Impacts Brought by World Events
September 1, 1939 was the start of the Second World War. As disastrous as it sounds, our country went through a lot of things during this time. Several bombing, killings and deceitful agreements were made which brought ruins to our country. There are times when I would ask my grandmother about our history and she would get angry as she reminisce stories from the past. For several years we have been occupied and under different countries but after this, we were able to stand up and finally declared freedom for our country. Different occupancies caused us to look up to other people of different race. We developed colonial mentality when in fact we already have an identity of our own before them. The acts of bravery and the fight put up by our people is the reason why we are a free country today but honestly speaking though, can one really say that we are 100% free today?
One invention that I am really thankful of is the internet. I find it astonishing how my great grandparents were able to live without internet or any other modern technology for this matter. I sometimes envy how they were able to spend time with other people and actually had a childhood with kids their age. However, I still am thankful that I was born wherein science and technology were experimented on left and right. During the 1960’s, the internet, which was initially used as a government weapon for the Cold War, emerged. It has continued to evolve and grow over time. In fact today, it seems as if we cannot live without it. Just imagine being in this pandemic without internet at home. I guess my grandparents would know how it feels like but living a life with internet makes it impossible for us to live in a world without one. Our lives became easier because of the internet, we could easily communicate with someone miles apart, know millions of information from a few clicks, and even finish studies online. Considering the phase that we are going in this time of pandemic, I feel grateful to those who invented the internet as we manage to continue our studies even in this time of uncertainty.
Moving on to events that I was able to experience, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 made our home a scarier place. The operation led by al Qaeda an other Islamic extremist groups was deemed successful considering how a lot of people crumbled in fear after the attacks. They were able to instill fear and exposed the government’s inability to protect its people.I find it embarrassing that we are considered as a country of convenience and a haven for terrorists wherein they could easily and freely plan their attacks under the nose of our government officials. For several years, they were planning a huge disaster in our country and even had test runs and different schemes for it. Our lack of proper security caused a disaster not only to the U.S. but to other countries as well. I find it infuriating that reports to the FBI were not taken seriously but at the same time I feel like our police were not convincing enough for them to do so. Attacks made took them 7 years to plan, only hours to execute, but a lifetime for us to worry about. With something as big as this happening in our country, I completely understand why my parents were so strict with me. Old stories of how my grandparents could just wander on the streets at night or leave their doors open overnight would remain just a story for us to tell because of how scary and dangerous our world has become.
Year, 2013 Super typhoon Yolanda, or what other counties know as Typhoon Haiyan made a complete wreck of our country. I remember being at school when the typhoon hit Manila. Classes were suspended and we were transported by different means because of the flood. This was the strongest typhoon I have ever experienced in my life. Posts and cables were compromised, our street turned gloomy for weeks because of the black out caused by fallen branches of trees and several other objects that were blown away by the wind. However, what I experienced was nothing compared to what others did especially those who were in Tacloban. As I was watching television, I realized how lucky I am to have a safe shelter while others had to climb up their roof just so they would not be carried away by the floods. Several weeks and months have passed and yet a lot of people still hasn’t recovered from the devastating catastrophe brought by the typhoon. Seeing different countries and individuals helping our people, my relatives and I decided to go to Bataan and gave relief goods. This was the first time that I did such thing and this event caused me to develop my sense of compassion and concern to to other people which is probably the reason why I strived to become a civic officer that caters to the needs of the underprivileged.
Needless to say, COVID-19 or Coronavirus disease is causing a great toll in the whole world. It has been several months now since our government declared a lockdown and people are still under quarantine. We do not even have any idea as to how or when this pandemic would come to an end. Major changes have already occurred which would drastically affect our future. We were instructed to practice the “new normal” of this world wherein masks and other PPEs are required whenever we go out, gatherings are prohibited and social distancing is a must. However, I still could not fully adapt to the online class implemented as everything still seems to pass by in a flash. I sometimes wonder whether or not I really am learning in this new setup or am I just doing this for the sake of having a diploma. Surely this pandemic would cause a permanent damage to us and our country. Our economy will fall considering unemployments, shutting down of businesses, and the like. I am lucky to have a shelter to live in this time of pandemic but I cannot imagine how others who wander on the streets managed to for the past few months. As a third world country, I find it devastating for our country to be a victim of this pandemic since it would be hard for us to rise again from this. Upon finding a cure or when the end of the pandemic comes, I doubt that our country would come back to how it was before. Will we be able to escape from this “new normal” imposed upon us? We would have to find out.
In line with COVID-19, our environment is also affected by consequence brought by the pandemic. For several years now, climate change has and always will be an alarming issue for all of us. This lockdown actually allowed the Earth to breathe since CO2 emissions have been reduced because of the decrease in air pollution brought by different means of transportation. This could actually serve as a lesson for us which could be practiced in the future even without the virus, to help the world we live in. However, several decisions and attitude of other people towards the virus still harms our environment. For example, projects regarding the protection of our environment has been delayed, budgets allocated for our environment has been reallocated to emergent concern brought by the virus. In addition, researches were limited given that there is a limit to what one can do in their homes. This pandemic has its pros and cons when it comes to its effects in our environment. True enough this caused a breather when it comes to the reduction of CO2 emissions but whether or not this would benefit us in the long run is still uncertain but one thing is, we should care for our nature as much as we care for ourselves since nature holds the key in saving humanity which I believe could be achieved if we work hand in hand.
