Fair-Weather Values

Posted on | October 19, 2008 | No Comments

The welcoming bright morning sun today seems to have little or no help at all to keep the bleak news from coming out of The Philippine Star newspaper into our breakfast table.

“US recession looms” is today’s headline. And what follows on the next articles and pages are just as frustrating if not scary. “Layoffs spreading across corporate America”,”RP flunks US think tank’s corruption indicator, loses new funds”. Switching to CNN didn’t help fan out the negativity either. It just brought more stories about people expected to be jobless and horrible stories of starvation and hopelessness in Zimbabwe.

These somehow gave me a guilty feeling while we eat breakfast in front of the TV and with me silently counting off another Sunday of being employed. How self-centered can I get when other people faces far more serious problem than I currently have.

Just after several minutes of scanning the papers and watching the news, I realize how still lucky I am to have brewed coffee, fresh hot pan de sal and another perfect omelet courtesy of wifey. That moment someone from the USA is being evicted out of his hard-earned home for not being able to pay it. And much worse, a lot of people in Zimbabwe are thinking where they’re going to get potable water in the next few hours. Others might even just die trying to find one. Literally.

Well that’s just how sad the reality is nowadays. Being jobless is the “IN” thing. Starvation is inevitable. Bankruptcy is as frequent as before. In short, let’s face it, the world is in crisis.

And being in crisis, I can’t help but wonder if the values I personally believe would remain as is. The dilemma roaming inside my head just can’t be ignored.

Will I still have the same morals in which I’ve come to practice?

Will I still continue with my advocacies such as anti-piracy and environmentalism?

Will I still strive to do my best to drive with courtesy in mind?

Will I still continue to use the pedestrian lane?

Will I still refuse to bribe cops and government employees?

These are just actually few of the questions that have lately come into consideration. Someone said before that during the worse situations our true character comes out. And so with this I will commit that I’m standing by with what I value the most. The answer therefore to some of the questions I have will be, Yes.

Yes, I will continue…

…To respect my parents and elders. I will still be around to look after them. I will call them as often as I can even if that means that I have to stop sending nonsense SMS to friends to save on prepaid load.

…To respect and be courteous and rational in treating cashiers, janitors, saleslady, waiters, drivers and other blue-collared employees who offer their services to me. Who knows, I might be working with them soon.

…To say no to piracy no matter how hard the urge to buy these things in the name of saving (at the expense of other people).

…To be courteous in the road. And avoid…or at least try not to honk my horn unnecessarily. (This is another topic deserving another blog entry. I can see wifey smiling.)

…To cross the road using the pedestrian lane even if I’m in a hurry for a job interview.

…To reject the temptation to deal with any form of fixers even if this means delaying the start up of my small business.

Right now it may be easier said than done. But also right now, I’m saying it out loud as my commitment. As much as I hate fair-weather friends, I hate having fair-weather values.

How about you?

dilemma...

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Marcus Can Blog

If you don't like it, blame daddy. If you like it, well, that's by me – Marcus.

Fair-Weather Values

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