ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 06 April) – As Catholics and Christians enter a long holiday for Holy Week, while us Muslims continue our month-long fast, this gives us an opportunity to reflect on our personal and family lives. I argue that this is also the right time to think about ourselves as a society and how spirituality, morality, and ethics can become not only a positive force but also a basis for strengthening our social conscience – the state of being aware of the problems that affect many people in society, such as poverty and homelessness, and wanting to do something to help them. Or more correctly, as defined by the Collins Dictionary, our social heart.
We live in a society beset by natural and human-induced calamities, government wanting in trust, business that is largely profit-driven at the expense of society and the environment, and so on. Some say, we are now living in a VUCA world, one that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.
Amidst this backdrop, we continue to believe that better life for all can be achieved through collective efforts, in the words of 20th century political philosopher John Rawls, “social cooperation makes possible a better life for all than any would have if each were to live solely by his own efforts”. Society is thus created by a contract that upholds this principle of social cooperation. In addressing society’s problems, solutions can be enforced in two ways – one through legislation and the other through consent. Malan reminds us of one inherent flaw of legislation as articulated by Anacharsis, Scythian prince of the 6th century BC, who said, “written laws are like spiders’ webs; they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor, but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful.”
Malan (2013) reminds us how critical the second option is to the evolution of a well- functional and caring society: “Consensus among major stakeholder groups – often broadly categorized as governments, business, and civil society – is therefore needed to ensure lasting peace and stability.” Regardless of how we term this consent, the sense of justice and reason are critical success factors. This brings us to the meat of this article: government, business, and civil society do not just operate on the bases of policies, programs, and processes, but also on the bases of spirituality, ethics, and morality. These values are essential for fostering a sense of unity, shared purpose, and mutual respect, which are vital for building consensus and promoting the common good in society.
Where is the social heart of the government, business, and civil society then? How is our social heart today? Are we even aware of our social heart? Or have we conveniently forgotten the problems affecting a lot of people in our society, and have stopped wanting to do something to help them? Are we aware and willing to act for the common good?
A society without social heart reflects the triumph of individualism over common good. For a society lacking in social empathy and solidarity reflects the dominance of individualism over the common good. Our “kanya-kanya” (individualist) mentality can spell disaster for all. “Pabayaan mo na lang sila, total sila naman mananagot sa pwesto” (Leave them to their own device, after all, they will be responsible for their position). In fact, it is this very mindset that is a significant contributor to the proliferation of society’s ills. We do need to recognize the harmful effects of individualism. We need to empower ourselves with moral love, ethical responsibility, and spirituality beyond self, in order to participate in addressing societal issues and building a society with conscience.
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Noor Saada is a Tausug of mixed ancestry—born in Jolo, Sulu, grew up in Tawi-Tawi, studied in Zamboanga and worked in Davao, Makati and Cotabato. He is a development worker and peace advocate, former Assistant Regional Secretary of the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, currently working as an independent consultant and is a member of an insider-mediation group that aims to promote intra-Moro dialogue.)
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