SEVERAL years ago, in my stressful life as a full-time journalist and top honcho of the newsroom, there was a co-worker who attached "puhon" in everything he says. "Puhon," for those who do not know, means "God willing."
Now imagine being the stressed out deadline-driven and driving top honcho tasked to make sure that all deadlines are met being told by this very important link to the final product -- the newspaper -- that something will be done "God willing."
The conversation will go like this:
Me: Kanus-a man nato mahimo ang final layout niini (When will we have the final layout)?
Him: Ugma, puhon (Tomorrow, God willing).
Me: Dili ko gusto nga puhon. Kanus-a lagi na mahuman (I don't like being told God willing. When will this be done)?
Him: Ugma lagi, puhon (I said tomorrow, God willing).
Me: Dili lagi butangan og puhon! Ikaw mismo, mahuman nimo ni ugma o unsa? (I said do not say God willing! I am asking you, will you be able to finish this tomorrow)?
Him: Puhon (God willing)!
That's just before the hot-tempered Stella that I was known to be will break out in a major outburst.
Then there was this penchant to quickly say that things cannot be done, even before an idea is tested out.
Like attaching "puhon" to one's commitment and passing on the blame to God as if God is the one who sets deadlines, there are many who are quick to say that something cannot be done. The naysayers.
At the bottom of this is the reluctance to exert extra effort, to seek out new ideas and actions, and walk that extra mile to test out a theory.
After all, doing something that is tried and tested, never mind if it entails wasting precious time and resources, makes for less effort because the routine is already there, all the person needs to do is rise up in the morning and do what has been done before, over and over and over again.
Then there are those who generalize. Yes, we love generalization. Because this person we once met turned out to be this and that, then everyone else in his or her mold is this and that. That's just how it is. No, they will not budge. They expect nothing good to happen, just because one person did not do good before.
Where does that leave us? Nowhere.
It casts that dark cloud over the discussion, it even stops the discussion and shows no way to proceed, leaving nothing but unresolved issues and concerns and a lot of negative thoughts. How sad.
Then we look around and see all the propaganda being thrown around and sense the same thing. Guess who is stuck? No one else but the poor people who are stuck along with those who oppose everything and anything that has the mark of government on it, as the whole world moves on and prospers. How sad, indeed.
