Dressing Them Up into Little Women

There is something that many Filipinos consider to be cute but which I find disconcerting. That something may be summarized by this:

(Source: Safety Web)

It seems like more and more parents are dressing their little girls with grown-up clothes. I've seen little girls dressed in spaghetti straps, or in mini-skirts, or in small shirts that show their belly button. I've even seen some little girls wearing make-up!

Making little girls wear the Sex Bomb outfits is not inherently evil but it shows how their parents think. It shows how modern mothers and fathers value the innocence of their children.

I believe that children should act like children as long as their age allows it. Being a little child is a one time event and it can never be regained once its gone. Thus, it is the duty of parents to protect their children's innocence and keep them away from influences that can poison their minds.

It is hard to keep children away from the poisons of the modern world. The corruption wrought by Sexual Revolution was already ingrained in our society. Thus we have the showbusiness that cheapens love into sexual affairs. Thus we have advertisers who use sexual innuendos to sell products. And on and on and on.

Modesty is the first thing that was thrown away at the onset of Sexual Revolution. The long skirts gave way to ultra-mini skirts. The neckline that is actually set on the neck is now plunging just above the breasts. Even some of the clothes today are made of see-through cloths.

Generation after generation of women were made to believe that wearing clothes that appeal to men's eyes are fashionable – ah yes, SEXy. Generation after generation of women were made to believe that it is good to be fantasized by men and many ladies placed their happines on being desired sexually by men.

The current generation of mothers and fathers already swallowed the corrupt fruits of Sexual Revolution. That's why it is not surprising that they are the first ones to dress their daughters as strippers.

This immodest fashion trend for children's clothing is just the tip of the iceberg. I can still recall my online “fistfight” on Facebook regarding a McDonalds ad that featured two little children in a courting scene. And yes, many people also find the ad very cute.

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This post is an entry for Filipinos for Life July 2013 Blogging Event.

 

Burn All the Chairs!

There is one thing that a kid throwing tantrums will not receive and that is praise. He may get the toys that he demands but he will not be praised by his parents. He may even receive a spanking for his misbehavior.

Apparently, some adults didn't outgrew their habit  of throwing tantrums. Some of them even mixed it with popular ideologies to make it appealing and, in the process, acceptable. I'm referring to the leftist activists who have the habit of throwing tantrums just to send their points across.

I was attacked on Facebook this week because I criticized the “burning of the chairs” done by student activists of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). The activists burned the chairs to protest the alleged “2,000% tuition fee hike”.

The person who attacked me argued that the burning of the chairs is justifiable because they are fighting for a lofty reason, and that is to keep PUP education accessible to the poor. In short, she argued that the “end justifies the means”. 

(Source: Library of Most Controversial File FB page)

My opponent also argued that they (the student activists) have the right to burn the chairs because “they are taxpayers too”.

My reply to her two arguments is “wrong and wrong”.

Burning chairs and destroying public property is wrong because they're owned by the Filipino people as a whole. Each Filipino, including the student activists, has a right for that chair because he paid for it by his taxes. The claim that the activists have the right to burn the chairs because they are taxpayers too is foolish because they trampled upon the right of other taxpayers who don't want the chairs to be destroyed. They unjustly gave themselves sole authority to decide on the fate of those chairs.

The student activists argued that the chairs were already dilapidated and unusable thus suitable for burning. This argument is still baloney. Ownership is not determined by the condition of the property. My shirt is still my shirt even if it is already faded and full of holes. Those chairs that were fed to the fire is still owned by the public even if they are rickety or missing a leg.

Fighting for an ideal doesn't give idealists the license to do everything they want. Our actions are limited by the boundaries set by rights of other people. In the case of public property, my right to use it is limited by the right of other people to use it. I can say that I own the chair (I'm a taxpayer too) but I'm not allowed to carry it home. In the similar sense, I can say that I own the chair but I'm not allowed to burn it. My right to the publicly-owned chair is limited because my actions (carrying it home and burning it) prevented other people to exercise their right to use that publicly-owned chair!

Claiming that the “burning of the chairs” benefited PUP students because it stopped the tuition hike is worrisome not because their claim is questionable (PUP president said that the activists were misinformed because there's no tuition increase for undergraduate courses) but because their act is like that of a kid throwing tantrums. Their “victory” will surely embolden them to use the similar act whenever they demand something. And just like a kid throwing tantrum, their  acts will go wilder and wilder if their elders don't give in to their demands. Perhaps they'll burn a building of PUP when the university admin stopped being threatened by the “burning of the chairs”.

Buhay o Patay?

“Sa buhay ka ba o sa patay?” - ito marahil ang mainit na tanong ngayong panahon ng eleksyon sa ating bansa. Salamat sa Archdiocese ng Bacolod at pumaibabaw muli ang isyu patungkol sa RH Law na pilit ibinabaon ng mga kandidatong pro-RH (pro-patay) na tumatakbo sa Senado at Kongreso. Dahil lang sa iisang tarp na ipinaskil sa katedral ay napapaisip ngayon ang mga tao kung sino ang Team Patay at kung sino ang Team Buhay.

Ang isyu ng RH Law ay parang zombie na nagbalik mula sa hukay. Akala ng mga pro-patay na mga kandidato ay tapos na ang isyu noong kanilang ipinilit ito noong nakaraang taon. Nagkamali sila.

Nakita ko ang paninidigan ng mga tao kontra sa RH Bill noong sumali ako sa prayer rally sa EDSA. Kahit umuulan ay hindi natinag ang mga tao. Kahit ilang oras nakatayo ay walang problema. Ang mahalaga ay maihayag sa mga pinuno ng gobyerno ang saloobin laban sa RH Bill.

(Source: CBCP for Life)

Naisip ko noong araw na iyon na ito ang mga taong na hindi na lang tatahimik kapag naipasa ang RH Bill. At sa tingin ko ay tama ako.

Ang mga taong sumusuporta para sa Team Buhay ay ang mga libo-libong tao na nagtyaga sa prayer rally, ang mga taong nakikipagbakbakan sa Facebook at Twitter, at ang mga simpleng tao na kumilos upang tutulan ang RH Bill sa kanilang paraan.

Hindi pa tapos ang laban ng RH Law at hindi pa kami sumusuko. Kaming mga Pilipinong na tapat pa sa Simbahan at mga pro-lifers na hindi kaanib ng Simbahan, kami ang tatapos sa mga Team Patay. Tuloy ang laban!

Oh ano? Sa buhay ka ba o sa patay?

Farewell Pope Benedict

I saw a flurry of Facebook posts from my Catholic friends that made me tremble the day Pope Benedict XVI announced his abdication.

Some of my friends said that they are crying. Other expressed their disbelief. I expected the worst and almost asked them, “is the Pope dead?”

He is very much alive but the news still struck me hard. Pope Benedict XVI decided to step down of the Petrine Office. He is leaving the Papacy and thus the Church is in to a turbulent times in her history.

Pope Benedict XVI is the pope on the day when I decided to be more serious in professing my Catholic Faith. I look up to him as the father of all Catholics. A steady guide in the reforming the institutions within the Church.

I cried yesterday night as I watched the last papal audience. Something stirred in me while I listen to Pope Benedict's speech. I just noticed that tears are welling up in my eyes.

Ah, Yes! I cried. I cried for this man who I never met personally. I cried for him because I love him.

It is his last day as pope and all I can say is this: “Farewell Pope Benedict. Thank you for everything that you did for the Church!”

All I can do now is to pray for him.

It is also the time to pray for the cardinals that they may elect the man chosen by God to become the next pope.

The Great Humility of Mary

Whenever the humility of the Virgin Mary is talked about, the obvious reference would be the episode of the Annunciation. In that event, an angel visited with the news that she will bore the Son of the Most High God and that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and overshadow her (Luke 1:35). Mary, which I think still had a lot of questions in her heart, answered with her “fiat”.

Mary's “fiat” is the word that shows her humility and utter dependence to God. Thus, many will call her the humblest of all of God's creatures.

One time, as I pondered the Third Glorious Mystery of the Holy Rosary, I was struck with a thought about the humility of our Mother. Mary, I mused, once again let the Holy Spirit overshadow her during the Pentecost.

The death of our Lord shook all of His disciples. Many hid in the upper room where Jesus took His last meal. They locked the doors in fear of their persecutors. The appearance of Jesus after His resurrection stirred hope into the hearts of His disciples but it is still not enough. They are still afraid.

The Apostles turned to Mary to seek the comfort of her faith in God. She acted as their mother in a way that Jesus told her while He is hanging on the cross. Up to the day of Pentecost, all of Jesus followers look up to the Virgin Mary.

If Mary is a lesser being then she can easily claim the role as the leader of the early Church. No one can contest her, even Peter, because she can easily say to apostles these words:

“You Peter have not been faithful up to end. You betrayed my Son three times and you fled. All of you, His apostles left him. I have been faithful to Him to the end. I stayed with Him at the foot of the cross. He gave all of you to me as your mother, higher than each and every one of you.”

Our Mother, however, is not a lesser being. She is the woman who is pure and pleasing to God. Thus, when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost she once again let the power of God overpower her. She who only desires to please God pleased Him once again because she desired His will alone. She desired Peter to be the leader of the Church together with the other Apostles.

Jesus said that those who humble themselves will be exalted in Heaven. Mary is the humblest of all thus God exalted her to the pinnacle of His creations. He assumed her to Heaven (4th Glorious Mystery) and crowned her (5th Glorious Mystery) to become the Queen of all Saints.

Let's Speak More about Chastity

In a world where sex was cheapen into a mere act of pleasure, it is surprising to see positive comments about a video talking about chastity. The video that I'm referring to is the interview made by Live Pure Movement with PBA player Chris Tiu.

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This is not the only instance where Chris talked about chastity. He posted on his blog his experience when he attended the talk of Jason Evert about chastity, love and relationship. There he said that he is a believer of chastity and purity.

Pinoy celebrities like Chris Tiu are very rare. Celebrities in Philippine showbiz exchange partners faster than you can spell Mississippi. Even politicians (i.e. Chiz Escudero, Noynoy Aquino) are infected with this style of relationship.

Chris Tiu didn't mince words during his interview. In the video he said:

1. Having sex when you are not married is superficial and fleeting and will not give lasting happiness.

2. Love involves sacrificing and waiting.

These are hard words that run contrary to the message being peddled by the media.

The feedback on Chris Tiu's video is great. Many hailed him as “good role model” to the youth. Such positive feedback surprised me. I expected many comments contradicting the words of Chris Tiu. I even expected commenters saying that “chastity is medieval” or “chastity is old-fashioned”.

The positive feedback shows that many Filipinos are satiated with sex-saturated media. Many Filipinos desire a breath of fresh air, a breath of truth about sexuality and love. Many wanted to hear about chastity but only few are willing to talk about it.

I believe that all Christians: bloggers, media practitioners, and celebrities, those who can broadcast the teachings on chastity should speak more about this virtue.

It is time to speak about Chastity without fear and expect to hear from many Pinoys who are eager to listen to what we are about to say.

Unearthing my Talents

“What am I doing with my talents?”

This question confronted me again as I meditate during my prayer time this first Sunday of Lent. Was this a nudge from the Lord? I may never know the answer. But this nudge is enough for me to realize that I need to do something more.

About 7 years ago, I started two blogs. One is a personal blog. The other is a sort of socio-political blog. I thought, during those times, that I knew a lot of things. That my political commentaries are correct. The pride in my writing increased when a group of bloggers invited me to join their “collective blog”.

My years of writing for my socio-political blog continued until an incident occurred that caused me to withdraw the blog from the world. That incident is the pin that blew my huffed-up pride. I realized that I am just an arrogant and ignorant man babbling on things that I have limited knowledge of.

That's when I buried my talents and decided to limit myself on blogging about topics that are not risky. “I'm doing this”, I said, “for peace”.

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I know at the onset that being a follower of Jesus Christ is not convenient. It is inconvenient to fast, to abstain, to pray the Rosary everyday, and to read the Bible. The more of these inconveniences I commit the more inconveniences I desire. All of these inconveniences points to the inconvenience of the Cross.

And now, I feel that I'm being nudged to take the inconvenience of my talents. To write about inconvenient things.

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The pitiful servant digging for his talents.

I think about the pitiful servant who buried his talents so as to keep it “safe”. I am that servant and I'm digging my talents now hoping that I it is not too late to make it profitable.

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Image sources:

The first image is a painting by Titian entitled "Christ Carrying the Cross" from Wikipainting.

The second image was cropped from the 1712 woodcut of the Parable of the Talents from Wikipedia.