On moral truths and the current secularity of our ruling institution

There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. The closed-minded bigotry of our supposedly secular society reached a point where it is no longer amusing to watch. Different groups are at each others throats on almost every important political issue and obscuring it further by bringing religion in to it.  The church and state should not mix. To deliberately obfuscate the two is an act of intellectual high treason.

I do not mean to mean to disrespect any particular belief but my point is, the religious opinions of a public official, or lack of it, should be entirely his business. There is no reason to bring religion in legislative debates as it is not, nor will it ever be, the answer to any political issue. This is not just a response to the mediocrity on how we make a spectacle out of the RH Bill issue but goes further to our irrational behavior to venerate opinions from our religious groups as though they are the absolute truths.

I am greatly mystified by the disproportionate privileging we give to religion in our otherwise secular society. What makes religion so special that we grant it this uniquely privileged respect? Whenever a prominent issue arises over sexual or reproductive morals, you can safely bet that religious leaders from several different faith would express “what they think is right” openly and even going as far as representing influential committees on panel discussions on radio and television. I am not suggesting that we should go and silence the views of these people but why does our society readily accept what they have to say as though they have some expertise comparable to that of moral philosophers, lawyers or doctors?

Here’s a weird example of the privileging of religion: Bishop Gabriel Reyes did not suffer any legal repercussions when he openly stated that they, the Catholic Establishment, will urge the nation to ignore the bill once it passes into law. Is it not a case of insighting people to discontent and rebellion? Of course it is but it is normal in our society, when it’s not supposed to be, to use religion as a legal justification for discrimination against groups that do not conform with their beliefs. Such is the power of religion. It trumps all and we are not doing anything about it.

The freedom of speech is deemed not to include hate speech but hate only has to prove it is religious, and it no longer counts as hate. The rest of us are expected to defend our prejudices and positions but ask a religious person to justify theirs and all you hear is religious liberty. The whole point of religious faith, its strength and chief glory, is that it does not depend on rational justification. I am not saying that the reasons of religious people are less valid than those of non believers. The thing is, to use religion as a shield to attack other groups is a sign of intellectual and moral cowardice and to bring it to political discussions is nothing more than a show of ignorance and naivety.

We should promote critical and rational thinking instead of encouraging blind belief and reaction to dogmatic ideology and preservation of vested interests if we want our country to go anywhere. As Thomas Jefferson, in his letter to Peter Carr, once wrote: “…  shake off all the fears & servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.”

Thinking outside the box (?)

Perhaps the most common form of fallacy is the argument by authority – Argumentum ad Verecundiam as it is formally called. It is a form of inductive-type argument where the person advances his argument by presenting a statistical syllogism, which argues the case from general to specific. Although certain arguments by authority lead to strong inductive arguments, the appeal to authority carries little weight – the history of human kind is consistent with one fact : that is human error.

Sometimes fallacious arguments from authority are obvious because they are arguments from false authorities. These are often used in marketing – supermodels who push cosmetics or pro athletes pushing home loans or even sports equipments are likely false authorities. Like Pacquiao’s billboard, which I frequently see on my way home, with the big slogan saying “Pheonix ang gamit naming mga champeon!”

First, how does a boxing superstar have authority on what a good petrol product is? No offense to Pheonix and Pacquiao intended, I just wanted to point out a very common fallacy not just in marketing that is very misleading (intentional or not, it is wrong and should be taken care of). Or in the case of the supermodel or athlete, do they even use the product at all?

Second, we can assume that the supermodel is beautiful without the product and the pro athlete was successful without the equipment. And the millionaire athletes don’t need the kind of home loan you would.

To a degree, we also do well to differentiate between the different definitions of “authority”. Authority can mean either power or knowledge. In the case of knowledge, we often find we must trust people to help us make sense of the vast complex array of knowledge surrounding an issue – we do well, for example, in courtroom trials to consult psychologist and forensic specialists or trained meteorologists, geologists, physicists, chemists, etc. when debating global warming – but we should view these people as resources for understanding the logic and evidence, rather than as those given the final say concerning the issue.

We always face uncertainty – we can never see the whole picture no matter what we do as there is a limit to the capacity of data our brain can store and process. We, also, oftentimes draw erroneous judgements from circumstantial facts and no authority is exempt to that. Humans as we are, we are all infallible.

So, instead of blindly following an ideology, it is best if we step back a little and assess the picture for ourselves and test the validity of the notion not just from our perspective but using a larger scope using other point of views. Doing so can never be detrimental and on the contrary, it will pay you mountains of dividends in the long run.

If all of us blindly accepted what the Authority is dishing out, there would never be any real advancement in any field. The sum of human knowledge would be bounded by the preformed conceptions and notions of our forefathers and cultural upbringings. We may even believe, up to now, that the earth is flat. Exercise your sense of what is right and what is wrong rather than just relying on anybody to tell you what which is which.

Think outside the box.

Red pill and blue pill…

We should never replace the rigorous open-minded skepticism of science with an inflexible certainty of ideological commitment.

–Denialism: How Irrational Thinking  Harms
the Planet and Threatens Our Lives

Nobody can be correct 100% of the time and the first step towards true change is admitting that neither I nor you – nor your parents, nor your spouse, your children, school, boss, your government, nor your church know everything.

Dont get me wrong here. I am not advocating the overthrow of a government nor the conception of a radically new one but a rather a more personal form of revolution – a revolution in your own way of thinking.

Instead of blindly blaming national governments, international corporations, ethic groups, sexual preferences, multicultural organizations, ideological beliefs, religious institutions or political parties, what if we change the way we think?

That means to challenge all preconceived notions about right and wrong and looking beyond the limitations of your culture’s way of thinking.

• you change the way you think, you change the way you act;
• you change the way you act, you’ll be able to change the way others act and think;
• if you can change the way others think, you can help change the world one person at a time. And it all starts with you.

There is no shame in not knowing everything but there is shame in pretending we know everything when in fact we don’t and more in denying the truth in because of the inflexible ideological commitment one has adapted. We can and must learn from each other, regardless of what we look like, where we live in or what we believe.

As Michael Specter puts it, “No amount of data will convince climate denialists that humans have caused the rapid, devastating warming of the earth. And no feat of molecular genetics will make a creationist understand that our species has evolved over billions of years, along with every other creature. Common strains of denialism are even more troubling, though, because they show what happens when unfettered scientific achievement bumps up against the limits of human imagination.”

Open honest communication is the only way we can change this world for better. Books, computer and the internet can open your mind to new worlds that you’ve never dreamed of – or turn your mind and funnel your thinking down the narrow confines of a fantasy world that you only choose to see.

Either choose the blissful ignorance of illusion or embrace the sometimes painful truth of reality. The choice is yours.

Beyond close family ties and multigenerational pitfalls

Our educational set up is not about teaching us how to lead and make a difference; It’s purely about being stable – about fitting in. But who can blame our academic institutions? Our economy wanted you to fit in, it paid you to fit in, and it took care of you if you fit in. This, compounded by our ridiculous set of cultural values we so proudly call “close family ties”, is what beats the genius out of us.

As a child, I was raised and taught to consider even the farthest degrees of our kinship as extended family and take pride and value that relationship as something useful for getting favors, grants and advantages.  I was led to believe  that having an influential ninong is a sure ticket for me to avoid being caught up in the complex, interweaving fabric of Philippine society.

We are trained, at a very young age, to be loyal to our parents and elders by blindly obeying their authority and the conditions that they impose within the family. It is inculcated that family is the foundation of our existence and that it comes first above everything else.

“Walang kapa-kapamilya, walang kama-kamag anak” do not reflect on our judgements and how we form our choices. “Blood is thicker than water” is a more familiar mantra, however, that resonates throughout our lives in making moral decisions which often tear us apart between our personal interests and happiness against the collective’s; between your own decision and your family’s decision; between our morality and their morality. The individual cannot separate from the collective – a slave, a conformist, and investment.

The handful few who find the bravery to defy this tradition are, more often than not, disowned, outcasted and rejected. Often vilified as ingrates and blacksheeps for not conforming. But now, everything is different. The very cornerstones of our society are shifting. Everything is redefined. Nothing is staying as it is.

This is a personal manifesto. A plea from me to you. It’s about a choice and it’s about your life. This choice doesn’t require you to quit your job, but it challenges you to rethink everything that is taught to you. Be brave enough to go outside of conformity. Let’s all wake up to the reality that family ties are not meant to evoke affection between family members but rather to take advantage and leech those that are successful and in power. It is corrupting us with laziness and being dependent.

The system we grew up is a mess and it’s falling apart at the seams. The things we thought would work, no longer do. Holding back would only drag you down with the falling paradigm. We’ve been pawns for too long for a senseless system that uses us up and undervalues our worth. We are more than their cousin’s sons and daughters. It’s time to stop complying to conformity and draw your own map.

Stop settling for good and start creating that matters. Stop thinking what is in it for you. Then, and only then, will you have achieved your potential. Start moving outside the box even if it is against the morality of the collective you grew in. For hundreds of years, the population has been seduced, scammed and brainwashed into fitting in, following instructions, and exchanging a day’s work for a day’s pay. That era has come to an end and just in time.

You have brilliance in you, your contribution is valuable, and the art to create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must. Stand up and choose make a difference. To mooch from those who labor and think; to ride on and claim from the accomplishments of others because they are your kin or “kababayan” and disguising it with “proud to be pinoy” phrase is a product of mediocrity, laziness and self-respect to become independent self-determinist.

Make a change.