Mabuang
tungod sa kahakog.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a
pastoral letter that was read in churches during the celebration of the Feast
of the Exaltation of the Cross. The message directly confronted the pervasive
corruption in flood-control projects, framing it not only as a political and
economic scandal but also as a profound moral crisis.
Among the bishops’ urgent appeals was the need to guide the youth toward
integrity and ethical discernment, reminding the faithful that the moral
compass must be nurtured early. The letter even referenced the well-known book All
I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum,
underscoring a timeless lesson: Do not take what is not yours.
Yet how can this lesson take root when many adults themselves are
preoccupied with amassing wealth, not merely to flaunt it, but to compensate
for unmet childhood needs? Research in developmental psychology suggests that
early deprivation or unfulfilled emotional experiences can manifest in
adulthood as compulsive accumulation of material possessions, often mistaken
for success or self-worth (Kasser, 2016). This dynamic reinforces a culture
where unethical practices, including corruption, become normalized, as adults
rationalize their actions as pursuits of security or validation (Deci &
Ryan, 2017). When the older generation models such distorted values, the moral
formation of the young is inevitably compromised, making education in integrity
and responsibility even more urgent.
But beyond the wounds of deprivation, how do we explain the persistence
of corruption among leaders who were born into privilege and abundance? Is it
sheer greed, an insatiable hunger for power, or the intoxication of dominance
that no amount of wealth can satisfy? Left unchecked, these impulses and
unprocessed appetites for control can spiral into a form of madness: akin to
what ultimately consumed Hitler.
Unresolved childhood needs, when carried into adulthood without proper
integration, can give rise to maladaptive behaviors that border on
irrationality. From a psychodynamic perspective, Freud (1920) argued that
repressed frustrations often resurface through destructive drives, distorting
an individual’s relationship with reality. Similarly, Adler’s theory of
inferiority and compensation suggests that unaddressed feelings of inadequacy
may propel individuals toward excessive displays of dominance and control,
sometimes escalating into pathological expressions of power (Adler, 1956). When
such needs remain unprocessed, they may manifest as compulsive greed or
authoritarian tendencies, paralleling the psychological descent into
instability, or even insanity.
What is needed, therefore, is for adults to cultivate deeper
self-awareness and a sense of alignment with the greater good. Without such
grounding, destructive behaviors may appear as mere indulgence, when in truth
they reveal an unrecognized struggle within.
The bishops’ call to awaken the younger generation to the evils of
corruption may otherwise prove ineffective if societal patterns remain
unchanged. Their plea resounds with urgency: unless adults themselves embody
integrity, any effort to teach the youth will falter.
As Robert Fulghum reminded us in All I Really Need to Know I Learned
in Kindergarten, the most enduring moral lesson is strikingly simple: do
not take what is not yours. The future of the next generation may well depend
on whether we finally live by that truth.
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