Let us agree first on the definition of terms:
Backward country - maybe defined as, a country that lacks improved facilities such as the lack of sewerage systems or garbage disposal systems, poor delivery of health programs, educational programs, having slow economic growth, lacks better and convenient transportation systems, poor road conditions, some would say retarded living conditions, outdated lifestyles, poor hotels, bad accomodations etc etc.
Lazy - defined as, an adjective that describes disdain for work or disdain for physical exertion. Slow or slugish movement, disinclined for physical efforts.
If we now agreed that those were the definitions, let us now observe and read the following questions:
In Rizal times, was there good education provided to the majority of the people? How about health programs? Were the roads in good conditions? Was the living conditions brisk? Was the lifestyle outdated? How were the private business establishments managed? How were the public offices governed?
Rizal described some of these conditions in his novels. His description of Placido Penitente and his outrage against the Friar's insults and philosophical meanderings were outstanding. Rizal showed how backward the process of learning in the university was! He likewise illustrated the slow delivery of programs as when files thickened in the office of one distinguished public official saying that such official had been designated head of the Health office though not having seen nor had even read a single treatise on health!
On laziness. In the novel, Rizal wrote about Sisa's husband, the father of Basilio and Crispin. He said the man was a gambler, a sabungero, who instead of winning bread for his family was the one taking it from them. Rizal showed that the man was a lazy lot. A vicious man who best represented majority of the indios in that period.
In today's Philippines, what do we see? What can we see?
Good roads, skyways, (though no subways yet), good cellular phone systems, beautiful malls. We still have bad garbage collection system though but it is improving. We got good educational institutions wired and linked to the world wide web (www) reason that we can talk here right now. Health programs are delivered though still lacking because the huge volume of recepients does not match the prepared program but it works. Living conditions are relatively modern. Even houses in slum areas have TVs, radios, refrigerators, electric fans, air cons, gas stoves, computers.
On the issue of laziness. Here we have to agree on a standard measuring device to use.
Say, on the account of morality. Let us say, the measure we will use is the no. of corruption cases. Is there sluggishness in reducing the number of corruption cases? Is there disdain for physical exertion? As say, action necessary that directly reduces the number of corruption. Say legal or judicial work. What is taking that so long for instance? What is it that the judicial system does not have that requires speedy resolution of the cases? Is there indepth evaluation needed before a decision could be reached? Is there laziness involved or does the entire process in resolving the issues really need to take that long?
Lets move on to the issue of present economic conditions. Let us say the measuring device is the GDP.
In stock markets, people refer to bullish and boarish trading. Bull represents brisk investing activities and boar represents sluggishness. People could be aggressive or sluggish takers or gainers. And when GDP is down, there is slowing down of economic activities and vice versa.
Let us give a concrete example: if fishermen got good catches, people swarm the ports, buyers and consumers are happy,prices get down. Business is brisk.
When good agricultural production yield bountiful harvests, life becomes brisk. In far flung agricultural areas, when the chief source of income is the yield on crops, bountiful harvest creates happiness and joy to lots of people. Merry making, singing, dancing abound. Life is brisk. Everyone is happy.
In money markets, when world prices go down, everything jumps for joy. But not when they go up, and if for several months it is up, when prices spirally rise skybound, everyone frowns. World oil prices could drop down but the local prices may still take it hard to slide down. It is because prices are linked to a lot of cost and items. Because operational budgets were written based upon the selling prices dictated by world market prices. Hence it would be difficult to cut the costs down or adjust these projections in one's financial budget.
Let us bring the topic back to Rizal. Now, laziness is sluggishness, or disdain for work or rejection of physical exertion. Mr Vera pointed out that poverty is not an indication of laziness. Rizal posited on the other hand that indolence or laziness is both the cause and effect of backwardness. I have shown however that in modern Philippines, backward economy does have a link to laziness.
Let us observe around in poor slums: How should we conclude if we saw poor people in slum areas that instead of forming cooperatives, or seeking ways to help themselves, instead form themselves into groups, buy marka demonio and drink the whole day until sundown? Are these people vicious and lazy because they are poor? or are they poor because they are vicious and lazy? Which way is it?
Ask the poor people and they will say, we don't want to be like this. We just can't be up like the rest. We are not schooled, we knew nothing, what shall we do? All we knew is beg for alms, or scavenge for food or look for garbage and sell them. We are poor people but we are not lazy.
We can say that these people are marginalized. Cut off from the mainstream society, born of poor parents and not finding anymore help to rise from their living conditions. That was why foundations, non-government organizations (NGOs), foreign aids, help for the poor, gawad kalinga etal come in the picture. We do have these poverty-assistance mechanisms nowadays. But in those times, nil. Only some good hearted orphanages as what Sr Bob said in his posts, there were good Spaniards though in those times. That was the truth.
However, in Rizal's time he saw idleness and a great majority of indios suffering in poverty (marginalized people) when he compared their living conditions with the condition of life in the big and lively cities of European countries.
The Spaniards on the other hand concluded that Filipinas was backward because of the indolence of the native indios. Rizal refuted. He found out that it was the tropical weather and the rich natural resources that made them appeared to be so. He argued that it was the colonial status of life that killed the stimuli or motivation for work. Rizal lawyered for them, he reversed the accusation and made it the main argument: the Spaniards were themselves lazy and abusive and therefore they made the indios lazy, too.
Rizal believed laziness transcended races or skin color. The Spaniards and the indios were both lazy. Only that the Spaniards were lazier than them. So the Don and Donas were more indolent than Juan Tamad, the indio.
BONI
No comments:
Post a Comment