iVolunteer

This year started with a bang in which the "Manila Bay rehabilitation" became viral in social media as the government of the Philippines will take action to restore what was supposed to be done ages ago. What has been done to Boracay will be the direction as well. Well, it has been stated from the news that the government is continuously urging citizens to volunteer. And so, this is where my dilemma comes into play.

I try to convince myself that volunteers will act "voluntarily" on this campaign. My mind tells me though that it won't be the case as people will join to take selfies of themselves as to show the world that they participated. I just thought that it would become a public masturbation which will flood one's feed in Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter by the end of the day.

There was one time that I've seen a group of volunteer firefighters who then took a selfie in front of a burning building. Cool as it may seem (for themselves) as they were able to feed their narcissistic ego, it's not. Even if the fire is out, selfie is just plain stupid as there was casualty after all.

Above anything else, it's not that I am against volunteerism -- I believe in altruism. As defined from what I've read in Psychology Today: Altruism is acting out of concern for another's well-being -- it requires people to disregard their own concerns to help others without any expectation of reward. Idealistic as it may sound, but I am one of those who still believes that it exists.

In the end, we might just end up fooling ourselves once again as the first major engagement of the "Spanish-American war" took place in Manila Bay. After all, it's all part of the play whereas our land was the theatre stage. And we're all disposable actors and actresses who continuously entertain the world.