Thanks. I actually grew up there but migrated to the US in 1986 at the age of 16. I've been back several times and the stark difference between the rich and poor still shocks me. Don't get me wrong, poverty exists everywhere, even here in California. I just took a mountain bike ride yesterday with a couple of friends (or mates if you prefer) from my house to the hillside, which required us to cut through part of Oakland (not-so-desirable part of the Bay Area). My friends couldn't believe the contrast of Alameda and Oakland, which for all practical purpose, is only separated by a freeway.Originally Posted by Englishman2010
Welcome to the forum Ron, I hope you can stick around. Do you have any connections with the Philippines yourself?
I agree with your last two paragraph's and would guess that most westerners would too. In the west we have largely abandoned religion or taken up non catholic religions which don't preach about the wrongs of birth control. However, our Filipino friends are still very deeply religious and do take on board what the Catholic church preaches. I'm not going to get into the rights and wrongs of that as I don't want to upset any of my fellow members. However, your last sentence sums up my view too
But I digress... I think it's the proportion of poor people versus the rich that troubles me. There just are not very much opportunities out there. Getting an education does not guarantee a better life. A good number of fast food workers flipping your burgers there have some education (perhaps even college grads).
The blame is very difficult to pin. You could say that government needs to be less corrupt and serve the people more than the whim of politicians, and in a great way, this is true. Which probably implies that we need better politicians, yet our best and brightest are leaving the country in search of better opportunities (there are still some very good people there, but can you imagine how better we could be if all our talented people stayed?). I wouldn't even necessarily blame the Church because it brings its share of positive influences (I think it just needs to think a bit more progressively and pragmatically to reflect the current times).
Progress begins with the creation of opportunities, opportunities that help the greater good (environmentally, morally and ethically). But we need good shepherds in order to foster such an environment, and a common, unified goal. I'm starting to see that in the fringes (Gawad Kalinga comes to mind http://www.gk1world.com/), and hopefully, it will gain critical mass. I hope we as Pinoys abroad can support these endeavors and assert our influence to help make positive changes in our country.
Okay... off my soapbox now.
