RAIN OF FIRE

A world torn by violence
CESAR G. BONILLA

LAOAG CITY -- The world is being torn by violence, crime and war; weighed down by greed, immortality, and poverty, poisoned by increasing pollution, and wasted by the wanton destruction of resources. Government is no big deal. On our own, we are more helpless. How then do we even begin to fight wickedness, ease our suffering, and stop our descent into destruction? If we haven’t done it yet, it’ll help to take the first step.

Turn to the bible. Reading and studying it, we really turn to God. We profit by it. We know the meaning of life and understand His purposes for us. Then we act on the basis of our faith. The bible is the world’s most important book, an all-time bestseller.

Between 1815 and 1975, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, some 2.5 billion copies of it were printed. It’s been translated into more than 1,800 different languages and available to 98 percent of the world’s population. Forty individuals of diverse backgrounds kings, shepherds, fishermen, civil servants, priests, one general, and a physician wrote various portions of the Bible. But there were one in saying they were writing not their own thoughts but God’s. a collection of 66 books, the Bible embodies law, prophecy, history, poetry, counsel and other matters.

The first 39 books were written originally mainly in Hebrew by Jews, long before Jesus Christ was born, and referred to as the Old Testament. The latter part, 27 books, was written in Greek by Christians to form what is known as the New Testament. All books were written over some 1,600 years, starting when Egypt was the dominant world power and ending when Rome ruled most of the world. *** The celebration of Ablan Day in Ilocos Norte was a memorable tribute to the patriotism and heroism of the late Gov. Roque Ablan, Sr. who led the province during the turbulent years of Japanese occupation in the country.

He was an excellent leader of the province and although he was pressured by the Japanese authorities to cooperate with them, he courageously cried for freedom and together with his loyal followers, he fought the imperialistic regime in defense of the inhabitants of the province.

This legendary hero is a pride of the Ilocanos and his virtues can be a living inspiration not only to the youth but to all public servants who are dedicated in keeping the noble creed of public service being a public trust. ***
Parents play a great part in nurturing their children’s physical, moral, spiritual and educational well-being. Even some students in colleges and universities have poor discipline. They have made a mockery of their duties as students for most of them are physically present but mentally unprepared in the pursuit for knowledge.

This is the waterloo of some students whose presence in school didn’t make any difference when they were outside the institution. They attend their classes without any book or notes to follow the subject matter. The worst, those who are not performing well are the most talkative and try to attract attention from serious students.

If they got lower ratings, some of their parents even the blamed instructors or the institution and didn’teven want incompetent and stupid students evaluated.

The young should be aware that the present is only temporary and educators are always there to guide the future.

The serious students with ambition could reap the glory of greatness inside the
academe and give a pride to their parents for their love and sacrifices for them to become better persons. Education is just an instrument for them to reach their goal. We must hope and pray that the system of education can give additional dynamism and innovations for the promotion of quality education in our country. ***
Aug. 6 and 9 are dates to remember Japan’s humiliation in World War II. The United States Air Force dropped the deadly uranium bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It destroyed over half the city, killed about 60,000 persons outright and wounded 100,000 others.

On Aug. 9, another bomb fell on Nagasaki three days later. It was a bomb made of plutonium, an artificial radioactive element derived from bombardments of uranium by neutrons in atomic reactors built for that purpose in United States. It flattened a square mile of Nagasaki and took a heavy toll on lives. With the most incomprehensive destruction of the atomic blast in the history of mankind, Japan finally lost its will to resist. With this tragic event and faced with total annihilation, Japan unconditionally accepted the demand for surrender on Aug. 15, 1945.

This is a lesson in history that all races in the world should be bound by a certain degree of civilization, peace, unity, and love. No race is superior in this world. We have to recognize the limited capability of man to change the face of the earth and we have to abide with God’s ultimate wisdom to direct our actions like in international diplomacy and reconciliation.