The other day I was on my way to Dasma, Cavite. To get there I took a "van" ride from my neighborhood to Pala-pala, right next to Dasma. On the way the aircon was not functioning. Everyone inside the van murmured about the problem. One whispered saying, jokingly, that she will have a heat stroke. I dared to call the attention of the driver. I told him about the problem and I asked if he could do anything about it. He just put his hand on the aircon vent and continued driving. He did not seem to care.
That was one illustration of telling a lie. We paid for our ride and part of what we paid for was to receive a correct service. We did not get the correct service. We were lied to. The driver did not comply with the "agreement".
Then I thought of the passengers and I felt frustrated over their indifference. But eventually I sensed that we were all "powerless" and that we just wanted to get to our destinations.
With all the injustices going on in our society we, "the people", stay silent. We just want to get to our "destinations".
I thought of Alfred Schutz and his "provinces of meaning". Some people are wealthy and powerful enough to financially sustain living in a province of meaning with the style of pure fun and entertainment. They do not have to go through the suffering of many other people of daily life. They exempt themselves and enter into a life-style that allows for a "province of meaning" outside that of the everyday.
But to sustain that financially means to prohibit others from access to proper living.
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