‘Things To Mind’ Archives
Call it a ritual
Most people say it is for hygiene purposes that boys must submit themselves to circumcision, or turi in Winaray. But this is quite debatable since a boy can still observe proper hygienic procedures in that area of his body even without altering anything there. So, other than this aim, what is this practice for? Well, others claim it is more of a culture, something like a ritual that has been handed down through generations, a norm that ought to be perpetuated for having been observed by our [...]
Science vs. religion
Much has been said and written about the widely recognized conflict between science and religion. This conflict continues until today and no one seems to have a final input that could put the issue to rest. And so the discussions go on, and as to when it would stop, we don’t have the slightest idea. What are the salient conflicting points between the two? What fuels those disagreements and what are we to make of them, in our present generation when both seem to have attained their [...]
A virtue to restore
Children at an early age should already be taught about the so-called sense of responsibility. They should be trained how to develop and apply it in various situations so that they will grow up possessing this virtue which, unfortunately, is already rare nowadays. You see, if one doesn’t have and exercise this sense, one will always run into trouble with other people and thus create problems for himself. Consider, for instance, a member of a household who would not turn off a water faucet [...]
What do environmentalists say?
Reports have it that prior to the devastating floods that hit Iligan and Cagayan de Oro Cities, environmentalists had warned local authorities there that these places were at risk of flash floods and other such related calamities due to their locations and environment conditions. The purpose was to make everyone awareness regarding the dangers that lurked ahead, but this warning was merely ignored and dismissed. As a matter of fact, such alarm was accordingly issued three years before the [...]
Farmer empowerment
Despite the many advances modern agricultural technology has made, many of our upland farmers in remote areas are still backward with their farming methods, depriving them of good produce, and impairing the soil they till into becoming more and more unfit for planting. Farmers behind the kaingin method are good examples for this. They would cut the weeds, including the trees standing in the area, then burn everything to the ground later. The clearing may prove yet fertile during the first [...]
Cities’ predicament
Climate change has been on top of the global agenda in recent as the biggest threat mankind has ever faced. It’s bigger and wider than terrorism and that in tackling it we have to act quickly. No issue today is more important than this. How much time we have got to address it? And what should now be done before more damage occurs to the global atmosphere and the society we have built on earth? These are serious questions that have been widely echoed but not necessarily answered, falling most [...]
Incessant rains
“Outside the rain begins, and it will never end…” so goes the song that used to fill the airwaves in not-so-distant past. It’s one of the modern musical classics, a love song of renown that now recurs in relevance. Lately, this song was widely revived in the country, like a theme song, sang and recited, together with Apo Hiking Society’s “Pumapatak na naman ang ulan,” every time rains started to pour, lasting for hours, even for days. The description provided by these songs [...]
Media in this century
By virtue of the kind of work they have, journalists have become one of the power brokers in the 21st century. The advent of the information society has added a new dimension of social responsibility to the journalism profession. Social responsibility used to be defined narrowly in terms of the traditional principles of objectivity, impartiality, truthfulness, and accuracy. But in an environment where access to information defines the amount of political and economic power one wields, it is [...]
Natural disasters of 2011
I am not trying to be a doomsayer, or a modern-day prophet, or an expert on weather conditions. I am precisely none of the above. But since we are just looking back to the previous year, it’s quite easy to mention what have been considered as the world’s major disasters occurring almost every month of last year. Last January, record floods swamped Australia’s east coast and killed 35 people, shut coal mines, wiped out roads, railed lines and thousands of homes, costing more than $2 [...]
Bang! Bong! Bing!
The way New Year is greeted makes me sick, and that’s with the use of firecrackers and other explosive devices. It irritates my ears, jolts my nerves, rouses me from sleep, and scares me to death. In short, I don’t like the explosions. That’s why I haven’t aspired to become a member of an armed group, legal or illegal. But the use of firecrackers is already a rooted tradition in society. No matter how deep the economic crisis is, no matter how hard the Department of Health would [...]
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