Manuel, Jason M.

INTSOCI C31 Reflection Paper Tongues on Fire by Conrado de Quiros

July 15, 2009

The article written by de Quiros began with by stating a short story about Rizals interaction with different kinds of people in the ship. First on the upper deck, he was able to communicate with foreigners who can speak different languages that are very popular in the world. After that he went on the lower deck. In there, he wasnt able to communicate very well with his fellow countrymen because they speak a different dialect and he doesnt understand them. The story points out the way we look and accept other things especially those that came or originated from other country. The article talks about how the condition of the poor people differs from the rich. It is mentioned in this article how the poor are treated here in our country. According to De Quiros, people especially those who are renowned in the society doesnt mind those people who are in need even if it is obviously seen that they are suffering from the hardships in life. Nobody even care for them anymore and sometimes they hide the existence of the poor here in our country the fact that it is very noticeable. It is true that almost all of us do the same way what the writer had said even though we all know that that isnt the proper way we should treat them because we are showing as if we discriminate them from the society. Aside from that, De Quiros has said that To be rich is to know that nothing is impossible, to be rich is to know that you can go around any obstacle. On the other hand, to be poor is to be assailed by impossibility, it is to have obstacle after obstacle put in your part until you no longer see the goal. It means that the rich can or have anything they want because they have the money unlike the poor, who continue to struggle hardships after hardships, doesnt have the power to overcome it and they still to continue to be pulled down. It is said that one way to solve this problem is completely make them disappear to the eyes of the public but for us it is not the proper way because it is like saying that those who have the money are only the ones who have the right to live. Instead, what we should do is to look at them and know what must be done in order to resolve this problem in the country.