[Blog Action Day] Inequality

This year's Blog Action Day topic is Inequality, which feels like one of the bigger topics that this little blogging "event" is trying to tackle. There are quite a number of different forms of inequality out there that continue to plague the global society at large.

In many ways, I feel that a lot of our issues related to inequality largely stem from the decision to put your own needs before all others and the willingness to embrace different labels, categories and stereotypes that enable one to see themselves in a more positive light versus others outside your own group or segment.

Income Inequality - is an economic reality that shows government policies do not fully support sufficient job creation and instead focus on niche interests of controlling powers and groups. It means that we remain primarily focused on making ends meet and are unable to reach out to others and find ways to help uplift them from their bleaker economic realities. This is not necessarily a call for increased government welfare programs or donation drives but instead a more intelligent look at our employment issues and to determine more effective strategies for dealing with poverty and unfair business practices that favor the rich.

Gender Inequality - this now has many aspects ranging from the earlier women's empowerment movement and of course the LGBT rights movement as well. Recent events remind us how women are not safe on the internet and abuse and harassment remain far too common. LGBT rights are still in dispute throughout the world ranging from those simply fighting for their legal right to be recognized to more "advanced" battles related to same-sex marriage. And again we continue to see the need to limit people into "acceptable" stereotypes and other definitions of "normal" behavior as a basis for hate speech, discrimination and other challenges of inequality.

Change begins with each of us thinking beyond ourselves and learning to truly keep an open mind. Defeating inequality starts with giving up assumptions and preconceptions about other people and trying to find mutual ground in order to work together to find solutions to our problems. Discrimination and unfair treatment won't go away until we learn to see people as precisely that - people. We are more than our assertions and biases.

[Blog Action Day] Poverty Perspective

Image via WikipediaToday is Blog Action Day, a day where all participating bloggers try to devote some of their blogging time to writing about one topic. This year, it's Poverty, and that's a pretty big topic to tackle all at once.

Coming from the Philippines, a country where majority of the population lives below the poverty line. Yeah, I think we're bound to have a fairly decent perspective on the world of poverty. It affects so many parts of our lives after all.

I think the biggest effect of living amidst so much poverty is how the political system has adapted to it and ultimately taken advantage of it as well. Instead of trying to focus its policies on addressing the issue directly or ensuring it no longer happens, more often than not we find our government playing to their ignorance and their needs in order to remain in power and perpetuate their own political legacy.

It's no wonder why we continue to live as we do.

I'm sure every politician enters the arena with some measure of good intentions. They might want to give back to their community or perhaps try to live up to the political legacy of their parents before them. However in order for someone to win in this country's political environment, one has to play the game.

In countries like the US, elections are largely issue-driven and people gravitate to one side or another based on their shared beliefs with the candidates. Here, politicians can win by playing to the hearts of the poor and less fortunate and do so very well.

They ensure small tokens are left around communities to remind them of their involvement - everything from community halls to basketball courts with politcal names plastered all over them. Political rallies draw crowds because of the celebrities they tap and the masses start to associate the traits and characteristics of these actors as drawn from the TV shows and movies they appear in and associate these traits with the political candidate in question. Heck, celebrities often go into politics here and do very well to succeed time and time again.

A lot of this stems from ignoring the issues that would really help address these concerns. Our education system remains in shambles and without strong support there, we continue to produce undereducated workers out of future generations. Wages remain low and the labor code theoretically supports the worker but at the same time promotes contractual hiring and non-regularization in favor of not giving government-mandated benefits and the like. The economy surges forward but we are stuck in the trap of the rich getting richer and the poor getting more and more destitute.

How do we fix a problem like that? I'd argue for the need to vote responsibly, but how does one conquer the overwhelming majority of voters who vote more with their hearts than their heads? I don't meant to belittle them in any way - it's just a natural consequence of the system at large.

Of course, the power to change thing starts with every individual making that choice to make a difference. Every vote done responsibly matters. Every time you make the right kind of financial decisions and not give in to overindulgence. Every time you choose to give away things you no longer need instead of greedily keeping them for no good reason. Every time you take the effort to care for someone else and really give a damn, then it matters.

[Blog Action Day] Fight Poverty Today!

Today, October 15, 2008, is Blog Action Day. If you have no idea what this is about, Blog Action Day is an attempt to get the global blogosphere all writing about one topic in order to increase awareness and generate discussion and new ideas. Last year it was about the Environment. This year it's about fighting Poverty.

I'm pretty busy from a real-life perspective so I may not be able to write as many entries as I had originally planned. Still, I will put in my time and effort to contribute to this global effort and perhaps you should too if you also maintain a blog.

Be sure to register at the organization's website to make sure your blog is counted!

[Blogosphere] Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty

After last year's successful first run, the diverse group of volunteer bloggers and the staff of Envato have announced that October 15, 2008 is officially this year's Blog Action Day.

This is now officially an annual event (I saw "now" since this is only its second year) where the group tries to get the global blogosphere to blog about one topic for that day as a sort of meeting of the minds. This year's theme is Poverty and given that the Geeky Guide missed out on this even last year, this year we promise to definitely participate and add this geeky voice to the rest of the world's.

That just leaves one question for everyone...