BY KLAUS DÖRING
THERE are no rules for behavior, dress, etc. Today, in terms of clothing, almost anything goes, but they recall when the dress code was strictly formal.
If people say “anything goes”, they mean that anything people say or do is considered acceptable, and usually they mean that they do not approve of this. [Disapproval] In the ‘90s, almost anything goes. See full dictionary entry for go.
Well, you see, in olden days, a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, but now, God knows, anything goes.
Good authors, too, who once knew better words now only use four-letter words writing prose, anything goes.
The world has gone mad today, and good’s bad today, and black’s white today, and day’s night today, when most guys today, that women prize today, are just silly gigolos.
And though I’m not a great romancer, I know that you’re bound to answer when I propose, because anything goes.
Originally used in the 19th Century as “Everything goes”’ it simply means that one can do whatever one likes, without rules or consequences.
Anything goes? Yes, it seems so: illegal logging, natural disasters, improper disposal of garbage, climate change, melting icebergs, “my neighbor goes on burning rubber and plastic” (GRABE!), poisonous waste products!
Guys, when will you stop doing this? Or, are you waiting for the next tsunami and taifun taking away your family and all your belongings and properties?
Since years, I have on my desk a wonderful brochure entitled “Q&A Questions and Answers on YOUR ecosystem” – m entioning and explaining 365 (!) reasons to stand up for Mother Nature. And to be counted as “Barkada ng Kaliksan”! It’s really a primer on environment care, produced by the Kinaiyahan Foundation, Inc. and BARog KA likupan DAbaw, Inc. (BARKADA) with a foreword by Elisea G. Guzon, former secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Even having the fumes of burned poison garbage in my nostrils (I usually enjoy writing my columns somewhere outside in my tropical green garden!) I still study this valuable brochure.
Yes, anything goes! It really seems true! Why should one think about the ecosystem and its structures? Or, solar-energy and life on earth and why should it be protected? The effects of global warming can be seen more and more, but deforestation and profits kill the thoughts and deeds about the value of forests and how to protect them!
Fertilizer and its problems are known, but who really cares? Pesticides and their problems are very well known too, but who really cares? Anything goes? How do we handle major consumers of water managing water resources? Are we overusing groundwater?
Climate change, greenhouse-effect, gases that pollute the atmosphere, acid rains, and biodiversity are foreign words to these people, who continue to destroy our globe and provoke the next natural disaster. The above-mentioned brochure, mentioning the Top 30 Environmental Issues in the 21st Century, is not the only written examination or rebuke. I wish and pray for many followers. For our next generations!
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