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4PHL
Montales, Theresa Marie I.

What is your image of Civil Friendship?

Hannah Arendt, a renowned political analyst and thinker, made use of idea of

civil friendship, in connection with her political theories. From what I understand civil

friendship in the context of politics, means that every citizen must treat each other in a

civil manner. To put it simply one must have a civil friendship relation towards the other.

Although we are all stranger, at the end of the day we will be alliance in defending our

own country, in pursuing one goal for the common good. Thus we have to be always in

care for others, specially our co-citizen. Once the friendship started to progress, one

can no longer thinks that they were just civil friends. Then I would say that the most

intimate form of friendship started in civil friendship. Civil friendship in politics is

evidently seen in a democratic form of government or to a dictatorial form of

government.

Philippines is a democratic form of government, and base on what I see in my

environment, especially during the proclamation of a new President or whenever there

is a ruler that the people wanted to dethrone, almost everyone is in ravage to go along

the highways and shout their wants. During the Edsa I and II, many Filipinos went to the

Edsa shrine, wherein some prayed the rosaries, while others were shouting their

sentiments. But the main point here is that not really all of them know or aware of each

other, in some instances, it is their first encounter, yet there is already something that
attach to them pr that bind them, and that is their sentiments to particular object. Ideally,

this is one of the cases on how friendship in the Philippines developed.

From this civil friendship is the development of one’s social life, because through

here, he is able to have a chance in having a communal relation among other people. In

this way one can share his thoughts, culture, and by faith find someone who shared with

his sentiments regarding a particular phenomenon. As one encounter other and tried to

communicate, the more he get the chance of expressing more of his ideas

independently, without holding back because of fear.

Civil friendship, I think help boost one’s independence, because to be aware that

you know someone, is to make you feel that you’re not alone in this world. Being

conscious, that there are people out there, ready to help and accept you in the

community, makes you comfortable in your own environment.

An educated person acts civil in front of the others, he is not snobbish, and

however, he is also not the type of person who will catch the attention of everyone,

through his mistake. An educated person then is open to civil friendship relation. He is

willing to share the thoughts running through his mind, and accept suggestions from the

people around him to develop his thoughts.

Civil friendship, therefore, can become positive or negative depending upon

one’s action, but regardless of its effect, it is important to have a civil friendship among

your co-citizen, because it will serve as one of the factors in the fulfilment of your social

life.