why we never learn

Most of us know George Santayana's famous phrase "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.". But most of us don't really bother to think about it. They say history is just glotifying the past, th heroes, those who sacrificed their lives. But history is more than just remembering the things past. For me, history provides us with information on what happened to society at that particular place at that particular time. It provides us with variables that we can use to analyze the present and see what may happen in the future. Yes, there is no constant formula. Each event is different. The circumstances may be different now and what happened 3 decades ago, so why use the past as an example? one may argue that.

History is not to be merely read. It must be analyzed. One cannot just read through history and say "oh, thats what happened. well, things are different now. why bother?!" It is not about what happened or where and when it happened. History, as fact-filled as it is, is about WHY it happened and HOW it was dealt with. Its about realizing how we reached from point A to point B, and based on that analogy, what could point C be like? Its about filling the spaces between the events, finding the causes, the effects.

Most people hate history. They claim irrelevance. But what happened to our country 20 years ago affected our lives just as much as what happened to one individual when he/she was first beat up by his/her father. We ourselves look back at our own past and try to learn from it. At least, some of use do. I agree with Sigmund Freud with his words: "Only a good-for-nothing is not interested in his past." without one's past, we will not understand why we are like this now. Even worse, we wont have a single clue as to who we will be in the future.

Its just the same as studying our own history. If we don't try to learn from it, we won't progress into what we all want to be. For some people, history is boring. in all history classes worldwide, im willing to bet that 1/3 of the students sleep through their history classes. the other 1/3 are gazing out the windows and thinking about lunch, or their girlfriends, or what mall to go to after class. Only one-thirds of that class will listen and understand this. maybe some of them are young enough to realize that their understandnig of history will be important to their futures. Some of them are old enough to know this, and will try to change the way things are. Some may use that for other reasons that will benefit them (sorry, i just cant resist saying something about TraPos ). And some will remain hopeful that maybe history will unfold into something better. One could only hope that those who are ignorant to this would realize that the collective ignorance of society to history will continue to be detrimental to the development of the state. the scary thing about history, is that history tells us that things that we do cannot be undone. whatever we decide to do is final. Final.


"What experience and history teach is this-that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it." G. W. F. Hegel

apology

to the non-filipino speaking readers, i would like to apologize..i sometimes write in filipino because i am talking about philippine socio-political affairs, rather, the negative aspects of my country's socio-political affairs. and as much as i hate whats happening to my country, i love it too much for other people to read it and not really understand it and think that i am lambasting my country or something like that.. i write in filipino so my fellow filipinos can realate to this. but as much as i want more people to read this, i cannot afford to let foreigners read this. (as a citizen of my country, i must promote it..). i apologize for this. im not letting you out of this becasue of selfish, racist reasons. i merealy am protecting my country. (hmm..i sound soo nationalistic..i should recieve an award!!) but to those filipinos who read my blog, i encourage you to think, and try to realize where we are now, and where we are going. it wont make much of a difference, but who knows :)

ang paborito kong sipsip

i just love reading the newspapers... its primary use is to inform people, but for me ,sometimes even the main section is entertaining. again, i saw another article on my favorite suck up in the government. i wont say who he is, but he's a controversial member of the cabinet. he got into big trouble when calamities truck the south of our country a few years ago and he was head of the agency responsible for monitoring that field..but after a lot of pa-cute, and sucking up, he's in a pretty good position in the palace, good enough and close enough to the president to kiss her a&$. how he ever got that position, i'll never know..but i have some flies in the walls of the palace who can actually talk(pretty credible flies they are too), and they told me stuff about this person and since then, i could never ever think of him in a straight face. well anyway, here's what i read in the article... isang taon ang nakaraan pagkatapos natin mapanood ang "i am sorry" speech ng pangulo, lumantad ang paborito kong sipsip at sinabi nya sa press na hindi yun dapat ginawa ng pangulo. na kesyo nagkaaway-away pa daw sa cabinete nun at isa daw siya sa nanindigan laban sa gusto ng Hyatt 10 na mag-apologize ang pangulo. blah blah blah (un ang datin sakin ng sinasabi nya:blah blah blah)

sana hindi nya na lang sinabi yun. oo na, andun na tayo at nagpapa-good shot siya sa kung sino man. oo na, now that there's a new impeachment complaint filed, balik nanaman tayo sa patintero at kampihan..pero hindi maganda ang impresyon na binigigay nya eh. oo, gaganda image nya (pero kahit anong pilit nya di pa din siya gwapo) , pero masisira naman yung sa gabinete..normal lang na may hindi pagkakaisa sa isang grupo, pero sana kung magtatalo sila, yng makabuluhan naman. ang nakikita tuloy ng tao, yung politikahan lang. nararamdaman tuloy ng tao na hindi sila seryoso sa pagpapaunlad ng bansa, na gawin kung ano ang totoo nilang trabaho. alam ko na may pulitikahan talaga sa gobyerno, hindi na maiaalis yan..pero wala namang masama sa pag-aasang sana naman, magsawa na sila. dahil kahit sino pa ang iupo mo sa pagkapangulo, kung ang mga nakapaligid ay ganyan pa din, wala ring mangyayari.

impeachment (again?!?!)

i read in the frontpage of one of our local broadsheets that yes, there is another impeachment complaint filed. theres nothing new to this. we elect someone we will eventually kick out. thats part of modern philippine politics (sad thing, really). pero natawa ako sa list ng ilan sa mga charges against PGMA:

* cheating in the May 2006 elections
* using illegal money in presidential campaign
* condoning political killings and human rights abuses

im not pro-admin or pro-opposition, pero anak ng parents naman eh..

SINO BANG HINDI NANDADAYA SA ELECTION?!?

SA TINGIN NYO BA SAPAT NA ANG ALLOWED ELECTION FUNDS
PARA MALAGAYAN AT MAUTO ANG BAWAT PILIPINO?!?

NGAYON LANG BA NARINIG ANG ABUSO AT PAGPAPAPATAY ALANG-ALANG SA POLITIKAL NA AMBISYON?!?

hay naku! nakaka-highblood ito..

kung yan ang gagamitin nyong accusation, eh di guilty na halos lahat ng pulitiko... politics will not be politics without corruption. political killings have been happening since bago pa dumating ang mga banyaga at naka-bahag pa mga ninuno natin..

whats new?

dapat manhid na ako eh..kasi lagi na lang ito nagnyayari diba..

pero parang im at this point na ganito na lang ba tayo lagi? when will we ever tire of repeateing our blunders?!?

nakakinis..kakain na lang muna ako...

haay naku

okay, so ive had this really sad experience a few months ago..and just this moment, i saw one of its after-effects.. ggrrrrr!!! i sooo wanted to strangle someone..then i took a deep deep breath..counted to ten, closed my eyes and said to myself: "lecheng yan, pangit naman sha!" a few friends who i was chatting with gave me words of comfort.. it worked, as it made me realize that i shouldnt really be affected anymore. i guess after what happened, trusting doesnt come that easy.

dont worry, i wont be pessimistic about it!! i even told a friend of mine na balang araw, makakahanap din ako ng katapat ko..someone who will prove that i can be happy again, that i wont have to be scared of anything..

hhmmm...kelan kaya?! sana pwede pa ako magka-anak sa panahong iyon...

something new that i heart

for the past month or two, ive been spending my weekends with this group. its pretty funny, as most of them have been friends of mine since childhood (my cousin included). some of them are new faces. most of the people who know me know that i've recently been through something that really broke my heart (as in nadurog na nasagasaan at ginawang barbeque) and it took a while (and a whole lot of encouragement) for me to start appreciating the sunrise. this group was one of the reasons why it was easier for me to move on. aside from the weekends spent getting drunk on coffee or tequila and beer, and the weekdays texting, the weeknights and wee hours of morning online really helped. its a pretty diverse group of different backgrounds, cultures (japanese, chinese, filipino, spanish, canadian mixes) and sexual preferences (yahooo!!!). and it makes things intersting. in spite of the differences, we all manage to have fun and talk about a lot (as in a lot) of things. they kept my mind off things until it came to the point that it was completely off my mind. the funny thing was, they were all aware of what i went through, there were hardly any heart to heart talks, but their company actually made me come to terms with things and appreciate things for what they are. now, i can say that ive recovered. these guys dont check this page, so they wont get to rad this mushy post. but im thankful that ive got these people with me now. mainly because my life would be boring without them, but also because i learn new things with them everytime i hang out with them. small talk, political or philosophical talk, or even playing around have made me realize a lot of things of which i am thankful for.

***i do hope they wont read this..they'll surely make fun of me***

on my posts, friendster blog, advice to readers, and my thing sublime

i just viewed my posts and realized that i've been soo negative about things. its funny, becasue if you knew me personally, you'd doubt if these posts are actually stuff that i thought of. maybe im posting it here because i dont get to talk about things like these to the people im with. hmm..my blog is my shrink (no offense meant to psychiatrists/psychologists)

I've always thought of myself as an optimistic person. i'd say the glass is half-full not half-empty (though when im feeling a bit feisty, i'd say its half-way hehe). and when things get bad, im the first one to make others realize the good things that are still there, or the positive things/thoughts that can be learned/acquired in that particular experience. im the one who would say something weird to the point of being funny. i would give a few punchlines. i'd do something funny to lighten up the mood of people. and it is quite odd that my posts are this negative.

i recently activated my friendster blog. so far, most of what ive posted are movie reviews. i cant seem to post anything personal, or deep there. its as if people would just think im weird or gone crazy or got hooked to drugs. only the persons patient (or bored) enough are those who get to see this blog. to read these thoughts i wouldnt normally tell them while were having coffee or downing tequila. the first few posts have been written when i kept this blog anonymous. at first i didnt want people who knew me to find out about this blog. i thought, its okay to post whatever things that breezed through my mind, and even if those people judged me on the basis of these posts, it didnt matter. because they have no connection to me. so, it wouldnt affect me as much. but then i realized something. maybe its okay that people who know me read these things. its not that i dont care about what they'll think of me. i think what motivated me was the fact that people boxed me in this stereotype based on my line of work. people think that im fickle-minded person. some people even thought that all i cared about was make-up and clothes, and shopping and dieting. oh, and yeah, how could i forget?! boys!! there are times when i'd be in a crowd and we'd talk about something political or philisophical, theyd be genuinely surprised about what i would say. a lot of people "didnt think i was capable of knowing" things. at first i liked it. better underestimated than the contrary...even until now, i like the idea that people think i dont really use my brain. i find it very amusing when i see the looks on their faces when they find out that i do know the difference between GDP and GNP. sometimes, even friends of mine dont even know that i read a lot, or what i read for that matter. and i would like to see how they'd think of me, after reading whatever (crazy) thoughts i put here. only a few people actually know some of the things i put here. and i wouldnt expect a lot to fully understand why i think this way, and i wouldnt be surprised if people get all judgemental on me. i really dont mind. its not my loss to be judged by people who think they know me. Because to this day, no one, not even anyone in my family, can say that they truly know me. My testimonials in my friendster account might give partial descriptions (mostly good things), but that doesnt encapsulate my persona.

maybe by opening up to this, i might find out something new about my friends too. maybe after this, we'll realize that theres more to share. maybe i'll lose some people. maybe i'll get to know more people. but let me just tell you this. the thoughts put into words here were written at a particular point in time in a particular state of mind. these ideas may change in the next few years, months, or even the next hour. (in which i will either delete the post or publish a retraction.) do not try to describe me as this type based on what youve seen so far. these are random ramblings that come with the journey to some place and time sublime. maybe i'll laugh at my own thoughts, maybe i'd be ashamed of what i've published, or smile at them. either way, these small bits of thoughts will eventually form into something that will make me "whole". something that will, in all finality, make me who i really am. then i will be judged. But not by you. as of now, i'll keep on looking for that thing sublime. :)

an intro to death and nothingness

Have you ever really thought about what will happen when you die?
I mean, after taking your last breath, would your vision darken? Would you see a light at one point in the dark and will you follow it? Or would you just suddenly feel like you’re being burned alive?

Would you suddenly see everything on this planet but no one will see you? Will you get stuck on the abyss called purgatory and wait for your loved one’s prayers so you can reach heaven?

And if you do get to heaven, what will you do there? If its hell, will you get to see adolf Hitler?

What is heaven? Isn’t heaven relative to the person’s ideals? I mean.. can I drink my kurant seven there? Isn’t hell relative too? I mean if hell is full of evil things, can I get cigarettes there? Or is hell just the absence of heaven, just as darkness is the absence of light.. its simply not there..

Or maybe that’s how we are. The second our heart ceases to beat, we just.. cease to exist. Maybe we wont be able to see, feel, hear or smell anything. Maybe we cant even think anymore.. after all, our brain is dead. Is our soul capable of thought? Is there such thing as a soul?

Maybe, when we die, we just die. We become nothing. We cease to be.

Is it even possible to imagine how it is to be nothing?