Green Light
Manila Standard Today
December 30, 2013
Super typhoon Yolanda unleashed her awesome power of destruction. As she physically demonstrated a worldshift in climate change, her devastation metaphysically triggers a realization of a leadershift in gender politics. The 21st century is shifting from a male-dominated governance to a feminine caring and nurturing governance. In alignment with Caroll Gilligan’s ethics of care, Roman Krznaric’s outrospection and Matthew Taylor’s 21st century enlightenment call for global empathy. Yolanda forced world governance to demonstrate global empathy through humanitarian care. And global personalities, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, continue to respond for sustainable recovery and reconstruction.
Women Upfront
December 10: Human Rights Day. On the 20th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action, Ban Ki-moo reminded member-states “to fulfill [their] collective responsibility to promote and protect the rights and dignity of all people everywhere.” The UN General Assembly proclaimed the first Human Rights Day 1950, a reminder for all that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.
At the Philippine Women’s University, human right was celebrated with a forum jointly organized by Amb. Rosario Manalo, Dean of Helen Z. Benitez School for International Relations and Diplomacy and Dr. Nenita Cura, Dean of Philippine School of Social Work. Amb. Anwarul K. Chowdhury, President of the UN Security Council, spoke on Human Rights and the Culture of Peace.
Among others, Amb. Chowdury reiterated the call to action addressed for UN world leaders in New York on September 25, 2013, to establish “ the rights of women and the equality of their participation at all decision-making levels” as cited in UN Security Council resolution 1325 in 2000. In real terms, it means: 1. Appointment of a Woman as the next United Nations Secretary-General; 2. Nomination of Women as future presidents of the General Assembly by the regional groups; 3. Election of more Women as heads of various UN governing bodies; and 4. Appointment by member-states of more Women as administrators in the United Nations in New York and Geneva.
In that forum, PWU President Francisco Benitez proclaimed that the Philippine Women’s University was the first in Asia to establish a school founded by Asian women dedicated to the education of women in Asia.
Today, the Women 20/20 movement in the Philippines encourages business to allocate 20 percent of board membership to women because their presence, based on experience, resulted to profitable operations. The movement is affiliated to WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) whose mission is to continue to expand the WCD community through leadership, diversity, education, and best practices in corporate governance.
Pax Romana
December 25: Birthday of Jesus. This season. Santa Claus and Jesus become dominant figures. Francis Schaeffer sees Santa Claus as the upper story of Christmas; he is “meant to teach lessons about giving” and Jesus is the lower story meant to reveal “true truth based on hard facts.”
Although the exact date of the birth of Jesus cannot be established, what is established is that He was born during the era of Pax Romana [Roman peace], a time when the Roman world experienced peace during the reign of Caesar Agustus.
According to Kenneth Scott Latourette, His birth in the first century was most significant because “the world was uniquely prepared” for His coming and the time was ripe for the birth of Christianity. By 312 A.D. one out of ten people in the Roman world called themselves Christians.
The reign of Caesar Augustus inaugurated the pax romana of two centuries of economic and cultural growth marked by the peaceful governance within the empire. This era of peace allowed freedom of movement and flow of new ideas. Ultimately, the pax romana facilitated the rapid spread of Christian ideals in the Roman Empire. Truly, “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son.” (Galatians 4:4). More than ever, we await global peace.
Country First
December 30: Rizal Day. My daughter once asked me, “Who is JP Rizal?” as we passed a street in Makati. Years later, I also asked my host Dr. Munir at Sulawesi Island, “Why is it that Rizal is a popular name in Indonesia?” My daughter was surprised to know JP is Jose Rizal and I was surprised to know that Rizal is highly revered as an Asian hero.
This year, the 150th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio re-opens a debate on who is truly a national hero. Certainly, the greatness of Rizal reverberates not only in Southeast Asia but throughout the European countries where he touched based. In modern times, leadership is viewed as influence and indeed Rizal had greater influence through his writings, more than the short-lived action of Bonifacio that sparked the revolution.
My childhood recollection of him was his full-body statue situated at the entrance of Bacolod East Elementary School when I was in Grade 1. And there is a Hiligaynon rhyme that goes: Si Rizal nagtongtong sa bato; ulanan, initan, taga-i ako cinco. [Rizal standing on a stone, rain or shine; give me five centavos]. Five centavos in the 50s was enough to buy merienda or even lunch. Now, I think he was supposed to inspire us to learn and earn our keep. Somewhere, the true message of that rhyme was lost in translation, like the rest of message from his two once-upon-a-time forbidden books.
Rizal’s message is fading away because the national values he represents are no longer embedded in our DNA. I did learn a lot from our Spanish and American educators; thus, I am globally attuned because of my Western heritage. But I am still recovering from a historical interruption of 400 Spanish and 50 American years. Raised in a Catholic institution from grade school to my doctorate, I was trained to focus on God first and country next – saints before heroes.
Global travel helped my awakening. St. Joseph school in Singapore, run by the De La Salle Brothers, promotes: Love of country and love of God. At De La Salle University, Manila it is service to God and country. And so I ask: Has the sterling progress of Singapore been shaped by its earthy priority over heavenly reward? Has Philippine religiosity been a deterrent to our progress as a nation?
World Day of Peace
January 1, 2014: New Year. Pope Francis is at the forefront of leadershift. He was named Time’s 2013 Person of the Year for “shifting the message of Catholic Church” and changing “the perception of his organization in an extraordinary way in a short time.”
Addressed to corporate leaders, the UN member states, and NGOs, his World Day of Peace message this New Year calls for more sharing of wealth among people and nations to narrow the gap between the rich and poor. He said, “The grave financial and economic crises of the present time … have pushed man to seek satisfaction, happiness and security in consumption and earnings out of all proportion to the principles of a sound economy.”
Feminine Leadership
In When Women Were Drummers, a book shared to me by drumming circle practitioner Francis Gaspar, Layne Redmond speaks of women who used the drum to express beauty, love and harmony. Sadly, men used the drum to march soldiers going to war to attain peace. In the beginning, humanity experienced pristine care and nurture from earth goddesses and priestesses.
The New Year brings humanity closer to a 21st century leadershift. Anthropologically and historically, life began with maternal leadership. And that leadership was guided by the spirit of feminine beauty and ethics of practical care, over and above masculine preoccupation with philosophical truth and goodness, and exercise of power and dominance through conquest.
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