im trying to figure out what word best describes what I felt yesterday when I went to the cemetery. distressed, dismayed, disappointed, or maybe, all of the above. distressed at the situation that is right in front of me, dismayed at the blatant display of the pinoy's lack of discipline and disappointed that we have all become slaves to our need to use plastics. every year, as we enter the manila memorial park gates, we are greeted by bags after bags of garbage as far as our eye can see. worse, the entire grounds is practically blanketed by all sorts of trash, from discarded plastic wrappers that once contained, candies and chips, to plastic cups, empty plastic bottles, leftover food wrapped in styrofoam boxes, and the likes. this year is no different. the sea of people that went on nov 1st , left one hell of a view for the people that went on nov 2nd like myself…a sea of mostly plastic garbage. if its any consolation to me, the situation in public cemeteries are worse, to say the least.
discipline it seems, is a word that is rapidly disappearing in the consciousness of the filipino. we follow the rules of the countries that we travel to and does the opposite on our home soil. ive heard all sorts of excuses but to me, none makes sense. our lack of discipline stems from our lack of respect for our country and its people. plain and simple.
what is this love affair between people and plastics? we all know that plastics are usually the culprits in a lot of environmental disasters. it clogs the drainage system which results in floods. it is found in the stomach of dead animals like birds and other marine species, its in the water that we drink, the food that we eat and the air that we breathe. take a quick survey of your home and you’ll find it everywhere! there is plastic in practically every facet of our lives. im beginning to seriously ask myself this question, can i manage to live my life without using plastics? sadly, im afraid the answer to that is...no. not yet at least.
next year, when i go back to the same place, hopefully, the words distressed, dismayed and disappointed will not be replaced by disgusted, discouraged and disillusioned...
