Column name: In Search for truth
Columnist:LJ Zaphan Lamboloto
With the rise of global issues like terrorism, the economic downturn, and the evolving state of our society in terms of culture and norms, it is irresponsible to not know about the drastic changes that occur right in front of our very eyes.
To know the news is for everybody, but to actually act on it is limited to the ones who desire to break the chains of our recurring history.
In contrast, the internet has hastened the accessibility to information for almost every human being on planet. The most recent news on the other side of the globe can be accessed with the click of a button.
But the convenience this conveys does not instinctively imply our responsiveness to these issues.
In other words, we might actually know what is happening around us, but we do not think about any solution that could be of aid to our society’s emerging problems. Worse yet, we do not think about anything at all but ourselves and our relationship goals or simply how people think about us in general.
Sometimes, we are just too preoccupied with our personal affairs to the point where we forget why we exist in a community, in a city, in a country, and in a world.
Jeremy Bethke, a popular writer, motivator, and a spoken-word YouTube sensation said:“We refuse to turn off our computers, turn off our phone, log off Facebook, and just sit in silence, because in those moments we might actually have to face up to who we really are.”
Knowing something is like having access to a bunch of keys. But, it is useless until the right key unlocks the door it was designed for. Similarly, knowledge is useless until it is used and applied; otherwise, it’s just like a bunch of dangling keys — noisy and futile. But, to ignore the reality that our world is currently facing is the worst. It is like locking the door and throwing off the key to a place where the notion of recovering it is nearly impossible. We have to be reminded that to be ignorant to the nature of reality is to risk being blind-sided by it.
We tend to escape from reality and live inside our own versions of it. We cover our eyes from seeing the painful slashes that it might inflict. But at the bottom of it all, we unconsciously deceive ourselves by believing that we can escape from it by ignoring the emerging questions and problems that we ought to face head-on. We have relied on our headsets to cover our ears from hearing the voices that might wake us up into the reality that we are actually meant to change the course of history.
But why escape? Why spend time so much time on computer games whereas the world itself could be a real time battle ground of ideas and principles? Why exhaust your energy on things that don’t matter to your own growth as a person? Why ignore the rising issues that surround you? Why look at the past and judge ourselves of what we can and can’t do? Why can’t we just break free of our own bubbles and be aware of the reality that we ought to face collectively?
Perhaps, it is time to assess ourselves of what we can contribute to the world that has long been waiting for our hands serve. Maybe it is time to speak up and write about the things that matter the most, or simply be more interested on the issues that affect our collective consciousness.
It is vital to remember that the ignorance of reality is to risk being blindsided by the changes that occur beneath the superficial phase of stability. History doesn’t repeat itself, but the ignorance of it will always make us repeat it.~
