May 20, 2012, this year, was World Communications Sunday. It was appropriate then that the resource speaker for the Third Wednesday Talk is a career media practitioner. He is Mr. Bernard Factor Cañaberal, a professional communicator, who has had thousands of radio plays and hundreds of teleplays, among other accomplishments, to his credit.
Bro. Bernard talked about “silence.” Yes, it takes someone who has devoted all his life to communicating to know the importance of silence. “Silence,” he declared, “Is the language of God.” As proof he cited a number of Old Testament prophets, as well as the Blessed Mother and the apostles, who all discerned God’s will after long moments of silence. These people surrendered to the will of God.
In contrast, Bro. Bernard noted that Adam and Eve did not follow God. God gave them only one command, yet they did not obey. Instead, they followed the serpent. The serpent, which was used by the devil, figured prominently in Bro, Bernard’s talk as the symbol of media gone awry.
That media may be sending people the wrong message may be the case nowadays. Bro. Bernard noted that we are inundated with messages from billboards, print media, radio, TV, the computer, cell phones and other gadgets. He cited popular commercials that may just convey the wrong message. One example is a commercial in which the endorser says “Lahat tayo yummy!” The line is innocent enough, but suggests that people can be sampled and used for one’s ends.
More disturbingly, today’s media has fostered the concept of “relativism” – that one can interpret morality the way it suits him or her. The idea of relativism has led to the culture of DEATH. DEATH is the acronym for Divorce, Euthanasia, Abortion, Total Reproductive Control and Homosexual Partnership. The idea of relativism has made these more acceptable, especially to the young.
Bro. Bernard laments the weakening of the family, church and school as institutions that inculcate proper values and discipline. Instead, he sees media today as “the new parent in the house.”
But is media bad? No, that was not what Bro. Bernard said. He simply insisted that we must be on guard and critical as to what media communicates. He cited the word “BELIEVE” to illustrate his point. In the word “BELIEVE”, one can find the word “LIE”.
He then extolled the audience that evening to be dedicated guardians of the media. “Our task,” he said, “is to be at the service of truth.” He enjoined everyone to “go back to God.” Be like the prophets and the saints who had periods, long periods, of silence before they were able to discern the will of God. “Silence,” Bro. Bernard advised, “is an integral part of communication.”
We should then take heed and do our task in being “at the service of the truth.” We may then be able to use media, not in espousing the culture of “DEATH,” but in promoting the FAMILY.
That’s “Father and Mother, I Love You!” Instead of the media controlling the children, let it be the parents guiding their children with regard to the media.
- by Mario Ampil
Reflection:
The Media Principal
I am a person connected to multiple IP addresses, Domain Name servers and social networks. The Internet is my primary interface into the information age. The third Wednesday talk at the Greenbelt Chapel emphasized the effect of media as it becomes the primary source of information, making most people often believe up front what they see in television and in 
the Internet. What struck me most about the talk was about the mention of Media Ignorance. Indeed, there are “bad” media, but it is often up to us to believe in them. Most often it is because of us that these “bad” media become so popular. Some also are so good at disguising “bad” media that we no longer see them as such; they even make us embrace and incorporate them in our lives. WE have become complacent with regard to what we take in. So much so that we no longer scrutinize what is being said or what is being shown, unless it is so blatantly obvious.
Honestly, I got a bit scared at how kids no longer go out of their houses to play. Kids no longer wanting to listen to their teachers (I myself am guilty of this) because they can learn the material faster from what is available on the world-wide web. I even thought of how the Holy Bible might someday simply become just a pdf file in our phones and no longer be a physical book.
Truly, we are in the information age; the next of the next gen. We are moving so fast that in order to process all the information we tend to leave out or blind ourselves from what we should be looking at. It is not too late though. We can all start it by ourselves. We don’t need to take our kids outside the country for them to realize that there is something out of the computer’s screen. We have yards and different beautiful places within our reach. Although they might not have historical significance, they are still part of the world that God has created for us that will never be replaced by the highest resolution televisions or the best surround sounds.
- by Paul Alvarez