this is not to discourge you from taking my course. there is a difference in you and i. and if it happens that i feel this way.. it doesnt mean you will too. its just that DS is not an easy course as other people look at it..
during our orientation seminar (ORSEM), the upperclassmen shared that people may end up asking you what Development Studies is all about and what would we do after, and when they do, you may never have an answer that will satisfy their curiousy. i believe this is mainly because eveybody is searching for the very thing we are studying. HOW DO YOU BRING ABOUT DEVELOPMENT IN A COUNTRY LIKE THE PHILIPPINES?
they also shared that amidst what people say... DS is not an easy course. it maybe an easy course to get in ateneo. it may have less math and computations. it may be interdisciplinary and people can pass your first 3 years without exerting much effort like the others in ME, Management or Economics but it doesnt mean its easy.
do you think learning about the Philippine's problem everyday is easy? do you think envisioning yourself to create a substantial difference in the country is easy? knowing when you enter public office, an NGO or civil society that it would just passion and determination to make it through?
if your answer yes, you havent lived long enough to see that development takes more than passion and creativity. it is also strategic planning. here, you can never divide economics without playing a little politics and politics is never found outside the realm of society. on top of everything, in DS you learn about strategy to eradicate poverty, and really there are ways.. but how then to convince the people that before that happens, before we can actually help you.. we all will experience a little more pain. that without sound economic planning the state wont move and that to have that sound economic planning the state has to be stronger.. im losing my focus
all i know is that in DS you know lots pf problems and no clear cut solution. you know that the solution you have has limitations. can you bear the consquences? those rallying, can you bear the consequences of following a Marxist perspective? those in the administration can you bear the consequences of growth with high inequality?
to this day i still think Pres Cory Aquino's refusal to accept the World Bank's amnesty is the biggest political mistake a Pres can ever make.. of course this is in line with the thinking that you cant change the fact that Pres Marcos swindled money away... here is the point where i will contradict my statement. would amnesty benefits us at all? cause at one point it may mean that we owe the world bank ... this called the phenomenon of "utang na loob". the westerners may not practice it but we do.. and having utang na loob with the World Bank also means colonialization. would we need to be submissive to their every plan or recommendation?
it isnt that easy to take a side.
hey, i realize that there is an ideology in the philippines. it may not be democrats and republicans. or socialist and democrats.. its left and right. we continue to be a product of colonilalization.
am i making sense?
maybe. im carrying a false burden that why im having a hard time envisioning development now. or maybe it is the very thing i want to be a part of that is why its hard. i wonder how the other DS graduates handle knowing a whole lot and at the same time knowing that it maybe not enough?
DS Majors need to unite. ha. DEV SOC.
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