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Jerika L. Lagman 01 February 2023

Theo6 – MM-3B Prof. Ralfh Anthony Espiritu, SThB, MAT.

Reflection#1: Social Transformation in our Philippine Society

One of the values that needs to be inculcated in our hearts and minds is respect. Respect can
be defined as “esteem for or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something
considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability.” This is a crucial element of one’s
identity as well as of interpersonal connections. Consideration for respect as a fundamental human
right. A very key factor that can cause breakups and even violence is disrespect. The idea also
includes the capacity to respect and value another person, even if we disagree with or disagree with
all they do. Acceptance involves not attempting to change the other person. Our distinctions help to
define who we are, which is a good thing. This implies that people differ individually, yet it’s
important to remember that we are all equal in society. For the mere reason that they are people,
everyone deserves respect. There is balance in equality. But it’s also crucial for oneself since an
individual can only value themselves to the extent that they can also value others. Without the value
respect, human interactions will be chaotic and unpleasant. People won’t respect us if we don’t
respect them, and the same goes for the other way around if we don’t respect ourselves. It is crucial
to feel secure and to be free to express oneself without worrying about being ridiculed, degraded, or
be subjected to discrimination. Our self-esteem, self-efficacy, mental health, and overall wellbeing
improve when we respect ourselves, others, and each other.

The value respect for Filipinos was tested in Philippine campaign period dated in 2022.
Filipinos have different views and opinion for their preferred candidates, they are free to express
their own opinion and free to decide on their own. However, personal relationships such as family
relationship, friendships, and or romance relationships were tested and some even got broken
because they have different preference and views of one candidate and some of the Filipinos take it
to their hearts when they knew who your candidate is. Most of the people doesn’t want to value and
respect your opinion, they would aggressively argue with you and it would cause a non-ending
argument. Some may even background check you and attack you based on your background.

First of all, there is Freedom of Speech, and people are allowed to express themselves in
their own ways and people should be able to respect that so others can freely express themselves.
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However, Respect doesn’t come naturally, it should be learnt. People should start learning how to
respect one another to create a better community so that members of that community can feel safe.