In this age of technology and information, those of us who are "the people," find ourselves blessed with the ability to impact change without any wealth.
The downtrodden Filipino citizen is poor yet intellectually advanced. But its collective intelligence finds few-- and many times, no-- opportunities; the nation is unable to realize its potential even as other countries benefit from its talents. Often, finding employment means leaving family behind to work as servants overseas. If you're lucky.
There is good news: in 2009, 72 million Filipinos were wired. Likely millions more have access to technology today.
Technology is why the average citizen, the individual is key to rising from the ashes of five centuries. The poor Filipino citizen can do more for the people and the country than perhaps all the leaders the islands have seen in 500 years.
Even in our digital world, of equal importance, in order for the sun to shine its magnificence on the Filipino citizen, is the Catholic church.
The Filipino citizen has the deepest reverence for the teachings of the Catholic church, which tends to be the most important factor in the lives of millions. It is the one blessing that shines on the poor citizen-- and offers an existing infrastructure whose untapped impact can help pave the way for meaningful social and economic progress. More on this developing topic in subsequent blogs.
First, something has to happen.
The Pope must visit the islands to deliver-- in a sentence or two-- an acknowledgement of the abuse the Filipinos suffered from the colonialists who represented the Catholic church. Perhaps even offer an apology.
This symbolic visit and gesture would then be followed with a pep talk to inspire the Filipinos, as individuals and as a nation. The Pope's message would have a beautiful, loving global impact. A nurturing of the soul-- of all souls!
If the church aims to inspire, the Pope's visit and communication would be a very big step toward revitalizing the Filipino citizen's quest for a life of dignity and prosperity. A sentence or two would reset history's course for a people looking for inspiration. The positive impact would be miraculous.
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