Seeing and believing

The word magic seems so surreal. In one flick of the wand, a rabbit comes out of the magician's hat. A magician's sleeve is so full of tricks which are done quicker than your eyes could blink.

At some point in my life, I believed in the power of magic. I used to think that witchcraft and wizardry are real and that a train station would lead you to Hogwarts School of Magic. Of course, I was young back then and I didn't know what the products of a fictitious mind were. The power of magic to make you believe its truth was so immense that J.K. Rowling became a promising author.

Call it absurd but it was the project of my childhood which I enjoyed very well. As I grow older, I came to accept that magic is not real and rabbits do not live in a hat.

One must be careful in what we believe in, even in the realm of magic or in the reality of life's decisions. According to known Political Scientist Kay Lawson, there are certain institutions that form our beliefs in life. First is the home where our families are. From the day we can learn, they instill in us values and principles which are further validated by the schools that we go to. Of course our education system molds our minds, but our religious affinities forge the belief of our souls.

Notice that after what we learn at home, all we absorb are fed in by the outside world. If we do not take precaution in what we engage into outside the home, we are bound to be fooled by the perils of this world.

For one, there are schemes to deceive you. A concrete example: Financial scams which promise to double your money in a short period of time. They take your hard cold cash, tell you to let it mature for some time and before you know, it's all gone. Your life savings are now in the hands of a con artist. Although I personally do not have enough money yet to invest, I know a few friends who lost money to the networking or pyramiding business schemes.

In fact, several cases have already been cited in our country such as the Aman Futures Group based in Mindanao and many others. Imagine losing all you have worked for because you believed in a promise without knowing the truth.

Of course, who wouldn't want to believe in them when they package their deals with busting music, effective products and true testimonials from people who have succeeded? In this world today, it is better to be smart than be persuaded by the wrong people.

Second, because of the promise for instant success or wealth, human rights are compromised. Remember the many cases of overseas workers who were promised a high-paying job abroad but were only hired as sex workers? Their human dignity and their freedom to choose a life to live were trampled.

There is also one religious leader who claims to use human as sacrifice for the blessings to receive. Although this case is still to be discussed in court, we can always contradict the man's claims but going back to the basic doctrine. As far I know, neither Muslims nor Christians would take a life as a religious sacrifice.

Your freedom to religion is indeed yours to choose but make sure it is humane and for the greater good. This certain "Dios Amahan" faces several complaints complete with affidavits from his former followers who attested to his malpractice yet he still denies the allegations hurled against him. I only hope for the truth to come out.

Human as we are, we have the tendency to be persuaded. However, with this time and age, we have been empowered to explore our knowledge before we believe.

Know first before you believe.