OUR several past columns could very well be addressed as follows: “An Era of Crises: Lessons of History.” Over our past issues, we highlighted the historic topics of “a time for heroes,” for our country and our world today. Thus, we chose to give a brief discussion to various researchers seeking historical information, where we also recalled the inspiring heroism of Negrenses during the World War II Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
We focused today therefore on the perplexing era of contemporary crises for our nation and the world in response to the painful questions many people have been asking on what is happening to our world today. Unlike our past issues, our sharing today is on the question many people have been asking on what is happening to the lives of human beings in contemporary history. More specifically, people point to the destructive controversies or conflicts on the sufferings of millions in various areas in the world, whether these areas in backward countries or the same questions being asked by many people in the United States, better off European countries or other Asian Nations.
And more particularly, what are these specific issues which are troubling millions around the world today?
Global media have reported the bewildered billions of people suffering from these issues on climate change, questionable energy policies, tragic cases of millions of refugees escaping destructive conflicts and seeking shelters on the problems of the wide spread poverty, hunger and most recently various health epidemics, aggravated by natural disasters and terrorism. On the other hand, the economies of richer countries hardly reach the wide spread poorer nations.
Meanwhile, a few industries are experiencing progress with the onset of new technologies and the promise of a better life. With all these, much of the world today continues to cry out with their questions of what is happening in the world today considering that countless human beings are suffering from widespread poverty, social and natural disaster and various political conflicts.
Our column today will not presume to explain the reasons which can more fully clarify our era of crises today. We will simply endeavor to shed more light in the midst of the darkness of our time in various areas today.
In our past issues, we have used the word “Chiaroscuro” which means the blending of light and darkness in human society. In our concern to find some light on the shadows of the world today, we hope to present a matter which can help respond to the various issues we have raised. We will simply pose two terms which can help respond to the questions which we believe fundamentally explain the current situation of humanity today.
The first is “change” and the second is “history.” Both concepts are integral to the needed explanation of the circumstances of human life in various areas from the distant past to the present days. History has always been a story of constant change in human life and the lessons brought by human history have also been the factors that have influenced the many various changes in human life.
In our coming columns, we will endeavor to show how the crucial realities of change and historical lessons basically help explain the perplexing questions facing humanity today.
(For inquiries, my email add: roquejrhofilena@yahoo.com.ph)