02 July 2021

PH Journalism from PNoy to PDutz – Dissent Or Assent Or Ascent? The Choice Is Yours!

Philippines, my Philippines: Journalism is notsimply a play of words – as a self-styled journalist for national development, to me it is a way of life! For the last 46 years, since 1975.

Journalism of Old:On Facebook, top image, Rapplersays, “Dissent = Duty.” Below (which I hid), it says: “Dissent is not a crime. Stand up for your rights.” Emphasis on Dissent, emphasis on Rights. Journalists as Knights in Shining Armors.

Journalism of New:I agree with Rappler above, but as a journalist, I do not practice “Dissent.” Yet, instead of the practice of the mere opposite, “Assent,” what I practice is “Ascent.” The difference is great! Ascent to lofty ideals.
(image of “assent vs ascen
t[1] from Dictionary.com)

Setting aside the continuing Covid-19 pandemic lockdown restrictions, it is easy to dislike the current administration of PDutz because of the politics being played and the policing being parlayed – but I always like to challenge myself, to ascend from the easy Negative to the challenging Positive. That is called Creativity. Challenge yourself with creativity sometime!

You cannot ascend thus if you limit yourself to the happenings that you see & hear around you, or see & hear on TV, or see and hear online. This is a job for Supermind!

No, you do not have to look blindly, as with the lady above with a blinder, and in red yet! There is a Supermind, a Genius within us – if only we dig deeper inside our individual heads. The lady is not a tramp, but she is not a trump either. (A “trump" is a winning suit in a card game; and the word “trump” reminds you of the do-gooder American President Donald J Trump, whom I admire by the way.)

Watch your attitude! Watch your language! Watch your mind!

“What can you do to uphold Human Rights?” is a legitimate question, but I would rather ask and answer another legitimate question: “What can you do to advance Human Good?” And I translate that into a doable question: “What can you do for the good of millions of Filipino farm families?”

Uphold is Assent; Advance is Ascend.

I graduated in 1965 from the University of the Philippines (UP) as an agriculturist and a teacher, BSA major in Ag Edu. I came up with my own theory of journalism that I called “Communication for Development (ComDev)” in 1980, which I published in the technical journal of Forest Research Institute (FORI) called Sylvatrop, of which I was Editor In Chief, and which I founded. Where UPLB’s “Development Communication (DevCom)” is not essentially dedicated to development, ComDev is, by the full name itself.

So, I do not communicate to the Filipino people with my eyes on blindfold!

So I have been helping advance the “New Thinking for Agriculture” William Dar has been promoting even before PDutz appointed him 05 August 2019 Secretary of Agriculture (see his column “The ‘New Thinking’ For Agriculture[2],” 13 June 2019, Manilatimes.net). To the whole idea, I assent!@517



[1]https://www.dictionary.com/e/assent-vs-ascent/

[2]https://www.manilatimes.net/2019/06/13/business/agribusiness/the-new-thinking-for-agriculture/568614

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