The world over has entered into a chaotic and uncertain period. Instability in geopolitics and increasing issues with climate change, human rights violations, wars such as Israeli strikes in Gaza and Russian strikes in Ukraine.
In the United States, people are being hunted down and taken away to lock ups or deported, innocent people being gunned down, massive lay offs are creating instability in family structures, and issues with tariffs which are hiking the prices of goods and food. We are surrounded with chaos.
The government shut down is piling more issues on top of issues already festering, yet the elected officials whom the people put in office are getting paid and sitting comfortably pointing fingers at each other without a care that their actions are causing havoc in their constituents’ lives.
Federal workers are working without pay, families are worried about their livelihood if the shutdown continues, but we’re suppose to be joyful about the tear down of The White House East Wing to build a new ballroom.
There is no accountability in place. The rule of law is disregarded. Criminals are pardoned, yet immigrants are persecuted… The democratic system is not functioning like it should and the country is slowly descending into an abyss. What’s next? It feels more like we are governed by kakistocracy instead of democracy.
The global tension is on the rise. Nations are wary of their allies or lack thereof. Relationships between countries are stretched thin and others are watching cautiously and working on their strategic moves much like a chess master to realign their national interest.
In the midst of all the global Unrest, life goes on, new life and loss of life continues. In Belau alone, the month of October has bid farewell to some friends and families. And as I write this article, I can’t help but think of them and the elders before them. There were times in my youth when some of my elders would tell stories about how life was like for them before WWII and after. The elders then were resilient. There were issues they had to overcome like famine, diseases and rebuilding their societies and economy, and they adapted.
Our traditions allot us our identity and connection to being Palauan. However, we must adapt to the changes taking place in the globalized world in order for our nation to be on the same platform for growth and sustainability as the rest of the developed countries.
This does not mean we’re selling out. It means that we’re going to benefit from economic opportunities to improve the nation’s prosperity and standard of living. You can take a Palauan out of Palau, but you cannot take the Palauan out of their Palauan identity and culture.
A borrowed quote:
We live in times:
- where we see more Humans, but not humanity.
- where the rich have more rooms than children and the poor have more children.
- Where smart phones bring you close to those who are far, but distance you from those who are closer.
- A single mother can look after ten children, but ten children cannot look after one mother.
- Where many knows the price of everything, but not the value of anything.
- Where our contact list is huge, but our relationships are poor.
- Where the rich walk miles to digest food, while the poor walk miles to search for food.
- Where our possessions are more, but our appreciation is less.
- Where we know how to earn a good living, but somehow forget how to live a good life.
…May our Heavenly Father take the wheel…