This is my initial reaction to the SONA 2011 -
My one Filipino nation, with the Peace of the LORD - I salute you.
What I noticed the most is the President's call for national transformation.
Let me explain:
Our Country seem insulated from tragedies such as that which recently befell brave Norway. This is so because most Filipinos are too busy trying to survive from day to day.
My fellow Filipino compatriots, if we as an emerging Republic get the workings of the foundations of our fledgling national culture right - here and now, when in time we become developed enough for our people to start confronting those problems developed Countries must presently confront at this time, we shall not find our nation as vulnerable to such crimes as those wrought by the terrorist intents of the likes of Mr Breivik (or Mr. McVeigh, or OBL on the other extreme for that matter).
A mature Republic is proof against War in the heart.
It is this gathering spirit dwelling in our culture that we are presently trying to awaken into here now today through all our Salutations and our conversations in this blog so that when time comes (and it will) and we are, God-willing, developed enough in our material prosperity as one Republic whole, my honorable compatriots, our present generations will also have had (as a gift from us) the spiritual maturity to seamlessly advance this Country of ours into its fourth and most fruitful age upon this earth.
(You have to excuse my language here and bear with me, I am expressing them in a form that is native to this blog alone. They shall be meaningful to you only if you have been following me in this conversation of ours.)
In a sense, I get President Aquino's speech about the wang-wang mentality. The transformation he is spearheading is a necessary thrust in the right direction away from the night that has long engulfed our Land of the Morning.
We must let go of the wang-wang mentality that says, "I will lord it over others." Jesus Christ the Lord Himself warned us about this mentality.
This is nothing more than the "them" and "us" mentality that flies in the face of our just equality as human beings and peers to each other before God and the law.
It is the elitist mentality of the so-called servant who does not actually will to respond to the Divine calling to serve the nation in the Republic but rather, seeks through selfish ambitions to possess the fruits of the virtue of others instead.
- selah -
My brothers and sisters of the Promise, you know as well as I do that this long night can not last forever. We are here now and step by faithful step, we shall lead each other away from the tired old ways of the past.
We shall break ourselves free from the gravity of the last 2000 years by the sheer brightness of our remembrances together, each to the other, a keeper and friend, all to the All, one whole sky.
No longer shall mindless division, political discord and a dissolute spirit confound, weaken and trouble our belongings to each other as citizens to this nation God has commissioned for a Country the LORD has commanded to prosper and prevail over the darkness of an unknown earth - allied to the peace of all our kindred nations.
We shall break new ground in our ways of thinking and belonging as a people, and of building, sharing, and enjoying through our labors together, this land and its fruits.
And we shall defend this endowment - continually being won for us by our people and eternally granted to us by our God - against all takers, foreign and domestic.
Indeed, we shall as citizens to each other advance this Country and its posterity into the dawn that is promised by the LORD to all those nations who love and fear Him as God to one and All, once and for all.
(So let us out of fear, dispense with thousands of years of rigid, formal introduction, Beloved of God, for there is but one God and one LORD alone: As you love God, you know Him.)
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Salutation #43
(Service)
Any undertaking of Country
- across its generations in time -
easily span the width and breadth
of human lives in their millions.
God is severe enough with sins against individuals
but to willfully sin against Country,
it is beyond my understanding what will happen to those souls
who knowingly and maliciously deprive an entire nation
and their generations their own God-given house,
which is their shelter and sanctuary against War in this world.
Indeed,
countless human lives have from different times and places
been taken from us before their time
only because they lack the shelter of Country.
Remember them today,
bring their hopes for a better world with thee...
and with forbearance, serve.
Starshine,
there are as many holy innocents in heaven
- pleading constantly to the LORD -
for an end to War and the breaking of this midnight world
as there are grains of sand on all the beaches of the earth.
So remember the LORD today,
trust in the wisdom of God even in thy midst
- do not despair in the midst of all this darkness -
for the LORD allows rain to fall on the good and the evil alike
so be thou good - Beloved of God - shine for Him
and with forbearance, serve.
- selah -
Do not be scandalized by the tares in the wheat!
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Some Suggestions:
I agree with Senator Marcos - employing the poor in productive labor gives them a much better fighting chance to liberate themselves from the clutches of poverty.
Distribute the PPP projects by region.
Triage the entire Country by region, province, then city - determine civil defense readiness and necessary requirements per LGU. Establish a national standard of readiness and a centralized, unified incident command process.
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Just a Thought:
Is it so hard to take care of a nation? Heck, it practically takes care of itself.
A nation is like a seed; a labor endowed by God with the power to fulfill its own destiny.
It already has in itself everything it needs to grow and to succeed.
Now, the work of government is to just help it along its own way and - most importantly - avoid suffocating the life of the people.
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Let us continue to pray for the Kingdom of Norway and her people, for peace in our nation, the Middle East and in Asia.
Let us also pray for CGMA who is presently in hospital - despite everything that is happening - let us remember to her credit as well as ours that she did our nation a measure of good as well.
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Lastly, let me and my Miyang share this with you - Utak Wang-wang
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.
Service is a call (not an ambition)
One Nation
Breaking the Siege