Many Filipinos Need To Stop Confusing Strict Disciplinary Measures With Martial Law!

I remembered just some months ago, Mrs. Raissa Robles had mentioned that with President Rodrigo Duterte's policy of 10 P.M. curfew for minors, it's like we're back to martial law. The problem is that today many Filipinos severely lack discipline. While some good Filipinos are happy with such rules but other Filipinos may raise the "martial law" flag all over again. I don't think the Philippines needs martial law to be straightened up but it certainly needs strict implementation of proper discipline. As Lee Kuan Yew said that a country needs more discipline and not more democracy to develop. The Philippines has democracy but lacks discipline.

What I need to raise is that the Philippines can't progress if people don't even want to follow simple guidelines. What's worse is that some Filipinos love to use their Filipino identity to justify their blunder. Let me ask them do activities that break simple guidelines like habitual tardiness, love for noise pollution in disregard to one's neighbor, throwing your garbage anywhere and procrastination all contribute to the Filipino identity? Simple. They don't contribute to anything towards preserving one's being Filipino. Instead, they derail the Filipino identity. They continue to put the Philippines in such a state of stupidity. They can put every decent Filipino as a victim of unfair generalization. Besides, since when did being punctual, respecting your neighbor by not partying loud, throwing your garbage into the proper place or taking opportunity of the time available to do better ever destroy the Filipino identity? Not on the watch of every decent Filipino ever!

Many Filipinos need to note that there's also a huge difference between authoritarianism and authoritative governance. To be an authoritarian means to favor obedience at the expense of personal freedom. To be authoritative means to enforce authority without getting rid of personal freedom. It isn't a dictatorship when your parents put strict rules for your own good. It is a dictatorship when parents make you follow rules for their own sake. In society, it isn't a dictatorship to make you follow simple guidelines to keep society safe. It is a dictatorship when society must follow the head of state without any question to why they must follow such rules. It's a good thing that some Filipinos know the difference between discipline and dictatorship. For that, I commend them for their desire to implement strict rules for a better Philippines.

Maybe, must maybe one reason why many Filipinos tend to confuse strict discipline with martial law is because of this. Many of them might be raised by parents who are martial law crybabies. I guess these parents enjoy their dysfunctional sense of freedom. They may have instilled in their minds that the Philippines is a free country and that any rule that implements discipline means martial law is coming. It could be a contributing factor. They're told that they have the Commission on Human Rights to protect them from such "draconian" policies. Right now, it's time to really time martial law crybabies regardless how old they were during that time to GET A LIFE!