America and the Philippines
As we watch with bated breath the results of the US presidential elections, we are all wondering why the fight is this close. Since we were all surrounded by people and social influencers that share the same beliefs, we thought that it's going to be a Democrat landslide. One of the things I realized is that there are a lot of people who think differently than me. I was really inside a bubble to think that freedom for all and climate change are universal truths to fight for.
What do I feel about this? I know that we should be respecting the beliefs of other people but maybe, can we start a conversation on why they think that way? If not to better understand our fellow human beings. One of the social influencers that I follow on Instagram opens up a conversation with followers who support Trump. She was willing to hear and to guide them on why a lot of people were angry at people who voted for the current president. I think those people have the belief that America should be prioritized first and of course Americans. These people are disenfranchised who lost their jobs or are struggling. I told my friend that maybe they feel unjustly treated since even if their race were the majority, they were not seeing the same success as the other people of color around them thus they need the balance they want to be restored to favor them.
This goes true for what is currently happening in the Philippines. Those who felt they were not treated well by the elite and who were marginalized because of their lack of education wanted someone to put down the rich and elite (Lopezes on ABS CBN). It's not that they support Duterte I think but more of that they wanted to get even to the oligarchs who they thought were living a very comfortable lifestyle while they are the ones suffering.
As my friend said, the problem will not be fixed easily. It took years of complacency in how we were educated. Short attention spans and not getting a good education for the masses has taken its toll. It was somewhat a failure on those who were in power before that they underestimated the patience of their enemies. The time is ripe for misinformation and mob rule
But I still have hope. At least the conversation has started and a lot of people are being engaged. We are not as complacent and indifferent as before so there's still this hope that if we mobilize and start to engage people that do not think like us, maybe there's still hope that things can get better.
But then again, maybe I am wrong and I am the one who needs to change my point of view. That's why conversation is important and it should start now.
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