Through
the years, Santa Rosa City has visibly developed and became modernized. Since
1792 until 2012, Santa Rosa has always tried to grow and prosper as a city.
Economy-wise it has flourished quite steadily. Then and now, we can see some
similarities and differences in the city’s economy.
One
similarity is that from 1792 until 2012, the city has proved itself to be “The
Lion City of the South” due to its fast economic growth.From being a 4th class economy,
the city grew to be a first class economy within a span of six years. In 1792,
the city has already been prosperous with regards to its economy. In 2012, the
city is continuing to be one of the fastest growing cities in the south.
One
difference is Santa Rosa’s sources of local economy in 1792 and in 2012. In
1792, the economy largely depended on agriculture, fishing, livestock and
backyard industries. Today, the city’s economy is dependent on automobile
manufacturing companies, food manufacturing industries, banking, commerce, and
shopping centers.
Even
through these similarities and differences in the city’s economy, we couldn’t deny
that Santa Rosa City is indeed a very fast-growing “Lion City” in the south of
Laguna.
According to the Merriam-Webster
dictionary, modernization is the state of being modernized; having
characteristics of the present or most recent period of development. It is a
revolutionary transition from an old-fashioned society to one that is
considered ‘modern’. The teleology of modernization is described in social
evolution theories followed by the societies which are now known as
‘modernized’.
Historians and sociologist may link
modernization to the processes of urbanization, rationalization and
industrialization. As sociologist say, “When modernization increases within a
society, the individual becomes that much more important, eventually replacing
the family or community as the fundamental unit of society.”
Modernization has been used widely by today’s
rapidly developing societies and communities to aid in their development. In
countries like China, modernization is said to be the most useful framework in
their history.
Traditional beliefs and
old-fashioned cultural traits become less important in societies undergoing the
process of modernization. Instead of being cooped up in conventional practices,
modernized societies tend to arrive at governance dictated by abstract
principles and greater appreciation of innovations.
Some believe that science,
technology and education are the best ways to make a society modernized, some
believe in the importance of a “special path” or standing out, and some has
tried isolation.
It has also been said that democracy
follows modernization. As Seymour Martin Lipset said, “All the various aspects
of economic development--industrialization, urbanization, wealth, and
education--are so closely interrelated as to form one major factor which has
the political correlate of democracy.”
Each society can transcend from
traditionalism to modernization and those who do usually follow more or less
similar paths. More modernized societies are wealthier, more powerful, has a
visibly higher standard of living and the citizens experience more freedom and
privileges brought about by modernization.
Waking up every day to the peaceful sounds of birds chirping, roosters crowing, the soft murmurs of the people around, the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee and breakfast that’s still cooking, warm sunlight gently seeping through little spaces between my curtain, and knowing everything I would need for the day is readily available to me is my idea of paradise. And Santa Rosa City, a wonderful, small, prospering city in the Province of Laguna is my own little paradise.
Santa Rosa City is the only place I could really call home. I was born here and I’ve spent all my years in this amazing city. I could never forget the memories I’ve made in this city. Staying out under the warm sun, making crowns made out of the most beautiful, colorful and fragrant flowers my girlfriends and I could find outside; making the best mud pies with all my guy friends while still basking in the warmth of the afternoon sun; and trying to climb the tall trees and the aratilis trees to pick out small, sweet and red aratilis fruits. Though we enjoy the splendid climate sunny days may bring, even the rains couldn’t stop our childhood fun! We stay playing and spinning under the big blue sky and taking pleasure on the feeling of warm raindrops touching our faces with the biggest childish smiles imaginable. I could say I had a very fun-filled and exciting childhood here in my hometown.
As a child, I might have believed that my hometown would always stay as I knew it then. Now, I know that as they say, the only constant thing in this world is change. Whether I like it or not, my beloved hometown is bound to change. It has to keep-up with the changes happening around the world. It has to be modernized so it could progress to attain utmost excellence it can achieve as a prospering city.
For my final project, I am going to write about the modernization of Sta. Rosa City. I will dig deeper into the changes that occurred during the past few years in my city and I hope to be able to distinguish the visible and not so known innovations and developments that emerged in my hometown by the end of my research.
Are
we on a sustainable path? To answer this question, we must first understand
what sustainability is. According to Wikipedia, sustainability is the capacity to endure renewal, maintenance, and
sustenance, or nourishment in contrast to durability, it’s the capacity to
endure unchanging resistance to change.
In relation to this, sustainable development,
according to the World Commission on Environment and Development, is a development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. So now, the question is: “Can we continue living our current lifestyles
without compromising the quality of life in the future?”
Do we think there will be enough
resources left for the future generations if we continue our lavish ways of
life today? When we leave the world, would we be proud because we did something
worth our short time on earth; something to make the life of the future people
easier for them by producing innovative technology they could use? Or would we
leave them with more crisis than we are facing right now?
I believe that if we continue living
this way—extravagant, wasteful, and over-the-top, we won’t be able to leave
this world without compromising the quality of life for the future. As I witnessed
from a film we viewed recently called “The Inconvenient Truth,” if we continue
this way of inhabiting earth, not much will be left for the future generations.
What’s worse, we might all be eradicated within 50 years if we continue living
at this rate.
Though the truth is indeed, very inconvenient,
many people are now aware of the possible consequences our actions today might
bring to the next generations and they are trying to do something about it.
In my immediate community, which is
in Santa Rosa City, I don’t think we are living sustainably right now. Like most
communities today, we tend to use more than what we really need, consume more
than what is supposed to be spent; we never seem to be content with what we
have. To combat future problems regarding sustainability like shortages,
environmental dilemmas, and the like, the government here in Santa Rosa tried
to implement projects that aim to delay negative effects of our lavish way of
life. Some of these projects are banning plastics, waste segregation and
recycling programs.
In order to leave a sustainable
environment for the future generations, we must be aware of the consequences of
our actions today to the people and world tomorrow. We must keep in mind that
the world is not really ours so we must leave it in better condition than we
came here instead of leaving it worn out and barely or not livable at all for
the people of the future.
