A TASTE OF INJUSTICES IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE…

By: Luis Lawrence S. Naungayan

What is the meaning of life? This meaning is not for you to find, but for you to define. The
meaning of life is found in the purposes that we pursue as we grow older… a very profound idea that I got
from the late great Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. She was once a fighter, a defender, a survivor…
unfortunately, she is now just a memory and soon, a part of history… some years from now, her
contributions to the country will only be remembered just as quickly as it will be forgotten as everything
in life is just passing and has its own fleeting passage. It is a sad fact of life that no matter how
altruistically you have lived your life for others, people will only remember you for a short moment
despite a lifetime of service you have rendered them. It is very excruciating to affirm, however, but one
cannot deny the fact that this blatant truth has devoured our moral compass to its present lowly state. Just
what the spouse of the late great senator averred, what is the significance of all the praises now that his
wife could no longer appreciate, more so, hear it from the cold grave...
People have the tendency to be oblivious, very impulsive indeed yet really oblivious. I do not
want to make use of the word forgiving, as it is not the true nature of man. Man by nature reacts just as
quickly he realizes he is more than willing to forgive and forget. Several decades ago, during a period
when I was not yet even conceived, people have always rebuked the Marcoses and everything about
Imeldific that goes with their luxurious living to the detriment of the Filipino masses. Crimes were very
rampant, political killings pervaded the society and violations of human rights were flagrant and only the
puking stench of violence lurks the restless mind of the people. There was no assurance of security even
inside one’s home, not even in solitude was there neither rest nor peace, everything was in complete
chaos and no sign of repose in the hearts of men was in sight... there in the eyes of even the innocent
children would reflect fear and anxiety as they are left orphaned with no certainty of their future. To say
that the disparity of the rich and the poor has reached its pinnacle was an understatement – no, that was
just the beginning to say the least – the beginning of an end that hovers our curse-stricken society up to
this date. And now that a new government rules our country, are we that heedless of the lessons of the
past that we are just willing to drop behind the sacrifice of the desaparecidos and the thousand oppressed
victims of the Marcos regime? What a way to console the majority of the Filipinos, the human rights
advocates and the victims as well as their families as the remains of the former president is soon to lie in
state at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. This is not just an issue of the ill-gotten wealth, abuse of power and
graft and corruption... there is certainly more to that. It is an issue of oppression and unity, resentment and
healing, injustice and reconciliation...
These and other occurrences reflect the small incidents of unjust experiences in our everyday
lives that when put together, comprises and magnifies the silent cancer in our society – injustice, in all its
dreaded forms. Everyone can fall as victims of injustice. Biases, favoritism, partisanship, partiality, non-
objectivity and prejudice may take on different names but falls only to one category – injustice.
Back in my younger years, I have always been second best to someone. I was always the second
pick, the reserve, the second choice. It was hard being a shadow not having your own identity. You only
share the limelight but you are never the star of the moment. You are everybody’s aide but never the hero.
Well, it is not all that bad really, but if you know yourself better than anyone else, now that is another
story. It is unfortunate however that you do not always get what you rightfully deserve. Some people win
the favors of others. Some even do not have to work hard for it, it just comes to their doorstep, served on
a silver platter. Though they may not deserve it, they may not even like or need it in the first place, but
they may seem to amass all the luck in the world. It is like they always happen to be at the right place, at
the right time. Is it sour-graping or bitterness? Perhaps, but could it also not be that you are just plainly
upset because the feats that should have been yours landed at the wrong place. Disappointments are not
negative feelings after all, especially when rationally justifiable. You just need to keep your mind open in
order to be susceptible to all ideas. Give it a thought, it might be helpful to consider both sides of the coin.
At times, it is better to be broad-minded.
Gaining wisdom as I progress from all the experiences that I have encountered, I must say I have
conquered some of the most trying and challenging ordeals that may come my way. From the moment I
entered to my first day of work in the service up to the time I had my shares of the story in all the
rankings and promotions I had to deal with, all the stubborn and the professional ones, from chap mates to
superiors, I would say I have had enough... of the hypocrisy and all the injustices, prejudice and unjust
practices.
I realized that we do not always get what we rightfully deserve. That life is unfair. And that you
do not always reap what you sow, most of the time, other people do the reaping for you and they claim it
and make it their own. And the worst part is, people in authority warrants all these injustices and the
culprits go away with their sinister acts without a scratch. It is like very common nowadays to do evil and
you will not hear a word of criticisms as everybody else is doing it. Sad but true. In our modern times, the
more you talk of the truth, the more you are despised. Do you find it ironic? Let us have a reality check,
as a student, have you never experienced remonstrating about your grade because you believe you deserve
a higher mark? As a professional, have you never experienced giving your reactions because a colleague
not deserving of a promotion got a raise? These and other instances, no matter how grave or small, are
just some injustices that you and I have in common, that in one point or another, we have all shared and
experienced. Through this article, I just wish hard that we all be enlightened and speak out, stand up and
fight the next time another instance of injustice sets in. Harder than it sounds? Then stop complaining and
just swallow the bitter taste of injustice... need I say more?