Change A-howlin'

A recent email from a friend expresses frustration with the general situation in the Philippines. Her exasperation did not singled out endemic corruption by people in power or the 'brain-draining' economy, but the whole social system. She also mentioned suggestions (which are not detailed here since available in print). Let me share half of her letter.
How do we change a disintegrating social system? Do we wait for a complete breakdown? It’s only after a breakdown that there can be break through. Einstein said we do not need a new line of thinking; we have to think along new lines -- especially in our political system. A new condition calls for a change in thought and nature.

Our naïve politicians call it autonomy or federation. But it should go beyond this. We need your “Pobolusion” to attain a state of Bioregionalism. Remember my article on Bicol Bioregion. Each bioregion should be self-sufficient, self-sustaining, self-reliant, self-educating, self-propagating, self-healing self-regulating and self-governing.

We are dwellers of our lands. We have to go back to basic human scale; the small is beautiful concept of small nations, small communities and small problems which we humans can solve. A centralized giant political system is top heavy so it topples down.

What we can try is your Bikol Republika or an Ilocandia, or Tagalog Bioregion, Visayan Feudalism, or ARMM. What our political system is doing is to force ourselves to be Filipinos. Harmony does not come through likeness. Harmony comes from a balancing of diversities Discord comes from any effort to make harmony by force.

Within this bioregional concept, we study our own interiority our subjectivity, our language, our culture in our bioregional schools. After knowing who we are after establishing our identity, we can have a moral recovery.

We need a radical solution. One that goes back to the roots of the problem. But this will take time. Maybe a hundred years? Bioregionalism will not be accepted by the present generation. Every radical change is a heresy. We have to wait for the evolution of consciousness to have a change of attitude.

There is a Bikol youth’s clamor for (what he calls) real-change, but without particulars. You can also view similar opinions on change from Filipinos abroad at goBicol.com

So what do you think?

[Pobolusion is changing your belief to change the world. This change goes together with Bikol po or respect. For po is spirit in each of us - the transformative 'essence' - stirring us to alter, amend, to transcend. Approaches then would be inclusive instead of partial. Change, for example, may incorporate Bikol aspects of reality such as ako (I/me) signifies subjective identity, ini (this/these)as behaviour, kita (we/us) for cultural worldview, ito (that/those) for social organizations, to iyan (that/those) that represents nature. pobolusion believes people can change now, from within. Pobolusion ideas are discussed in the book Pobolusion & Bikol Republika (2007).