ON CREATING HEALTHY SOCIETIES

Are we creating child - friendly societies or are we building societies that push children to grown-up roles right away, instad of enjoying their childhood? Let me comment on the PAGCOR donations of chairs and desks to schools. The idea of the agency looks benevolent, but it has an insidious message: it is all right to gamble. The fact that Pagcor comes out as the donor, that its act of donating is reported on radio and tv, gives that tacit approval for everyone to engage in gambling. Is that not a contradiction with the aims of education - that of molding the minds to contain moral values? And what is that prime moral value we uphold? That life is not a matter of chance but of choices. I hope that the Education Secretary will examine this issue very well and stop all kinds of labeling of PAGCOR donations to education as its donation. Whatever extra money PAGCOR has should be passed on to the Department of Budget and Management which should dispose of the money to the other sections of the government. PAGCOR has no business making donations, especially to educational insitutions. This is corruption of the young, and a blatant one at that.

Secondly, the latest news is that France has banned children beauty contests. I agree with that wholeheartedly. Girl children should be allowed to enjoy their childhood and not fill their minds with questions like "Mama, am I beautiful?" or "Papa will I be beautiful when I grow up?" Instead, girls should be made to focus their minds on how best to tap their skills in music, literature and all other endeavors that increase knowledge and raise the consciusness.

Thirdly, I saw little girls with heels as tall as 1 and 1/2 inches and the parent did not see anything wrong with it. I think that there are many businesses that should go out of business literally, especially those that manufacture such shoes and sandals for children. The Department of Trade and Industry should shut them down because they are not critical of the effects of their products on children. Wearing high heels will make girl children aspire to be adults again, instead of acting as children. I think that psychologists will agree with me that every human being must pass through several stages before entering adulthood. Those that skip phases, like the childhood stage, meaning they are forced to assume grown-up roles right away, are bound to suffer from psychological hang-ups. I can surmise now that the pedophiles like children because they missed that particular stage in their lives.

Fourthly, I like that little girl in a lunchtime TV program but I don't like the way she is costumed. She is made to wear short shorts showing her thighs. When she talks like an adult wearing that, then the sexiness of her attire is a subtle come-on toe the male viewers. (Have you heard of the 7year old who was raped by a drunk construction worker and eventually killed? The report is incomplete, but I would like to know what she was wearing at the time, how she dressed up in the past days as she was seen by the worker/s, and whethere there were other women there as well and their attires too.) I think there is over-permissiveness on sexy attires. I remember one conversation I had with a State University dean. I asked her if I could post a signboard which read Hita-pansilid tahanan, hindi pampaaralan." She replied that the University exercises academic freedom. If I want to post this in the college, then I should ask the office of the chancellor to approve it. With regard to the substance of the quote, she said that the Uiversity practices freedom of expression.

When I replied that that is over-permissiveness, and that UP has already gone down in ranking worldwide, she continued to hold on to her viewpoint. Then she asked why I had to approach her regarding this matter and I said, I thought you would not be so bureaucratic, being the dean of the college. She got mad and stormed out, saying that she would not allow herself to be talked to in that manner. And I countered, "But that is academic freedom." She left the room.

So I told the assistant "She has selective application of academic freedom." I do think that for us to create healthy societies, we must get out of the box of authorities which usually breeds authoritarian thinking. We must be original thinkers and not copycats. The young will be able to grow up in a healthy manner if the adults will treat them with respect, respect for their age level, for their dignity as young people, and help them shape healthy and ethical aspirations in life. Surely beauty contests for children hardly creates healthy aims at all.Instead art and music contests would always be the alternatives.