Generation Gap, Generation Overlap

When I was in Middle School, my old folks would always allow me to walk from home to class, knowing that I am safe.. On a daily basis, I would cross the National Highway to where my school is located, and knowing how dangerous it would be not to check both sides of the road, I have always crossed my way out safe and sound.. That same exact thing, I do, four times a day, as back in my homeland, I’ve got morning and afternoon classes..

Our small abode is actually not that far from my school as we are located in the heart of downtown Pasuquin, but back in the 80s, only those who can afford to pay loop service or school service can enjoy the luxury of not walking in dusty and dangerous roads..

That was almost 20 years ago..

I went back to my hometown just recently to spend the holidays with the rest of the family and I am a witness of how lucky the generations that were born after mine.. My cousins enjoy the luxury of being driven to school and being picked up after every class ends.. No more long walking hours from home to school and vise-versa..

Being a typical school boy, my mom used to packed sandwiches and hotdogs in my lunch box and fill in my juice container with Tang or Koolaide.. That will help me throughout the morning classes.. I would walk home for lunch and have the same exact thing for my afternoon class..

My cousins are given cash to spend for whatever they want to eat at school..

I finished middle school with just a pair of shoes in a year, a pair of new clothes on my birthday and on Christmas..

My cousins go to school wearing almost everything new on a weekly basis, from imported branded shoes to backpacks and fancy shirts.. I did not wear bling-blings but they do..

At the end of the day, I would have my presence acknowledged by everyone at home; toss my bag into my room; ran out to play with other kids in the ‘hood or sometimes play Battle City or Super Mario with my sibling; run back home for a shower and prep myself up for dinner; do my homework, read a lot of books and retire to bed..

At the end of the day, my cousins would toss their backpacks into the doorsteps, run to the kitchen without even saying hello to anyone in their sight; grab a bite of crisps/chips and juice; run to their game room and play Xbox360, PS3, PSP or Nintendo DS 3D or yes, be online in their Facebook Profiles chatting with their friends until late night..

Sometimes, I am thinking, commercialism has gone overboard its core that it deliberately controlled and poisoned our minds.. We’ve become slaves of High Definition technology.. Who doesn’t want “instant everything” when you don’t have all the time to say, cook our food or brew our coffee in the morning? Sure there are drive thru fast foods that will do that exact thing for us.. Simple things like these..

That one-way system use of the Internet has become a Multi-Platform Real Time media of making things faster and easier, where we can all act (stupidly) and react (violently) at the same exact time.. And more often than not, we take our wrong deeds online creating a high magnitude of social turmoil and moral turpitude.. We’ve always wanted an easier and faster life but we always ended up compromising even the basic of our values sometimes or often times.. Those basic things that build our very foundation as dignified human..

I’ve visited one of the high end condominium units in Ortigas Center in December and the tour guide showed my fiancée and I the best of what they have.. CCTV-monitored-voice command equipped rooms for new couples.. Remote-accessed security features, power doors and windows, and many other overwhelming stuff.. And oh, the price is much more overwhelming than the unit itself..

While on our way home, I told my fiancée that for practical reasons, I would rather buy a property outskirt of Manila, (in Subic Bay, particularly) where our money will be worthily spent.. That’s aside from fresher air and the Americanized atmosphere, I would want to raise our children knowing the value of every hard day’s work and hard earned cash..

Sure, I want them to experience the luxury of the world but I need them to grow up in the same manner my old folks raised me.. I need them to be the ordinary kids who can play video games at any given time but can still go out to play with other kids and have fun in the rain.. I don’t mind washing their dirty clothes on like my mom did not mind washing mine back in the days.. I need them to experience walking to school with their friends to understand the value of time, communication, social consciousness and friendship.. I need them to be as close as they can to their mom and I by teaching them how to make their own food, which they could share with their friends at school, or reading them their favourite stories to realize that not everything in the world is all about money and wealth.. I need them to be ordinary kids who, after coming home from school, would knock the door instead of using any android phone as a remote to swing it open, kiss their mom and I Hi, engage themselves in a quality family chat, spend quality time and retire to bed after a grateful prayer of having been blessed with the opportune time of living a HiFi or HD life, yet their values remained uncompromised..

It maybe too much to dream or it maybe just one of my many wishful thinkings, but, if only everyone could pause for a moment and make themselves aware of what’s going on in the world, then, maybe, we come to realize that the messed up world that we are complaining is the end results of our arrogance chasing an easier instead of a better life..

PHOTO CREDITS: (On top) 89/365: Children By Jer Kunz and at the bottom: McBoi By Leonel Paet Aguinaldo