“I will not sacrifice my child for this world, but I will not sacrifice this world for my child.” — Sue Storm in the movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
I WAS struck by this line of Sue Storm. How will you decide if you were in her position? To save the world, she has to sacrifice her son. But at that time, her instinct as a mother kicked in. She will not save the Earth at her son’s expense.
The people called her selfish. The experts told her to do something for the greater good. To save humanity is more important than anything or anyone else.
But Susan Storm will not have any of it. All their heroic suggestions only seem logical because they are not the one sacrificing their very own son. She is a mother. What else will you expect from her? Mothers are known to sacrifice everything for their children. A mother would even cover up the criminal acts of her son. The love of a mother, her protective instinct to her children, knows no bounds.
But can you blame the people for accusing Sue Storm of being selfish? For the people have nothing to offer as an alternative. Good thing Reed Richards was able to think of another way. But the people themselves were helpless. And Galactus was not interested with any of their children.
And can you blame Galactus? He was cursed to suffer hunger for eternity. The only way to sustain himself is to consume planets. To free himself, he needs the child. The child is his freedom from suffering.
The movie, especially the above-quoted line of Sue Storm, made me think about how we balance personal needs with social responsibility or how we must remain personally accountable despite social pressures.
To contextualize, allow me to share the following:
1. What right does a lazy employee have in voicing out the corruption in the government?
This is the kind of employee who often arrives late but leaves the office before 5pm. This is the employee who gossips around and puts down officemates to gain an advantage.
But somehow, we can’t blame these employees who have lost their trust to the government. Their public officials steal from the government coffers. Why work hard when those in power work less and have more?
2. To what extent is giving money to the poor beneficial in the long term?
Of course, if money is given to us, we will readily accept it. We cannot deny that we need more support from the government. And these programs do alleviate the suffering of our people.
But what do we do when some of the beneficiaries become dependent on government dole outs to the point that they make a living out of it? They don’t need to look for work anymore because the money given to them is sufficient for their needs.
3. How valuable are senior high school graduates?
Can you blame a company for accepting a college graduate applicant instead of a senior high school graduate applicant?
Did the additional two years in high school made our students more decisive as to what career to pursue in college? Did the additional two years made a significant contribution in improving a student’s performance in college?
I want to hear this from parents and teachers: “Good thing we have the Senior High School Program. It was such a big help. The additional requirement of two years was all worth it.”
As a government employee, I am personally beholden to the people. In a sense, it is the people who pay me. Generally, my salary and allowances came from the taxes they pay. It is thus fitting that my work should be geared towards public service.
But I cannot somehow reconcile the behavior of some public officials with their function as public servants. Come to think of it, the power and money that are connected to their position all came from the people. But they behave with impunity. Sadly, they are willing to sacrifice the welfare of the people for their selfish wants and desires./PN
