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| Mass Society |
The
mass today has a great influence on the mass society, they can be a threat to
the mass society. The RH Bill can be an example of how the mass is a negative
aspect to the mass society. Many share their opinion on whether they disagree
or agree with the RH Bill. The Philippines is a Catholic country and so many are
strongly against it, this brings together all the Catholics; on the other side
are those who agree with the RH Bill therefore there is a separation.
The
mass society has been divided or separated from each other an example would be
that, “The Catholic hierarchy may
strip a school of its affiliation with the church if they go against its
teachings particularly on life issues.” This was a statement from a ranking
Archbishop. As we all know most of the Filipinos are made up of Catholics
however there are many who are Catholics but yet are Pro-RH Bill. The Catholic
Church believes that the RH Bill goes against the teaching of the church so
should not be taught in Catholic schools. The more that are pro-RH Bill, the
more start to go against the church and start to question their beliefs. The
Archbishop Jose Palma believes that the Rh-Bill is a contradiction to the teachings
of the church. Another issue about this Bill is that next up will be divorce
and abortion that will be followed through. People have many arguments pro and
against it and there are even signs or posters around schools showing they are
against the RH-Bill, we have this here at UST. Harold D. Lasswell’s focus of
study is on propaganda and the signs around UST are an example of this. It
advertises and tries to make everyone become or tells them to be anti-RH Bill.
This has become such a big issue that people do
not know where they stand or what to believe in. Emile Durkheim says that, “There are certain ways
of acting, feeling and thinking that are expected and required from people if
society is to operate in harmony.” The Catholic Church does not give people the
option to make their own decision. In an article I read mentioned that in
Ateneo there are professors that are pro-RH Bill but they stated that they do
not speak for the school but they are just giving their opinion. This shows how
the professors are separating themselves from their own school because of their
own opinion, they speak for themselves and not for the school. This expresses
how the mass society can be positive towards the mass society, if they are able
to separate themselves and not go with whatever everyone else agrees with. On
the other hand many are scared to stand up and give their opinion as the mass
is against them, such as the Catholic Church. In UST there are signs that the
school is anti-RH-Bill, as a Catholic they are expected to be against RH-Bill
because of their beliefs and the teachings of the church which immediately links
back to Emile Durkheim statement. It is not giving people the freedom; making
the mass itself a threat to mass society. As a Catholic church you are expected
to be against the RH-Bill this is what the Archbishop and Bishop is trying to
get across. You have the masses which are consisted of Catholics who stand up
and go against the RH-Bill however in Article II, Sec. 6. Says that “The
Separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.” The Catholic Church
strongly stands up for their beliefs however the Catholic Church should not go
against the state. The Philippines is run by the President and is not run by
the Church or rather should not be run by the Church. The Church try to
overpower and make decisions they should not be making. The division can affect
many people on whether they are anti or pro RH-Bill, it is very hard to tell
who they should follow or believe in.
For me the mass society
is very strong. It is good to have many people come together to share their
opinions and arguments to get their message across, but it has come to the point
where it is against the opinion and your faith. The media presents all these
arguments online on social networking sights, blogs, websites and articles.
Signs are used all around the Philippines to promote anti-RH Bill. “I am
pro-life. I am anti-RH Bill,” “Choose Life, Reject RH Bill” “UST is Catholic,
UST is pro-life, UST rejects RH Bill,” are examples of some of the slogans used
on posters. The Catholic Church along with the mass believe that the Rh-Bill is
going against them. However it is not up to the Church to decide what is good
to the country or what is not. The state is not run by the Church. The
Philippines is strongly a Catholic country and so try to get in the way of the
bill that was passed. The Church believe that it will corrupt the minds of
people however it is up to the mass what they will do with the information being
fed to them.
The RH-Bill issue is an
example of the two step flow theory. The mass media spreads the news of the
RH-Bill to the public and there are then the opinion leaders in this situation,
the opinion leaders are the Catholic Church and the President. Propaganda is
used to convince the mass to reject the bill. The masses has then separated themselves in
whether or not they are anti or pro-RH Bill. There is even a group on the
internet to prove how the mass has come together to fight for what they believe
in, “Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill.” It illustrates the message that the
people get from the RH-Bill. In fact the intentions of the RH-Bill is to
control the population of the Philippines and to decrease the transfer of aids
and STD’s. The Catholic Church does not see this as they are just looking at
how it effects the minds of the Catholics and how it goes against many
teachings of the Church. The Church does not look at the bill practically, they
only see one side of the argument.
(2013, April 20) Schools
Defying Church Teachings May Lose Catholic Status, CBCP NEWs. http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=2280
Patricia, Kim Arveen.
(2013, March 19). SC Stops Controversial RH Bill For Now, Yahoo! News. http://ph.news.yahoo.com/sc-stops-controversial-rh-bill-for-now-065809268.html
De Leon, Hector s., (2008, June).
Article II – Declaration at State Policies, Section 6., Textbook on the
Philippines Constitution. Manila, Philippines: University of The Philippines
Former Associate Professor, Far Eastern University.
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