Make us feel heard

By Engr. Ray Adrian Macalalag

These past few weeks have been quite a lot for me. I sometimes have difficulty in sleeping because I have been thinking quite a lot. My expectations were far different from reality. While everybody would put their best foot forward at the beginning, the truth will soon creep out unconsciously.

As a former leader and adviser of a school organization, I was trained to be competitive. In fact, I do subscribe to the idea that when you want change, you will lose some friends and become the person who gets discussed over coffee when you are not around. I rarely mind that given that I am more driven by results over my person.

I remember Hopper in A Bug’s Life (1998) throwing out something people in position and are downright lazy dislike – ideas. Hopper emphasized that these are dangerous things. That makeshift bird scene told me one thing; ideas are dangerous for those who become threatened by it.

As I met people in various parts of the world through the webinars and meetings I join, I can say that they really have better support systems. They get listened to by their community, they get the support from the private sector, and the government works hand in hand with them. Meanwhile, in our local setting, you can probably get a thumbs down even when you are just about to knock on the door. Even if you work on the same building, tradition is favored over change for the good.

My generation of young leaders are struggling. Passionate people like me are struggling. When things could be done, it only turns into things that could have been done because it is only on the regrets stage that they see the potential of what people in my generation are capable of. I cannot blame myself for being paranoid when the idea I pitched and lobbied for quite a long time gets forgotten. Then suddenly other people would take credit for it. Is it really this kind of system that they call tradition? I am confused.

A simple saying goes, you cannot bend an old tree. I learned it first from my late father. He also taught me that I should do all the things I can do today than wait for tomorrow. Apparently, the environment I am in is a forest of old trees and tomorrow is always a day away.

While it is really hopeless, I keep myself grounded and always in the interest of learning some more. All I can do is wait for my time to come and be on their place, to be where they are standing. That will hopefully guarantee that the change will come. It is going to be a rough road across these old trees but I will endure.

Finally, I am not saying that what my mind tells me is the right thing. I am not even sure that my idea could solve the global climate crisis, the corruption problem the politicians have been denying, or the poverty and economic recovery amid the pandemic. All I ask, and probably all of us youth would respectfully ask one more time, make us feel heard.