Dear Reader,
The youth of today constantly fascinate the world. Some of them are musicians, members of the student council, fashionistas, K-pop stans, artists, activists, writers, gamers, and even community leaders. The youth today are diverse – powerful, motivated, and capable. They are themselves, and that’s how it should be. No child should ever be discriminated against, made fun of, and silenced for the way they speak, the way their voice sounds, the way they dress, what or who they love, and who they hang out with. They deserve to be themselves and not apologize or feel embarrassed for being so because only when they are truly themselves do they start creating change in this world.
My name is Seve, and I advocate for eradicating toxic masculinity among young boys, free self-expression of children, and climate justice. I strongly believe that children today should be encouraged to be themselves and that they are entitled to a safe, clean, and sustainable future on Earth.
I believe that these matters can be addressed from different angles, but for now, I’d like to bring the spotlight to two aspects: love and good governance. I believe that many of our social issues today (climate change, toxic masculinity, and gender biases included), are intimately linked with the lack of love and good governance in society. Both stand in front of us, like large elephants, but some leaders resort to other “solutions” for these issues and turn a blind eye to them. As our country stands in a crucial position today, with the national elections, climate crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia-Ukraine war happening all at the same time, we need a solid government, ruled by good governance and empathy.
Love and good governance are key roles in putting an end to our social issues today and reducing their severities. Reforms in social structures, projects, and laws can greatly benefit the population today in such a way that it enables them to be themselves more, and it guarantees them a safe environment to be so.
Social issues such as toxic masculinity and gender inequality are pressing matters that affect everyone today. With toxic masculinity, boys are told not to cry, to be strong, not to show emotion, and to like sports like basketball or soccer. Gender inequality, on the other hand, is present today in the form of unequal opportunities, privileges, and services given to men and women, with women often being found at the disadvantage. However, with good governance, love, and empathy in our leaders, these problems may be minimized, or even solved.
Good governance plays a role in this set of social issues because to be able to translate governmental policies, programs, services, and budgets into actual advantages for both men and women, there must be a coordinated, competent, and powerful societal commitment, as well as clear and effective processes in place within and across government institutions. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2017 highlighted this, elaborating on the importance of just governance in solving gender inequality.
With leaders who live by the rules of good governance, and who listen, empathize, and cater to the people’s needs, most especially the underprivileged, we are able to reduce gender inequality in our communities and allow equal and just representation of both men and women in workplaces, government seats, in educational institutions. With leaders who realize these issues and truly want to make a change for their people, policies and structures that eliminate the gender gap and gender-based discrimination may be placed.
Circling back to what I truly advocate for, with leaders and communities that love, empathize, and abide by good governance, these social issues may be solved, and children will no longer have to make themselves small, or try to fit in a box of traits that society tells them to be – They can truly be themselves and unleash their full potential. With gender-considerate policies and structures in society, and rules that combat gender-based discrimination, we move one step forward towards a more inclusive society.
As for climate justice, I cannot stress this enough – the climate crisis is something that we, the people can act towards. However, we can only do so much. Exponential, large-scale, groundbreaking changes are made more possible by government action, and major corporations taking accountability. Leaders who empathize with the people suffering from the climate crisis, and those who love and value the environment, have the power to create change and implement policies to help curb the rising effects of global warming and climate change.
Global governance will need to change profoundly if we aim to avoid the further exploitation of the people and Earth, and ultimately deliver climate justice. Leaders must be environmentally conscious, attentive to the surroundings, and must encourage and introduce more on-site work and projects for the climate, going beyond performativity and words from speeches. It is their love, passion for the environment, and passion to serve, that will drive them with the people towards climate justice.
In more ways than one, the social issues that we face today relate to love and good governance. These are solutions that are hidden in plain sight, solutions that our leaders and fellow community members can pursue and use to help solve the issues that continue to affect us today. Let us urge ourselves, others, and most importantly, our leaders, to see these solutions in front of us and move forward with them into the future – for our country, for our climate, for our children, and for the Filipinos.
Sincerely,
Seve Tuale
A hopeful leader of tomorrow,
And a proud Filipino