be too late for you and me to truly clean up the fishes and the pond. But I have hope that our children still can.

Please email your reactions to kindergartendad@yahoo.com.