INAUGURAL SPEECHES

Inaugural speeches are passionate speeches. They stir, rouse and rekindle many feelings and emotions, most especially those of hope. Such speeches are cries for positive change, social justice and economic progress. But speeches are speeches. The mouth can only do so much.

Inaugural speeches are declarations of intent. They are avowals to do this and to do that. They are pronouncements of the beginning of this and the end of that. Speeches can only do so much.

Inaugural speeches are mostly promises. Once words are said, they are heard, understood and hopefully remembered by those to whom the speeches are delivered. And promises should be held sacred.

The new president of the Republic of the Philippines is Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III. He delivered his inaugural speech on June 30, 2010. What he said should be taken seriously. The nation must pray for him, work with him and hope with him.

After the inauguration and the celebration comes the real work. Work is sweat, tears and blood, even. Speeches are soundbytes or mere spit, even.

LADY GAGA

Mama Monster Madonna is tired and passe. So, music world's new generation of idolaters need a clone in the shocking shape of Fame Monster Lady Gaga. She's bloodier, wardrobe-crazier, ungodlier than the Queen of Pop. This makes her tastier to the world.

Just like Madonna, Lady Gaga is but an image adored and worshiped by millions who just love infectious beats, rhythms, hooks, shocks and imagery. As long as it sounds, looks and feels shockingly good, it is good. All in the name of entertainment.

Lady Gaga's fandom has become inevitably spectacular. This is what the world wants-- Sex. Pleasure. Lust. To those who cannot have enough of Gaga, be warned. She may now be in the limelight. But she's not in the Light. Definitely not.

Education in the Philippines

They're planning to add two more years to the ten years of education before a student can proceed to college. They believe a 12-year basic education will meet global standards of education. Why only now? I'm not saying it's too late but even if they add twelve or twenty more years to basic education, this is no guarantee that our students will achieve academic excellence.

There is no excellence if teachers are not excellent, well-paid and inspired. A mediocre teacher teaching in a rotting school with flawed textbooks will only produce incompetents. The government now has to know which education problems to fiercely deal with first. I am sure corruption has been killing our already poor educational system.

While the government is trying to fix problems I say to students: LEARN AND GET EDUCATED OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM.... Are parents and TV doing their part as educators? I don't think so.

I ONCE SAW YOU (An Original Poem)

I once saw you talk to a poor little girl.
I saw you give her something
that made her smile.
You played with her
and laughed so hard with her
until she let go of her balloon
that floated toward the sky.

I once saw you sit next to a lonely man
on a bench one cloudy afternoon.
I saw you hold his hand
and this made him bow his head
and wipe his eye.

I once saw you walk past my window.
You looked sad.
I knew not what was hurting you.
Where was the little girl?
Where was the lonely man?
Who was there now for you?

I will never be certain.
I let you walk and walk
away
until I drew the window curtain.

BE BORN AGAIN

In John 3:3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, a Pharisee, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Jesus, the Son of God, is not a liar. He Himself said this in the Scripture. But why do most people don't get this straight? Since most people don't really get it, they don't get born again as a result. They stay where they are, facing the peril of NOT seeing and NOT being in heaven.

Born again means rebirth. It's a spiritual transformation. It is not group membership nor church transfer. To be born again is to have the mind, heart and life changed by God through genuine faith in His Son Jesus, who is God. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the believer's heart. The Spirit, who is also God, will counsel, comfort and convict the born-again of sin.

When one becomes born again, he is saved, forgiven, justified and redeemed. To this new creation in Christ titles and denominations don't matter anymore.

LOVE: Two Haikus

LOVE: Two Haikus

I
They say 'I love you'
But unalloyed with reason.
One day they'll shed tears.

II
Passion, appetite.
Oh, what is love without both?
It will be friendship.

SEX EDUCATION

I am not totally against the Department of Education's latest move to include sex education in the basic education curriculum for public elementary and high school students. My questions are: Are the educators truly equipped and qualified to educate the young on sex? Are these educators wise enough to know which questions to answer and to NOT answer? How will the DepEd gauge the success of this "experiment"?

Now, we keep claiming the Philippines is a Christian nation. But it is a shame that there is no push at all for the reading and application of the Bible. "What does God say about sex? About sexuality?" The Word of God has answers to them. Excluding God from this "experiment" would further saturate the children with "sex" in this already sexually saturated world of ours.

We always forget that God is far above our sciences, our education, our personal moralities. He has the best instructions for us. I strongly assert, "Let God and His Word take over now!"

LET THEM SMOKE!

Let smokers smoke. It's enough that they have been consistently warned of the health risks and dangers they face for puffing smoke habitually. They know that cigarettes have no real health benefits. They know that they can insist that it's their lungs they are damaging and not other people's. They know they have the stubborn right to be and to stay stubborn.

And what do I think of that You Tube video of a 2-year old boy from Indonesia who puffs like a little dragon? Well, it did not shock me. The boy was just unfortunate to have the most irresponsible father. People can start condemning the parents of the kid. People can start calling for stricter policies and regulations on cigartte smoking. But not all people care about personal health. In this world, populated by 6.8 billion people, there will always be the good, the bad and the dead.