Did you know that alchemists used to believe that they could turn lead into gold? How about the time when Queen Elizabeth I used to wear thick layers of Venetian Ceruse--- a lead and vinegar-based cosmetic that would eventually kill her? How about the unfortunate tales of King Henry VIII's six wives, Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Kateryn Parr? Do you know Adolf Hitler loved to paint and wanted to become an artist? How about the time when Emilio Aguinaldo ordered to arrest and tried Andres Bonifacio for treason and sedition? Have you heard about the time when many of our women were abused and taken forcibly out of their homes, and away from their families and loved ones by the Japanese military when they arrived here in the Philippines in 1942? How about the atrocities of the Marcos regime back in the 1970's? How about the aborted impeachment trial of Joseph Estrada that led him to resign? I'm sure you're aware of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's CHACHA issue, right? Just to be clear, no, it's not a dance number. How about the extra-judicial killings under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte? I know you know about the uncontrolled inflation rate, rising housing prices, illiteracy, poverty, injustice, selective universal healthcare beneficiaries, decreasing quality of education, climate change, and many more societal issues that have sprouted since time immemorial.
Each era has its issues and societal challenges. Rumors were laughable and might have gained some scoffs and snickers from here and there. Whilst wealth and grandeur cover the royal courtrooms, feces, and other secretions pile up the streets. Did we really change?
We have proved that Earth isn't flat and made it to the moon. We found out what a real black hole could look like, and discovered a planet that might have had life. We've experimented with atoms and living cells, and if the government allows it, I think the cure for cancer would just be around the corner. Despite all of these advancements, resources are still scarce, quality education is still only for the privileged few, justice is still served for those who can afford it, and the system still forces you to be poor, or a nine-to-five worker, whichever you prefer.
Knowledge gives us the power to be aware. Awareness allows us to be either of two things, be ready and be wary. If people are wary, we act, to get rid of the wary. If people are not aware, they are not wary. Ignorance is indeed, a bliss. If you'd ask me, I'd rather be ignorant than bear the knowledge of knowing that this world is hopeless.
The world we know right now is not entirely different from the world that Cleopatra and Julius Caesar walked on. They had their own wary and maybe at some point in their lives they also believed that the world would end at any moment. These issues we were facing were the integration of the issues they faced before, yet nothing has changed, it only worsens.
The world that is contemporary to our current existence is a technological one. Technological advancements forced the world to be connected, and it is an undeniable consequence of progress. Communication was easier so were information gathering, global trade, logistics, politics, and social activism. These advancements allow religion to grow, culture to be exchanged, and individual identity to flourish. Globalization produces good effects for everyone, I guess, aside from the climate, of course. Globalization, even though a double-edged sword, is great for consumers in a way that it lowers the cost of manufacturing, allowing companies to sell goods at a lower price. The Philippines is one of the benefactors of globalization, the US, Canada, China, India, and other countries outsource their companies here, due to low labor costs, and other factors that if revealed might hurt the government. Not only that, we are also the top producer of nurses and domestic helpers abroad. If this continues, we could also be the top producer of engineers, architects, doctors, and teachers soon!
I wish you could feel my sarcasm with that. Globalization gave third-world countries a standard to follow, in the sense that it allows us to copy whatever these countries were doing to be considered first world. Is it good? I hope so. It will be good as long as these nations would not forget the individuality and the freedom, they fought so hard to regain.
As time went by, this era would soon be part of history books and the highlights of our existence--- wars, diseases, poverty, that Tiktok dance you tried so hard to memorize, your bills, your marriage certificate, would soon be part of a distant past, with little to no reference, completely irrelevant and forgotten. We are only contemporary to ourselves, in the same notion, we can also say that we only matter to ourselves. So do the things you want to do, create the things you want to create, drink that coffee, love who you want to love, aspire, inspire, and copulate. All things will be lost in time, the universe doesn't care. We are just passing through.
