Friday, April 27, 2007
Marxism in the Morning
This morning, we had an interesting discussion on Marxism. I am already quite familiar with Marxism (but contrary to what my professor said, I'm not an expert), thanks to DS101. The PolSci version on the discussion is similar with the DS101 version. Nonetheless, the discussion is more interesting because of the views of my classmates. During DS101, nobody had objections to what Marx was saying. But this time, in PolSci, management students were "scandalized" by Marx's view of capitalism as exploitative.
A classmate of mine went on to say that there is nothing bad about capitalism. Upon hearing this, I can't help but cringe inside of me. Right then and there, I wanted to stand up and shout "Blasphemy! Blasphemy!", of course I didn't not because of the wrong choice of word but because it was improper and rude. How can capitalism be not evil if it creates condition of deception, if it extracts surplus value from the poor laborers and appropriate it to the already rich capitalists, if it's central tennet is to have more and more and more? How can people be blind to this reality?
A classmate of mine said that capitalism is not wrong. One should just play by the rules of the game so that one can go up in life. Again, "Blasphemy! Blasphemy!". It is precisely this kind of mindset that we should combat. False consciousness. We replicate the evils of capitalism by saying that there's nothing wrong with it. Palibhasa mayaman ka. Palibhasa 'di ka nagtatrabaho para mabuhay. Palibhasa nasa tuktok ka ng tatsulok.
No, I am not a leftist. But I do believe in the validity of Marx's analysis. Of course, I also find his prescription of a bloody revolution rather shaky. I am not sure whether socialism is possible and whether my values and principles would accept socialism. But I am sure that I am not accepting this status quo.
@ 
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Mere Studying
For the past meetings, our PolSci 100 class has been discussing the origins of politics. We contrasted the Greek's politics with modern day governmentality. The former's aim is grandezza (grandeur) while the latter is concerned with survival, mere living. As we were discussing I can't help but deem Greek politics as outdated and irrelevant. How can we think of grandeur when 40% of the population live on less than 100 pesos a day? I'd rather go for mere living than grandeur.
That was my immediate reaction. But as the sessions progressed, my outlook shifts into an envy of Greek civilization. I envy them because they are able to meet the needs of the people, thus they can engage in "true politics" - freedom to engage on discourse in reality. Unfortunately, we can't even begin such a discourse since what we have on our minds are not images of grandezza or of how to forward our race. Rather, our minds are riddled by the question of poverty and survival.
Today we had a surprise quiz in Hi165. I was only able to read half of the assigned text since I focused on grappling the Hobbesian Leviathan last night. Such a mishap would be just a footnote if it weren't for the surprise quiz, or in Dr. T's terminology - "bulagaang pagsusulit" (Eat Bulaga!). For sure the maximum score that I would get is 15/20. We were dismissed early and so I was left on my own volition to ponder on the inevitable "low" score that I would get. As I was treading the halls of Ateneo, in EDSA walk to be precise, I realized that the feeling of sadness over a "low" test score affirms the a change within me that accompanied my change of concentration (course). Back when I was a Physics major, I was happy to get a C or even a D in Dr. Cabral's, Dr. Chan's, or Dr. J's long exams. But there I was moping over a 15/20 quiz score. No longer was I preoccupied with mere survival in terms of grades, I was already aiming for grandezza. I was no longer merely studying late at night hoping that when I take the test the following day, heaven would wink and angels would come to my aid, to give me a C. I was aiming for glory. I was aiming for excellence. I was aiming for the once "overrated", now venerated A.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Summer Classes
I'm currently taking Polsci 100 and Hi 165. The teachers I picked for both subjects assign long readings everyday. Thus, it's not going to be an easy summer. Well, personally, I think easy classes is not the point of college. I'm not alone with this sentiment. Patrick Echevarria (Physics-CE, Valedictorian ADMU 2005) once told me that his biggest regret in college is that he didn't had the guts to take classes from difficult teachers such as Fr. Dacanay, etc. Getting hard teachers is not a sign of a bloated ego. But to some, it is a death wish. But I think to a person who strives to be the best he can be and wants to get his 50,000-pesos worth of Jesuit education, taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.
Their lack of spirituality is not enough. They have to condemn themselves to hell. Blasphemy Challenge.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Pleasant Surpirse
Being a cashier assistant is not easy. By far, it is the most difficult of my jobs during registration. Being an assessor is nothing compared to it and so is being an accounting assistant. From 8am to 4pm, I had to accept checks from students and do a series of encoding nad signing to validate the receipts. With only a 30-minute lunch break to tell the difference between the morning rush and the afternoon stretch, it was really difficult for me. Moreover, I had to leave 3 hours later since the job also entailed balancing the checks and the total fees, etc etc. By the time I got back in the dorm, I was drained and tired.
I was planning to just sit back, check my emails, play a little O2 Jam, check my multiply account; and then a pleasant surprise came upon me when I checked my Friendster account. Lo and behold! I received a testimonial from Sir Leland. The affirmation really hit me hard and made me realize that the decision I made six months ago was the right one, no matter what people (extremely close to me) said. There's no turning back now. Thank you sir.