What is happening to
our country general?
(Second Part)

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is an abomination. (Proverbs 14:34)

Here are some pointers: Go and learn, meet the poor in depth; Take your share in the struggle with poverty; Develop a theological habit of being concerned about poverty; and Develop a lifestyle that somehow mirrors the lifestyle of the masses. But the one thing the church should do is to promote family planning because, as is most obvious, the population explosion (2.3 percent) is the largest in Asia, and it is the main cause of extreme poverty.

Of course many of the Christian universities in the Philippines are Roman Catholic and they cannot be expected to do something about it. And those that wish to minimize the growth of population are up against a government that is generally (especially the President) Catholic in loyalty, and do not have an effective population policy which is the main obstacle to feeding our people.

Our government aspires for a strong republic, but it cannot be strong with a weak citizenry; a big proportion of which exists on one meal a day.

Second, there is knowledge explosion, but wisdom erosion as well.

There is no question about the knowledge explosion in the Philippines. Its number of colleges and universities is second only to that in the U.S. There is a proliferation of state colleges and universities in the country. In the small city of Dumaguete where Silliman is, two more colleges have become universities. The state university has a total of 27,000 students!

Knowledge explosion is very prevalent in the city, so prevalent that it is now appropriately being called "University Town." But what about wisdom in the sense of distinguishing between right or wrong?

In the famous prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr, I see one meaning of wisdom. "God, grant us the courage to change what can be changed; The serenity to accept what cannot be changed; and the wisdom to know the difference."

Wisdom then is to know the difference between what cannot be changed and what can be changed. And surely, so much of our life as a people is crying for change!

Have we been able, as universities, to determine what can be changed and do something about it? Leaders in our universities are agreed on what former U.P. President Jose Abueva said: "In our situation, we join other leaders of institutions of higher learning and the media to help our political leaders and people understand the true state of the nation.

To assess our efforts and progress in overcoming our problems as a nation. To generate the needed knowledge and understanding, policies and programs. To educate and train our youth to become better citizens, professionals, and leaders.

To raise the standards and performance of our schools and universities and the public service. To write about and tell the story of our many unsung good leaders, innovations and best practices around the country that demonstrate what more we can achieve individually and collectively."

United in their diversity, our academic and educational leaders must muster the political will to get our act together, serve the common good, and promote the national interest. (TO BE CONTINUED)*

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