Revolt, But How?

The idea of revolution is very promising, very sincere in its intention to change radically, yet it appears vague to me. Before, I used to attend educational discussions and I had observed that most, if not all, educational discussions ended up with a proposal to revolt. Step-by-step plans were made, division of labor had been assigned to participants. Everyone acknowledged the fact that revolting is a long process and may be never-ending as long as there are pressing issues that need immediate action.

I am not against revolution nor its intentions of having one. In fact, I consider it an alternative too, to change the very corrupt system of society. But fear and anxiety swallowed my ideal part of me. Probably, because I am not yet too ripe, as me being an activist – open minded, and critical. I hope I can learn more info about this matter.

My Plead

I remember this. No one from them achieved what they have been fighting for. After years of war, all the efforts of combating troops remained futile. It was too late for them to realize that what they have been doing only gave people nothing but misery and despair. Blood scattered all over the place. The roars of people echoed from end to end. Despite all of these, fighting troops seemed not to care.

But what has been the cause of this battle? It is because basic rights are neglected, basic needs have not been met. There is an inequality in the distribution of the resources. The issue here is politics. For them, force is the only way to meet these lapses. This is for the rebels' side. The government on the other hand, has its share of idiocy. It approaches this kind of problem by using guns and deadly weapons without considering several innocent people around that might get hurt.

The worst scenario is this: the innocent lives are the victims here. Those poor people who have no idea what's happening, they are those who are affected most. And they don't know what's happening because they are rather more particular in their daily struggle for survival.

I plead. stop it now so that we may all live in peace.

Please Stop

I can barely forget it. I heard distant gunshots coming from a military camp just five kilometres away. All of us at home were so scared and we had no one else to turn to but God. Our village was so lucky because the rebels had not reached us but our neighbouring municipalities weren’t.

My heart aches every time I remember the days when the people suffered so much of scarcity and property destruction brought about by the conflict between the military and armed rebels. Almost all of the products of their hard work weren’t spared and the worst thing was, even the lives of their loved ones were taken. I can still imagine clearly in my mind the scene of people screaming while running for the lives, mothers trying hard to protect their children and fathers risking their lives for the safety of their families. They were all trapped in between flying bullets and exploding grenades. Those people had nothing to do with the conflict but they were the ones going through the cruel consequences.

Please stop. Stop.

City of God vs City of Man

St. Augustine's book entitled the City of God presents the history of mankind as being a conflict between the City of God and the City of Man – a conflict that is destined to end in victory of the former. The City of God is what we know now as heaven on earth, a place where we can heartily dedicate ourselves to the widespread of the Christian doctrines. To Augustine, the City of God is the Christian church. The City of Man is composed of those people who are strayed from the City of God.

In deeper analysis with his book, my understanding of St. Augustine's concept of peace is that there is no peace without justice. But he also says that there is no justice without Christ.

Did he therefore imply that one cannot be at peace without knowing Christ? What about those who have other belief systems? What about those who never really know anything about the concept of religion and spirituality? Was Augustine saying that they can never be at peace until they put Christ in their lives?

Equality For All

For Aristotle, polis is the association of households and clans in a good life. He also said that the polis itself is prior to everything else. Aristotle compared this with the whole being necessity prior to the part, so the state is by nature clearly prior to the family and to the individual. But in order to have a good polis, you must consider your family too. And it is by human nature that we consider our families first before anything else. How do we resolve these opposing statements?

Justice, for him, is the bond of men in states. The administration of justice, which is the determination of what is just, is the principle of order in political society. But he also said, “justice means equality but only for those who are equal and not for all.” Who are then those who belong to his “equal” classification? Isn't it that everyone should deserve equality?