CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 30 Jan) – It would do Mindanao society a lot of good if those who truly care about its fate— Bangsamoro advocates, for example—learn to pay a little more attention and effort to governing and civilizing their community.
GOVERNING is simply another term for managing. Overseeing human as well as non-human resources of the community, such that they produce progress and improve quality of life for all.
CIVILIZING is humanizing the neighborhood, making it more orderly; rendering it conducive to harmony, solidarity, and mutual cooperation; thus pave the way to progress and prosperity.
These are citizen duties, the means to advance social and economic progress by replacing the mean-spirited with the civic-spirited.
Doing so is what affirmative action means. It is the concrete way to strengthen the grassroots. It secures the building blocks of the republic which are its basic communities (barangays).
Affirmative action is especially effective when citizens who are not perceived as regular activists are the ones doing it. They command respect by virtue of their station or calling, and thus are more likely to attract cooperation or a local following.
Visibility
The initiative need not be spectacular or entail extraordinary effort. Often just by being present or visible in the arena of action helps a lot already.
Simply by showing concern about social or governance issues makes local society sit up and take notice. It alerts the neighborhoods that something important is taking place. It arouses interest and makes people watch out for something momentous to happen.
And that’s a step away from getting involved.
Visibility on the part of the middle and upper classes is especially important. Looked up to or idolized as the movers and shakers of society, they are generally viewed as the most successful sector of the community. Thus they can set off fads, fashions, and trendy social practices.
Pace-setters, they’re influential, which is why they are referred to as “leading citizens” or the elite, which usually means they’re worthy of emulation.
As such, any civic involvement on their part attracts others, encouraging wider public participation. Properly motivated, they can actually trigger change or reform—in attitudes, in values, in people’s work ethic.