Kartilya ng Katipunan

I found these inspiring words while chasing down some Filipino-American history. I thought it to be very close to the 10 commandments but written with words more in tune with the present time. These few paragraphs seem to summarize all the teachings of Jesus, the constitution (US & Filipino), and the Declaration of Independence (US & Filipino).

This code of conduct, seems so right and so simple, but in reality is so hard to follow. We let greed, pride and our individuality blind us from what being created ‘in his image’ really means.

Such a great work as this should not be hidden in a folder in a library, guarded as a valuable manuscript from an ancestor. It should be proclaimed throughout the world, shared over and over again so that we remember there is only one ‘I AM’ and that is God.

Emilio Jacinto’s address to the candidates at an initiation (Katipunan) in 1894. This address is known today as the Kartilya ng Katipunan. This is what I feel should be the aspirations of all men in all societies.

Kartilya ng Katipunan

“Doing good for personal profit, and not for the sake of the good itself, is not goodness. Charity is rational, as is the love we owe our neighbors, and so our attitude, deeds and words should ever conform to what is reasonable. Whether the complexion be dark or light, all men are equal. Superiority through knowledge, from riches and by beauty are all possible, but nature gives no other superiority.

The honest man prizes his honor above personal profit; rascals prefer profit to honor. Among men of honor the plighted word is sacred. The prudent man is sparing of his promises, and faithfully guards confidences. Don’t waste your time. Lost riches may be regained but lost time can never be recovered. Defend the abused and make complaint of, or war upon, the aggressor.

Along life’s thorny path the man should be the guide of his wife and children, and if the husband and father takes a route over precipices those whom he guides will also fall over.

Woman should not be regarded as a mere plaything but as the faithful companion that shares with man all the penalties of life. Her weakness should make her a special care when you remember that you were born of a woman and recall the mother that brought you up.

Whatever you would be unwilling to have done to your own wife, your own daughters and your own sisters, that do not you do to wives or daughters or sisters of your neighbors.

A man is of no more worth merely because he is a king, or has an aquiline nose, or is fair-skinned, nor because he is a priest, calling himself the minister of God, nor through enjoying great privileges among the fortunate of the earth. The real man is he who, of tried and trusty valor, does good, keeps his word, and is worthy and self-respecting. Such an one neither abuses others nor associates with those that abuse others. Although he may have been brought up in remote mountains and speaks no other language than his rude mother-tongue, real manhood will know how to love and cherish the native land.

When these rules of conduct shall be known to, and observed by all Filipinos, then the sun of our long longed-for liberty will shine brightly on this favored portion of the earth and its rays diffuse such inconceivable joy among the united brothers of the same race that the lives of those who fall anbd the fatigues and sufferings of those who survive will be well repaid.” – Emilio Jacinto 1894

For more information about Katipunan: 

 

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katipunan - Supreme and Venerable Association of the Children of the Nation.
• http://www.efilarchives.org/exhibits/Philippine%20History%20Website%202025/katipunan.html - The Philippine History Site.
• https://www.philippinemasonry.org/the-katipunan-ideology.html - The Katipunan Ideology.
• https://kapampangan.org/the-katipunan-history-philippine-independence/ -
• The Katipunan – History, Significance, and People Leading to Philippine Independence. 

 

 For more information about Kartilya ng Katipunan:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartilya_ng_Katipunan - The Kartilya ng Katipunan
• https://www.philippinemasonry.org/kartilya-ng-katipunan.html - English Translation.

The Answers are Still Blowing in the Wind

 

I was thinking today about how life has changed since I graduated High School and how it hasn't. Much can be told of the '60s from the popular music of that time. Songs like "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield. Released in 1967, the words of that song still apply to what is happening in the United States today (1/18/26). "Blowin in the Wind" by Bob Dylan could have been written yesterday, it's still that relevant to what is happening today. 

In the '60s when I was 16, 17, and 18, I didn't really pay attention to what the words of the songs were. I just listen to it because my peers listened to it. But, as I listen today, I hear in the songs of the '60s, the things I saw on the 6:00 o'clock news tonight. Civil rights are being violated by armed government militias, the US is threatening war on countries, there are riots in some of our largest cities against civil rights and marches against war and government policies, when will we ever learn? I think The answers we seek are still blowing in the wind.

 

Society today hasn't changed much from the '60s.  I grew up first on the South Side of Chicago, then in Oaklawn, about 10 miles south; then on to New Lenox, about another 10 miles south of Chicago. I still remember going to the large Sears store and Montgomery Ward store in Downtown Chicago where there were signs over the restroom doors; "Whites Only" and "colored". Separate but equal is what our government (and white America) called it. From what I remember, most of "Downtown Chicago" was "Whites Only". Things are supposed to be different now, anyone can go anywhere, but just because you "can" go somewhere, it doesn't mean you will be welcome. Chicago along with most other big cities is still segregated. There are areas where whites live, areas where blacks live, areas for Latinos, Italians, Irish, Puerto Recons, etc... Still today, you are only really welcome in your designated area. I always lived in the white side of town, went to schools that were "Whites Only", went to churches that were all white. Sometimes, it seemed to me that we were still fighting the Civil War. 

 

I live in Winterville North Carolina now, society is still segregated; not by race now, but by economic status. Greenville is broken up into rich, middle and poor communities. Again, just because you can cross community boundaries, it doesn't mean you will be welcome. What is really sad is that although races can intermix within their economic communities, race still seems to be a factor among whites. I still don't understand how our rich white forefathers who owned many slaves, could write in a Declaration of Independence that all men are free and equal when they, themselves did not believe it. They were good at talking the talk, but they did not walk the walk.  

 

Where ever you are now, look around. Do you see freedom and equality? Or do you see segregation and lack of respect. What our forefathers did not understand was that before we can be truly free, we must have respect for those around us. And before we can have equality, we must respect the race, religious beliefs and economic status of those around us. 

  

"How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind."  

There's Something Happening Here

"There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware"

 

We're reliving the '60s. In America it was a time of lawlessness, shootings, mass killings, thievery, widespread corruption and denouncing the President. It was all over a war that our government perpetuated over the will of the people. It's happening again, the government perpetuating many things over the will of the people. 

 

Those lines above come from a protest song from the '60s. “For What It’s Worth” is one of the most widely known protest songs of the 1960s. Recorded by Buffalo Springfield as a single, it was eventually released in 1967 on their self-titled album. It has transcended its origin story to become one of pop’s most-covered protest songs – a sort of “We Shall Overcome” of its time, its references to police, guns and paranoia remaining continually relevant even to this day.  

 

Buffalo Springfield was the house band for LA’s famous Whiskey A Go Go Club during the time of the LA riots, which led Stephen Stills to pen the song.

 

“For What It’s Worth” was penned solely by Stills in response to the Sunset Strip curfew riots in Los Angeles in 1966. It all started in the mid-1960s when hippies and young people associated with rock and roll culture would frequently gather on the famous street in West Hollywood. The commercial merchants on Sunset Boulevard decided that the element of young people on the street every night was not conducive to commercial enterprise. When bunch of kids got together on a street corner and said we aren’t moving, the local government put in place curfew and anti-loitering laws to stop people from congregating at the behest of local businesses.

 

This tension between the free-spirited culture and local government came to a head in November and December 1966 when protesters clashed with police, particularly on the night of November 12 when a local radio station announced there would be a protest over the closing of Pandora’s Box, a popular nightclub for young people. Roughly 1,000 people showed up to protest. Three busloads of Los Angeles police showed up, who looked very much like storm troopers. 

 

According to reports, a fight broke out for reasons having nothing to do with the curfew; a car carrying a group of Marines was bumped by another vehicle. Egged on by that fight, the protesters (some of whom carried placards that read “We’re Your Children! Don’t Destroy Us”) trashed a city bus and threw bottles and rocks at storefronts. 

  

The LAPD instigated a 10 p.m. curfew for anyone under 18. 

 

 

The riot was really four different things intertwined, including the war and the absurdity of what was happening on the Strip. 

 

Despite having a reputation as being an anti-war song, as it was also written during the Vietnam War, Stills said that “For What It’s Worth” was mostly written in response to the Sunset Strip riots. 

 

“It was really four different things intertwined, including the war and the absurdity of what was happening on the Strip,” Stills explained in an archived interview, according to the Los Angeles Times. “But I knew I had to skedaddle and headed back to Topanga, where I wrote my song in about 15 minutes. For me, there was no riot. It was basically a cop dance. … Riot is a ridiculous name. It was a funeral for Pandora’s Box. But it looked like a revolution.” 

  

The beginning of the song is a study in understatement. An electric guitar plays two notes, slowly repeated, with tremolo. The drums set up a quiet pulse-like beat. An acoustic guitar enters, strumming two chords, then beginning a quiet riff that is a definition of laid-back L.A. funk. (Audio clip – 80K.) Finally Steve Stills’ voice enters, in a quiet, conversational tone. (Audio clip – 64K.) 

 

[Verse 1]
There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
A-telling me I got to beware

[Chorus]
I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 2]
There's battle lines being drawn
And nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Are gettin' so much resistance from behind

[Chorus]
It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 3]
What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and a-carryin' signs
Mostly say, "Hooray for our side" 

[Chorus]
It's time we stopped
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

[Verse 4]
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life, it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line, the man come and take you away

[Chorus]
We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Now, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going
We better stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down

While watching the news today, this song from my past came to mind and has not left. Once again we have riots in LA, and beginning to start in other cities. We have battle lines being drawn between Trump supporters and Trump non-supporters; Republicans and Democrats; those who want peace and those who want to take peace. When will we learn that nobody's right if everybody's wrong?

We teach our young people to "speak their mind" but we forget to teach them to consider those around them before they speak. Our "freedom of speech" does not give us the right to trespass, steal or destroy other people's property. Our "freedom of speech" does not give us the right to bully or demean any other human.

Nearly 50 years later, and in very different times, we still haven't learned from our mistakes of the 1960s.

 

Imagine By John Lennon

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No Hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people livin' for today
Ah, ah, ah-ah

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothin' to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people livin' life in peace
Yoo, hoo, oo-oo

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharin' all the world
Yoo, hoo, oo-oo

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will live as one

  

What Does Family Mean?

What does family mean to you? Take a minute to write down your own definition of family. If you compare your definition with others, I'm sure you will find both similarities and differences. For example, would your definition of family include: 

1. A friend or neighbor who is not a blood or legal relative (maybe a close friend who lost their house and all their belongings in a storm).
2. An adopted or foster child. 
3. Children who were once step-siblings after a remarried couple divorces.
4. A married couple (relative or close friend) without children.
5. A relative or close friend who cannot live independently on their own.
6. The spouse of a deceased relative or friend.-
7. A sibling who married outside the family’s religious faith and/or race. 

You might be surprised to learn how others respond to these different family types. In fact, you might be surprised at how you respond. What would be your reasoning for including a particular family type or leaving them out? Defining who is and is not family is foundational to your identity, and has implications on how you live your life.

My personal definition of "family" includes all of the above. Inclusion of those who need help into my "family", whether or not they are "blood" relatives, has become part of my belief, faith and trust in God.

Rather than simply defining family by a dictionary definition, I define my family by my own standards, being careful when I look inward to not let local society dictate what my standards are. Instead, I look inward, deep into my soul, find love, respect, support, forgiveness and understanding; for those are the building blocks of a true family.

You can have several families in your lifetime, even several families at once if you choose, such as your spouse's family, your "blood" family, work family or family of friends. Regardless of how you define your family unit, whether traditional or unique, your definition is of the family unit should be one that contains the building blocks of “Family”. Whether made up of blood relatives, friends or a combination of these, your family should offer you the love and support you need to thrive.

Part of navigating life’s many challenges, being welcomed as part of a family is one of our most central needs and a gift we can offer to others. We also take comfort in knowing there is no one way to define family. This knowledge helps us understand and appreciate our families in all their breadth and richness as they develop and change over the course of time. Rather than put up roadblocks, we all have an opportunity to benefit, learn from, and support families among our neighbors, community members, and among our own household and extended family.

There is no perfect family, we do not have perfect parents, we do not marry a perfect person or we do not have perfect children. We sometimes complain about each other. We sometimes offend one another. We are sometimes disappointed with each other. Yes for so many reasons at various times we find it hard to get along with one another. For these reasons, there is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the medicine of family joy and happiness. Forgiveness is vital to our emotional health and spiritual survival. No matter the offense or who is the offender. Without forgiveness, the family becomes an arena of conflict and a fortress of evil. Without forgiveness, the family becomes sick and unhealthy. Forgiveness is the healer of the soul, the purification of the spirit and the liberation of the heart.

No sin is too big to be forgiven. He who does not forgive does not have peace in his soul and can not have communion with God. Unforgiving is Evil and a poison that intoxicates and harms the soul of the one who refuses to forgive. Keeping forgiveness in your heart, mind and soul for your family is a self-healing gesture. Those who do not forgive are physically, emotionally and spiritually ill.

The family must offer respect love and happiness; not despair. A family brings healing through forgiveness and joy and replaces sorrow. A family gives support, not gossip or slander of one another. Families must offer a feeling of welcome not indifference or rejection. When anyone in a family is going through a challenge they need support of others in that family.

Family should offer love and acceptance freely with no strings attached. Family to me, is not just a group of people, it includes a collective group of personal attitudes and emotions from the people around me that accept me and my life as it is, with no apologies, no expectations and requiring no changes.

Family is a feeling of belonging, individual beliefs should not be held against each other; actions or in-actions should not be judged; words should not be manipulated or taken out of context. Family should lend a place of peace and happiness and is a reflection of it’s individuals identity's.

Family is about caring and sharing. Caring that comes from the heart, based on God's love for us and our sharing of that love with those around us. Family is caring and sharing with no expectations, judgments of past or present life experiences or restrictions.

My concept of Family has been shaped by culture, both my wife's culture and mine, along with our families cultures and experiences. My concept of family has also been shaped by my past life and spiritual experiences. Family should consist of people who listen without judgment, retribution or resentment when I reflect on the past; people who do not judge me when I talk about my past or present; and people who allow me to dream about the future. Family is also something I am willing to share with those who try to understand me and my life without judgment or resentment.

My concept of Family is rooted in "love your neighbor" as a way of life, not just a commandment we say should be followed.

My wife and I are under 2 Flags, from 2 Countries, of 2 Cultures, but of 1 Heart. Families should also be of one heart and that heart should be nurtured through love, respect for each other, caring for each other and sharing that love, respect and caring with all those we come in contact with. In my heart, mind and soul, family is not just a group of people, it includes feelings and emotions that are born out of respect, love and caring.

My Catholic Faith teaches me how to be a man and a husband. My Faith also teaches me that we are ALL brothers and sisters of Jesus. Life would be easy if we all lived in the Garden of Eden without sin. But, we don’t live in that garden, we have to deal with the temptations of our world. Because we do not have the knowledge and strength of Jesus, we fail many of life’s challenges. Maybe we would win more challenges if we called on Jesus sooner and worked closer with our brothers and sisters in Christ.