“The action or process through which something is changed so much that it appears to be entirely new.” “To change how you behave or look so that people think of you differently.” “transform,” “redesign,” “modify.” reclaim.” It is how the dictionary describes reinvention.
In this article, we will delve deeper than reinventing ourselves, including transforming our politics, environment, beliefs, and relationships to create an entirely new approach to living and change our behaviour to reflect a different reality.
Once upon a time, reinvention was not part of our lexicon. Life was predictable in the 50s and 60s. Our grandparents were the fountain of wisdom and virtue, much revered in the community. No significant events, culturally and politically, were left without their blessings. We sought their foresight and judgment; they could do no wrong. That era has passed along with their demise. ( the life expectancy in the Philippines in the 60s was 59 to early 60s ) So much has changed since.
As far as life goes, we chugged along with the certainty of the post-war period. As an early boomer, the expectation of the following four decades (50s to 80s) went without a hitch. Despite being out of a fishbowl and early exposure to a foreign culture ( through marriage, career, and environment ), I was largely still culture-bound. There was a feeling of “everything was just fine”—no need to rock the boat. As I wrote in my last article, migration does not matter; the old cultural narrative still matters. I was in a “bubble” carrying the memes of my youth. Career and raising a family were the dominant preoccupations.
The societal changes and upheavals in the larger community were gradual and passive. The stability of the postwar decades began to unravel by the mid-80s and early 90s. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the rise of cable networks, MTV and the beginnings of the Internet were that decade’s political and social alterations. A modern-day epidemic of AIDS ( which killed 40 M worldwide ) tore through our laissez-faire attitude toward homosexuality and drug abuse.
It was not until the rapid rise of social media, along with significant societal eruptions like same-sex marriage, the rise of LGBTQ, transgenderness, legalization of marijuana and medically assisted dying (MAID) and later COVID, to name a few, that humanity ( especially the boomers and the generation X after them ) came to an abrupt: What the hell is going on?
The “tipping point” came to me in early 2000. 9/11 made me rethink the role of Religion in human vulnerability to the forces of fear and intolerance. In the last ten years, I have written many articles that touched on the human fascination with spiritual fantasy and religious delusion.
The Pope’s recent religious introspection is a testament to a major realignment of long-held views when he came full circle and recognized that Religion is the most divisive human invention that has caused much misery throughout our history. By proposing there is only one God for all religions, he, in effect, has given up on the biblical God. True to this Pope’s MO, he is just waiting to declare there isn’t any God! Unfortunately, 2000 years of spiritual delusion cannot be overcome with a Papal benediction. Just as the Vatican has given up the Doctrine of Discovery, the Pope should now give up on the Doctrine of Infallibility, the last bastion of spiritual acrobatics that makes a mere mortal elevated to a demigod.
EVOLUTION, NATURE’S WAY OF REINVENTION
The natural change process, called Natural Selection, is a slow adaptation mechanism. Without human intervention, environmental changes to cope with climate change, for example, could take tens of thousands of years or more. It has never been a problem in the past millennia because humanity constantly collaborated with nature in the hunting-gathering phase of its development. Even as we transitioned in the agricultural- early industrial period, the slow pace of change allowed us to govern ourselves in tandem with nature. Continuous tweaking is happening so all living things, including humans, can adapt.
The advent of the Enlightenment and later “Big Science” left us unable to change fast enough to keep up with major environmental upheavals. Today’s extinction rate is estimated to be 1,000–10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. The impact of climate change alone has put over 10,000 species on the threatened list after losing over 1000 due to climate-influenced habitat loss, aridity, and wildfires. Up to 32% of macroscopic species could go extinct in the next 50 years.
Young people can easily ride these new waves even as they, too, have been subjected to stresses never seen before. A rise in drug use and suicide is proof of these new realities. When parents cannot keep pace with their offspring, it brings new tensions to a relationship. The pace of change in the last two decades has put us ( the boomers ) in a situation of whether to “sail in yesterday’s wind” or reinvent ourselves. Most will probably continue dancing to someone else’s tune, oblivious to any active participation in new paradigms and technological breakthroughs.
Living longer is a mixed blessing. If the right factors are followed, a 70-year-old can expect to live another 20 years ( 56% in men and 60% in women ). The odds of reaching our life expectancy increase every year. Because of the significant changes around us, making minor adjustments to our lifestyle is no longer sufficient. Being a passive member of a community is a waste of additional years of living. Meaningful participation entails letting go of the old hangups to become part of a new group thoroughly.
Entrenched beliefs can hold us back more often than most people realize. The so-called wisdom of the old folks (“matatanda”) is highly overrated. They have no clue about the realities of today. In one of my articles, I quoted, “ang hindi lumigon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa pupuntahan” ( if you don’t look back to where you came from, you will not make it to where you are going ). This is one of those BS that can hold you back. It’s more like “ ang hindi tumitingin sa pupuntahan ay hindi makakarating sa patutuguhan”. (“If you are not looking to where you are going, you will not make it to where you want to go. ) Filipinos are very often cultural casualties of their superstitious preoccupation. We have to stop passing this nonsense to our children.
Human nature is transforming in such a short order for us to catch up and adapt rapidly enough to avoid being a casualty in the process. Your children and grandchildren are products of a different environment you grew up in. It is where relationships can be put in severe stress. Most will be drawn to the usual and convenient as a safe alternative. But for others, living life to the fullest means seeking a different social circle, getting involved in unfamiliar pursuits or even new relationships.
Some people see themselves as agents of change. People who feel very strongly about certain issues or may have certain skills or talents that could be helpful to others have the best avenues for new and rewarding experiences outside of the ordinary.
INNOVATION, THE INDISPENSABLE FACTOR OF CHANGE
In October, I wrote about political dynasties in the Philippines and how they hindered us in reinventing ourselves. Political Dynasties ( 80% in the Philippines, the world’s highest ) are so unrelenting that reinventing our politics could be a distant dream and yet the one institution that can bring enormous changes to the country. It’s the same legislators who can outlaw it, but what is the incentive when it brings unbridled power to people who are out for themselves?
Dynastical politics offers nothing but roadblocks to self-realization in all aspects of governance, from education to health care to social safety nets and the reduction of poverty and hunger. In this era of political realignment and globalization, our country’s ability to reinvent itself is hamstrung by people who are disciples of the past and can only see through the lens of kindred with the same ideas and biases. The generational divide has never been so immense. The status quo is our worst option.
Humans have been on a tear since the Enlightenment. We are beyond the reach of Evolution ( by Natural Selection ) as a tool for continued human progress. We innovate to respond to our immediate needs, whether to increase our food supply, mitigate environmental concerns, leading-edge health care or take more responsive socio-economic measures. The most innovative countries show a trajectory of progress. In a rapidly changing world, we must prioritize our resources with a cutting-edge mindset.
The top three pillars of innovation are A. knowledge & Tech Outputs, B. Human Capital and Research C. Business Sophistication. Based on these determinants, the top three most innovative countries in 2024 are 1. Switzerland ( for 14 consecutive years) 2. Sweden 3. United States. Canada ranks # 14, and the Philippines # 53. In Asia, Singapore ranks first, South Korea second and China third ( 4th, 6th and 11th ). The bottom three are Mali, Niger and Angola ( 131, 132 and 133 ) ( Source: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Ranked: The World’s Most Innovative Countries in 2024, by Marcus Lu)
Based on our population, ingenuity, and resourcefulness, the Philippines should rank much better than we do. Innovativeness, after all, is dependent on creativity and resourcefulness. Many countries with much less human capital are trending higher than us; tiny Singapore is 4th after the US. In fact, we have been victims of our early successes. I am sure you have heard that we were economically only second to Japan in the 60s. International students came to our universities in droves.
But then we sat too long on our laurels and took a back seat while the others continued with R&D and improved from imported knowledge from the West. Our system became stale because we needed to keep up; our educational standards had gone down, political leadership got busy enriching themselves, our people became disillusioned, and talent started migrating elsewhere.
Meanwhile, our Asian competitors have gotten very busy bettering themselves. South Korea, with less than half of our population, has reinvented itself many times to be a leader in just about everything Filipinos wished they had. Our poor compatriots are just happy to crew a SK ship or drill rig, drive a SK car, watch TV on a SK set, use a SK cell phone, or even watch a SK telenovela. What have we contributed to the world? The jeepney and the yoyo! Good Grief! Like our Asian competitors, we need to be relentless, ruthless, and aggressive to reinvigorate our competitive spirit. They are walking all over us!
Our creative outputs have been victims of religious subjugation; we are beset by fear, timidity and ambivalence brought on by 500 years of theological colonialism. Who is going to lead us at the turn of the century? We will be at the mercy of the descendants of today’s dynasty and the continued control of oligarchs.
If the future generation of Filipinos chooses to stay put, staying engaged and changing the status quo will prove consequential. Until our political leadership reinvents itself into benevolent stewardship, our country’s future remains at the margins.