Political Dynasty Essay Example for Free

Political Dynasty Essay The Philippine Constitution is a Social Contract which embodies the fundamental principles and policies, according to which the Filipino people are governed by the State. The fundamental principles are abstract and as such they cover every aspect of the life of the Filipino people; while the fundamental policies cover specific areas of application of those principles. The fundamental principles remain fixed and permanent, but the policies built upon those principles can be modified or repealed by legislation to suit the needs of the times. The title is product of my out of the box philosophizing about the provisions of Section 1 and Section 26 taken together of Article II of our Constitution. I must say that philosophizing does not tell us my conclusions and/or thoughts are right or wrong, true or false, but it has certainly given me the basis upon which to present my meta-understanding of Section 1 and Section 26: Article II, Section 1 says: â€Å"The Philippines is a democratic and republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. † This is the most basic principle of the Constitution, and it refers to a natural law as formulated and accepted in the mind; it refers also to essential truth upon which other truths are based. Article II, Section 26: â€Å"The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by law. † This is a policy built upon the principle of Section 1, and it refers to a planned line of conduct in the light of which individual decisions on political dynasties are made and coordination is achieved. Moreover, political dynasties refer to the line of politicians of the same families. Every coin has two inseparable opposite sides – the head and the tail yet they complement each other as they are opposed to each other to constitute only one coin. Similarly, the political issue on dynasty has two opposite yet complementary sides (a) â€Å"the principle of political dynasty† of Section 1 and (b) the â€Å"the policy of political dynasty† of Section 26. Both Sections constitute one Article II. The policy of Section 26 names the specific area of application of the principle of Section 1 of the same Article II. The policy of Section 26 is built upon the basic principle of Section 1. Moreover, the fundamental principle of Section 1 remain fixed and permanent, but policies of Section 3 can be are modified or repealed by legislation to suit the needs and demands of the times. The People: The Creators and Masters of Political Dynasties The phrase â€Å"sovereignty resides in the people, and all government authority emanates from them† clearly shows that the people are the habitat of the sovereignty. However, â€Å"people† have two distinct yet mutually complementary meanings, namely, â€Å"people as electorate† which is the source of political power of elected politicians and â€Å"people as corporate nation† which is the reason for being of elected politicians. These â€Å"dual meanings of people† effectively signify that the elected politicians are â€Å"public servants† of the people; hence the people are their â€Å"boss and master† in our democratic and republican state, not the way around By virtue of their sovereign power, the people are superior to any and all existing political dynasties, whose reason for being is service to their masters, the people. On moral grounds, the people must be awakened to the reality that they are the boss of political dynasties, and therefore they have no reason to fear the, before, during, and after political elections. Centrality of Morality in the Constitution The centrality of morality to our Constitution is evident in the Preamble, in the imploration to Almighty God for aid to build a just and humane society and to establish a Government that shall embody the Filipino ideals and aspirations and promote their common good under a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace. The rest of the Constitution revolves around these moral ideals and moral values. These are the moral foundations of the Social Ethics Society. There are socio-economic phenomena in many areas of the country where the life-style and the exercise of political power by political dynasties is betrayal of public trust, because it is not in accord with the following moral imperatives and criteria of right and wrong in public service: â€Å"Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency; act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest life†. (Article X on Accountability) Every elected politician in the public service is bound to abide by those mandates. Congress had passed anti-graft and anti-corruption laws, e. g. RA No. 6713, also known as Code of Ethics for Government Officials and Employees, in the public service. However, it appears that many of our elected politicians pay only â€Å"lip service† to anti-Graft and Anti-Corruptions laws. For instance, there are widespread phenomena of bribery and corruption in the public service, reportedly perpetuated by corrupt politician, many of whom are allegedly members of political dynasties. Centrality of Morality to Legality The Preamble provides the moral grounds and the foundation of ethical politics of several Articles of the Constitution. No statutory law is enforceable if it is unconstitutional; and the Constitution cannot be enforced if it is immoral. The bottom line any enabling law on political dynasty is legally binding upon the Filipinos, only if it is constitutional and moral. A law that is moral is always constitutional, but a law that is constitutional is not necessarily moral. A Moral and Ethical Proposal I believe the policy of Section 26 which â€Å"prohibits political dynasties as may be defined by law† has two distinct opposite sides, (1) â€Å"the letter of the Constitution† which is the legalistic side, and (2) the â€Å"spirit of the Constitution† which is the ethical side. The pro-political dynasty advocates and promoters behave in accord with legal politics. Their action is legal so long as there is no law defining and enabling the constitutional prohibition against political dynasties. Therefore, the anti-dynasty advocates and promoters should stand on moral and ethical grounds against political dynasties. It is my proposal on moral and ethical grounds that the anti-dynasty advocates should develop and promote the concept of â€Å"political dynasty of the people† based on the principle of Section 1 face-to-face the â€Å"political dynasties of oligarchs† based on the policy of Section 26 but built upon the principle of Section 1. When there is a conflict between a principle and its policy, the principle should prevail over its policy. Moral, Ethical, and Legal Practices in Politics Moral and ethical are similar in meaning in that they both have to do with the difference between right and wrong. They are dissimilar in meaning in that ethical tends to refer to a code, system, theory, or standard of judging rightness or wrongness of moral behavior; whereas moral tends to refer to more concrete choices and issues that arouse strong feelings. In other words, moral refers to good and evil, while ethical refers to right and wrong. Because of the untruthful disclosure of his SALN per Code of Ethics, former SC Chief Justice Renato Corona was found ethically wanting for which he was impeached, despite his superior legalistic knowledge of law; Hence, we could say that â€Å"what is moral is always ethical, but what is ethical is not necessarily moral. † Hence, when an elected politician acts according to RA 6714, his behavior is ethical as well as legal â€Å"what is ethical is always legal, but what is legal is not necessarily ethical†. The Pursuit of Ethical Politics Our major problem in the pursuit of ethical politics is the lack of political will on the part of the people as electorate. Let us awaken and educate their political consciousness, and empower their political will by making them conscious of their being the political dynasty that is superior over all existing political dynasties of oligarchs† per mandate of Article II, Section 1 that the people are the habitat of sovereign power, but the exercise of such pwer is delegated and vested upon elected politicians. Assume that Congress would never pass the law enabling the policy against political dynasties; let us then resort to the principle of Section 1 in Article II. This principle does not require any enabling law because it is precisely the ultimate basis of all enabling laws. This is the principle why the political candidates try to win the votes of the people during political campaigns. We have indeed laws prescribing the requirements of the policy to vote. The Social Ethics Society can start the movement to marginalize the political dynasties,, if not altogether eliminate them eventually from the political landscape of the Philippine.

Assisted Suicide Essay -- Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Assisted Suicide I examine the ways in which our cultural expectations with respect to death may be transformed by the legalization of assisted suicide. I suggest the inadequacy of the philosophical framework currently taken as the basis for discussing the advantages as well as the dangers of legalizing assisted suicide. I do not believe that individual autonomy is any sort of possibility for dying patients, regardless of the social policies that surround death in a society, insofar as our individual agency in this situation is necessarily intertwined with that of various relevant others. By means of a theory of agency relations, I attempt to show the dynamic ways in which we may all adjust to the option of assisted suicide as a preferred end-of-life option. My theory of agency relations does not deny individual choice; rather it explains the qualitative complexity of individual choice, as well as its dynamic social process of evolving. "What is the tie between two instants that have between them the whole interval, the whole abyss, that separates the present and death, this margin at once both insignificant and infinite, where there is always room enough for hope?" (1) "Is death possible? Can I die? Can I say 'I can' with respect to death? Can I?" (2) I. Comprehending Death: The Limits of Philosophy We philosophers are always trying to get a grip on death, and always failing. Anthropologists and social historians are likely to do better than philosophers in their efforts to characterize death, insofar as they can investigate the many faces of death in different cultural contexts: death in battle may be heroic; death in youth may be tragic; death in old age benign. In different times and different cultures death me... ...pp.14-15. As anthropologists, the Kleinmans find shifts in the American cultural rhetoric of illness which correspond with Hochschild's findings as to the devaluation of traditional domestic duties of women. Our cultural rhetoric, the Kleinmans remark, "is changing from the language of caring to the language of efficiency and cost; it is not surprising to hear patients themselves use this rhetoric to describe their problems. Thereby, the illness experience, for some, may be transformed from a consequential moral experience into a merely technical inexpediency." (14) See Robert Kastenbaum, "Suicide as the Preferred Way of Death," in Edwin S. Shneidman, ed., Suicidology: Contemporary Developments (New York: Grune & Stratton, 1976), pp.425-441, for a much earlier analysis predicting that our society would readily embrace suicide as a desirable way of dying.

Compare and contrasts of ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke and ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ Wilfred Owen Essay

Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke both share the similar themes within their poems, which are war and death. Although there is unconformity within their views due to their backgrounds and experiences. Brooke was very idealistic, which makes sense when he never actually got to fight in the war as he died shortly before where as Owen went through the genuine experience. Two poems that highlight these two contrasts are ‘The Solider’ and ‘Dulce et Decorum est’. In ‘The Solider’, Rupert Brooke illustrates how a soldier is reflecting on the possible death going away to war may bring. Although from his opinion his death if so was to happen shouldn’t be mourned and his death will be a tribute to his England. When compared to Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ the views are far from similar. Brooke states dying for your country is honourable where as Owen interprets dying for your country is not all glory and honour and more pain and suffering. Both poets desire different forms to present their poems. ‘The Solider’ is a sonnet which suits Brookes type of poems as he romantises the theme of war ‘The Solider’ is very much as well a love poem to his idealized England. Where as Owen opts for the more simple 8. 8. 11, Owen doesn’t seem to have a solid form as Brookes does. They both share the rhyming pattern of ABABCDCD which allow their poems to flow and create rhythm. The structure ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ can be broken down into three parts, an outsiders description and recollection of events featuring soldiers withdrawing from the frontline, a man within the battle himself, and a addressing to the reader of confrontation to those who share the idealistic view of war. Owens poem creates a build up towards his main point in which he finishes off with ‘The Old lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro Patria mori’. From Owens experiences ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ acts as a warning and a hit of realism to those who are at home. ‘The Solider’ is a much more relaxed peaceful sonnet. Brookes use of natural imagery creates a more calm aspect of war. ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ features intense imagery as the key of Owens poem is to get across a point of the horrendousness of war. Within ‘The Solider’ Brooke recalls the memoirs of a fallen solider whom declares his patiotism to England by declaring that his death shall be the eternal ownership of England, of a small portion of land he has died upon, Brooke doesn’t have a main structure to his poem as his point is connoted though out the whole of the sonnet. This sonnet canbe split into two stanzas, the first stanza refers to the physical part of the solider and the second a more psychological point of view. Within the physical part the words used refer to things that can physically be touch ‘bore’ ‘shaped’ ‘made’ in the second is more things you cant touch ‘mind ‘thoughts ’ ‘sounds’ ‘dreams’. Both poets use different types of language to get across their ideas. ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ uses harsh and meaningful language. His uses of metaphors creates deeper impact and imagery ‘blood shod’. Owens opening stanza has caracterism of the language about ‘fatigue’, they ‘limped on’, ‘marched asleep’ this connotes pitiful language which intends to reveal the reality of war. Alliteration is used to reflect the agonising of the gas victim ‘And watch the white eyes writhing in his face’. Owen features a shift of register which grabs the readers attention ‘Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!’ this change of register adds more realism and switches the point of view to a soliders. Rupert Brooke uses personification to the word ‘England’, ‘gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given’. Brooke uses pure language within his sonnet such as ‘gentleness’ ‘heaven’ love’ ‘blest’.

The Acquisition of Spoken Language in Deaf Children

ECC3670 Economics in Developing Countries Essay Child Brides Are Bad For The Economy Executive Summary Contents Executive Summary 1 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 The effect of child marriage on girls 3 3.0 The effect of child brides on the economy and its implications 5 3.1 Negative consumption externalities 5 3.2 Government Intervention 5 4.0 Human Capital Investment 6 4.1 Human Capital 6 4.2 Endogenous Growth Theory 7 5.0 The effect of child marriage in Nigeria 8 6.0 Rebuttal 9 7.0 Conclusion 9 References 10 1.0 Introduction The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) defines child marriage as â€Å"a formal marriage or informal union before age 18.† This is before the child is psychologically, physically and physiologically prepared for marriage and child bearing (Walker, 2013). Child marriage is a common practice that often occurs in poor, rural communities, namely developing countries (International Center for Research on Women [ICRW], 2014). Both girls and boys can be affected by this practice, however it is most prevalent amongst the female gender. Thus, child brides will be the core focus of this essay. In general, parents are the ones to arrange the marriage of their daughter with a suitor, often men who are a lot older. It is obvious that there is a problem with this custom. Firstly, child brides suffer from gender inequality, violation of human rights, health problems and domestic violence. As a result, the economy is negatively affected by theseShow MoreRelatedThe Acquisition of Spoken Lan guage in Deaf Children1839 Words   |  7 Pagesability to use language to communicate with the world around us. The capability to produce novel and complex sentences is a skill that every child learns if the conditions allow him or her to do so. What is most amazing about this is that children gain this capability in such a short amount of time. 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