I was never really mindful of what was on TV, because for the longest time I lived without it. Even when I got myself a set, I still managed to only watch shows on DVD. I had no antenna, and I did not have the patience to deal with it. The concept of local shows, or even those in cable, are a bit foreign to me. Talk to me about shows I've patronized in my childhood and we will have a conversation. Current ones, at least the ones shown in the last six years, I don't really know. So, finding out that a child was abused on national TV was surprising for me. People have questioned if this was really an example of child abuse. Well, it is. That is a fact, and nothing can change that. No amount of suing people in a Facebook page or asking how much you have given to the poor will change that. A child was abused. What bothers me most is the fact that an entire audience just sat there and watched. His parents even watched. They encouraged him to do it. For ten thousand pesos. How poor of a society are we? And I'm not even talking about poorness in relation to economy. For a country so deeply immersed in religion, we have a very twisted sense of morality.
I feel sad about that. Sad and angry. Sad, because we have grown way past apathetic. I'm including myself here. I have gone to a point where nothing seems to surprise me. Nothing, until this. Angry, because I cannot believe we are willing to put up with it. People have asked, what have I done to help my country? I have never donated a million pesos to charity. I do not have it. And since I'm not in the habit of lying, I can tell you that even if I have a million pesos, I will not donate it to charity. If I earn that monthly, though, I will. Twelve million in a year? What the hell do I do with that?
I said earlier that I never really cared what's on TV. Until I heard about the infamous TV show not even worth mentioning and that incident. Some of the questions that I had in my head then were; Is this the kind of entertainment I want my nephew to grow up to? Do I want him to grow up not even knowing his rights? Do I want him to believe that dancing like a gigolo at the age of six for ten thousand pesos is right? I don't think so. I want him to grow up knowing when to say "no". I want him to grow up knowing he can fight for what he believes in. And by God, he will learn to tell people off if he's being harassed. Maybe, my perspective started to shift when my nephew was born. I do not have to be a mother to know the difference between right and wrong. The world is messed up as it is, I know that well enough. I got messed up by the world. I was the wimpy kid. Sure, tough luck made me strong. But do I really want him to get messed up the same way?
Thinking about it, I guess, this is one of those conversations I would definitely have with the Lord in the afterlife. This is one of those things I Think God Can Explain (Splender). Well, He can try. For the time being, I want to express vigilance. Einstein said that the world is a dangerous place to live in; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who do not do anything about it.
