Coffee Thursdays
Giving in time of global depression
"Lives of great men all remind us; we must make our lives sublime. Departing soon leave behind us, footprints in the sands of time." -- H. Longfellow, the Psalm of Life
In the current state of global economic crisis, I asked myself: How hard it is to give? When every man is bounded with uncertainty and panic in the financial test in progress, each grain of means is guarded and secured to survive the rough times ahead. Stocks and market investments witness the downturn history, oil and food continue to inflate prices and worst, bankruptcy, high credits and unemployment lead to viable global recession. What is left to give others when each individual has to preserve himself first?
We are confronted everyday with news and reports of the large-scale problem and the financial turbulence impact which are directly affecting the world: slowly, disturbing and continuous. It started in the United States' mortgage and credit crunch, after which European countries like Iceland, falls in the economic depression. Furthermore, our Asian neighbors are not spared as South Korea is in threatening currency crisis, Singapore's economy saw the major drop in years and Japan experienced the biggest export decline as to date. The Philippines, even not a major player in the market is affected by foreign trade and unstable monetary growth and consumption. The domino effect is spreading and before we know it, the situation pushes us and underway.
I will not talk in an economist's analysis, but I am questioning the implications of the economic damage to a common "Juan" and his role of giving at these very times. Mother Theresa once said: If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one at your reach. Purely not to be taken literally, but helping a person who is close in our midst. Before we can get overly concerned with other nations, our own country and people, long before, are already in crisis of political, financial and moral nature, poverty and unemployment is unbridled. But I think this never seemed to bother us because we always look outward and not within, we are living in our own little bubble of security and nonchalantly care. Filipino views include the "crab mentality", "ningas cogon" and fatalistic "bahala na" attitude which is overcoming the once proud "bayani-han "culture. If we continue to become like this, we are only impelling this country in downturn. More than any time, let us take action and change now before global economies and nations collapse; we must respond with a noble thought and action that Filipinos will unite and our country, the Philippines, will not breakdown in occasion of global decline.
The second concern is how to give in this present world crisis, when our resources are just barely to cope and survive with our personal needs? This is no excuse to abandon generosity. Moreover, giving is not limited to money and wealth; the value of man resides in sharing his heart and himself to others that defines we truly give. Also, we get the best out of others when we give the best of ourselves. I deem the situation we have now is more than just monetary and economic setback, it is a great challenge to our moral values with respect to our individual and collective society. Faced with this global imbalances and difficult fiscal growth is neither a one man's battle nor a single sector but it reflects the strength of the people and the nation in time of adversity.
World leaders, economists and financial institutions are in constant pursuit on how to counteract this global crisis, which they referred as alarming and an emergency economic period since the Great Depression in the 1930s. As we search for answers, I think the key to the problem lies inside of us; on how we interpret this existing predicament of life which presents us the trials and at the same time offers the opportunity "to give" something back by becoming more.
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