Why follow the flight of the ‘Maltese sparrow’?

In her June 5 column, Rina Jimenez-David talks about divorce. She touches on the “Malta case,” where a majority of the 98-percent Catholic population voted for divorce.

Now comes our Pinoy gaya-gaya bandwagon mentality. David asks, “If Malta can fall in step with the rest of the world, why can’t the Philippines? And what is so special about our being the last holdout against divorce?”

One can readily say nothing, and just as readily ask, what’s so special about “keeping in step with the rest of the world?”

I’m reminded about my high school days at Taft Avenue where we, as PMT cadets, had a parade-in-review routine. Whenever we felt we were out of step with the other cadets, we automatically would adjust, to keep in step, as David puts it.

But aren’t we getting too stuck in what the “rest of the world” does? Does this “principle” always apply? Might David have a military background?
The Maltese “experience” is but a sparrow in the scheme of “divorce things.” So let’s not make a falcon out of it! Being a “look-alike” of other nations and/or their customs or prerogatives is of totally no import or consequence, for Pete’s sake! They live their lives, we live ours!

What the “rest of the world” thinks has been proven to contain a lot of garbage. “Keep in step”? Aping, that’s what it is!

—BOBBY G. KRAUT,
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