We the Educated Filipinos - Cowards and Opportunists

No Knights In Shining Armor
GLIMPSES article for Friday, Feb. 9, 2006
...Jose Ma. Montelibano

WHAT WE FILIPINOS SHOULD KNOW: (Note: Bold and/or underlined words are HTML links. Click on them to see the linked posting/article. Forwarding the postings to relatives and friends, especially in the homeland, is greatly appreciated).

There are times when we, the so-called educated class, talk among ourselves about the predicament of our homeland and our fellow native Filipinos-in-the-Philippines end throwing up our hands and saying ours is a hopeless case. One is reminded by the words of assassinated (courtesy of the Marcos Dictatorship) Senator Benigno Aquino: "The Philippines is worth dying for."

Inquirer columnist Jose Ma. Montelibano emailed the below article which is pretty interesting and says much about the state of the Filipino mind in current/recent years regarding politics in the homeland. JoeM set me thinking when he wrote that "Filipinos were coming of age."

To me, "coming of age" connotes something positive, such as an adolescent growing up to adulthood, of becoming more responsible. But when we witness mainly apathy from our people, most especially from among us so-called educated who ought to know and understand more the "scheme of things" and expectedly be more involved in acting and fighting for our "common good" and those of future native Filipinos, I say that we do not see the Filipino "coming of age," instead we see only cowardice (as JoeM correctly describes). And maybe the common good is limited exclusively to that of our so-educated class (of course, among whom belongs the socioeconomic/political elite).

We witness apathy among the so-called educated (again that's us) because our main preoccupation is our selfish selves and our immediate family. To hell with the native majority where there is nothing for us ( "What's in it for me?" is our only frame of reference, consciously or unconsciously. That is why a lot of us so-called educated do materially well, legally and illegally, in the homeland, the USA or other foreign country).

We the so-called educated are unconscionably proud to be survivalists, chameleons, opportunists, sycophants, quislings, etc., as copycats of the earlier generations of Filipino ilustrados and their descendants, us who licked/lick the Spanish boots -- then and now-- Americans, local Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc. boots to maintain and enlarge our social status, wealth and power. To hell with the native majority who have nothing to offer, except maybe a begging hand.

And by the way, we witness apathy among the Filipino majority, "the people", ang "taong masa" --native Malay majority who are deep in poverty and hunger and thus left behind, the poorest of the poor who can not afford to be OFWs-- because their essential human needs, i.e. food, shelter, clothing, etc. are unmet and they are busy struggling to simply and basically exist, not live as those of us who can access the Internet do.

The ever-worsening reality of impoverishment we the so-called educated class and mainly self-confessed Christians/Catholics, ought to understand and do something about. Charity is good but towards mass education for nationalist consciousness with consequent nationalist decisions and actions is better for the long-term... Unless we want simply to keep the native majority ignorant through their illiterate existence and therefore be easily manipulated towards our selfish ends.

So let us NOT blame "the people" for not understanding nor inaction.


"Those who profess to favor freedom
and yet deprecate agitation
are men who want crops without plowing up the ground;
they want rain without thunder and
lightning.
They want the ocean without the
awful roar of its waters.
This struggle may be a moral one
or it may be a physical one
or it may be both moral and physical
but it must be a struggle.
Power concedes nothing without a
demand
It never did, and never will." – Frederick Douglass, American Abolitionist, Lecturer, Author and Slave, 1817-1895)(quoted in Fr.Salgado’s Philippine Economy: History and Analysis, 1985)

"What luck for rulers that men do not think" - Adolf Hitler

"If the people are not completely free and happy, the fault will be entirely their own." - George Washington, shortly after the end of the American Revolution

“Nations, whose NATIONALISM is destroyed, are subject to ruin.” - Colonel Muhammar Qaddafi, 1942-, Libyan Political and Military Leader

"Upang maitindig natin ang bantayog ng ating lipunan, kailangang radikal nating baguhin hindi lamang ang ating mga institusyon kundi maging ang ating pag-iisip at pamumuhay. Kailangan ang rebolusyon, hindi lamang sa panlabas, kundi lalo na sa panloob!" --Apolinario Mabini, La Revolucion Filipina (1898)

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No Knights In Shining Armor
GLIMPSES article for Friday, Feb. 9, 2006...
Jose Ma. Montelibano

If the coming senatorial elections are our measure, politics in the Philippines are not confusing. Rather, they are a source of shame.

There is nothing confusing about candidates shifting from party to party; it is just downright ugly. If they had not been doing this once too often, it can be very sad. Today, it is simply sickening.The reason why Filipinos did not take to the streets to pressure the removal of Gloria during the Hello Garci controversy is not that they believed her to be innocent. The fact is that a clear majority thought she lied and cheated, and that sentiment or conclusion has held true till today. Yet, even when she was most vulnerable, Filipinos chose to watch by the sidelines and opted not to make another people power revolution.

I remember monitoring the events of early 2005 when allegations of jueteng payoffs hit the men in Gloria's family. I watched as the jueteng investigations picked up steam until a new bomb, the Hello Garci tapes, was dropped from nowhere to almost literally light up afire. I witnessed the eerie presidential silence following the airing of the tapes over the radio airwaves, except for a pathetic presidential spokesman falling all over himself trying, without knowing how, to diffuse a shocking scandal.The crescendo continued all the way to the San Carlos Seminary along EDSA when an NBI officer and an intelligence officer admitted tomaking the tapes available to political personalities. It was such a ripe moment for something dramatic to take place, maybe a rally that could turn to a popular revolution. I stayed glued to the television set, alert and determined not to miss what could be a historic event.

Before midnight, however, I was jolted back to reality. Just when Ithought I would see a superior force brought down by its own rescued at the last moment. Many thought that Gloria crossed herrubicon when she survived the Hyatt 10 mass resignation. I believed otherwise, and keep pointing to that moment when two sons of a deposed president were covered live on television after leaving an ultra tense San Carlos Seminary saying that their father was ready to be installed president again. At that moment, I knew the fight was over, and that an embattled Gloria would survive, thanks to her own enemies.

The Hello Garci controversy followed by the Hyatt 10 mass resignation showed that Filipinos were coming of age. Despite her unpopularity,despite the majority of Filipinos believing Gloria was guilty of lying and cheating, the people did not make an aggressive move to tip the delicate scales so that Gloria would fall. The maturity was not manifested by the Filipino's inaction, but the reason why he chose not to act.

Two preceding successful people power revolutions showed what an exasperated citizenry can do to remove unwanted presidents. In June and July of 2005, the same citizenry decided not to repeat itself because they could not see and believe that the possible alternative leaderships that could ensue were not any better than what they were changing. For the first time, anger and frustration at a present leader was not enough to risk installing a new one who could be worse.

The truth is that there was no clear leader who would take over in case Gloria resigned, or was removed. That plus the fact that the people had no one they could rally towards, and later install president. I know there was much disappointment not just from the consistent opponents of Gloria but from ordinary people as well. The disappointment ranged from Gloria's not having been removed to there being no one acceptable enough to take her place.

One and a half years later, it is not surprising that Filipinos simply shrug their shoulders when senatorial candidates jockey for inclusion to the administration or opposition slate without any clear principles to protect or promote. Decisions for alliance have nothing to do with a vision, or a party platform; they have everything to do with advantage, with gaining more winnability.

It is not very productive discussing the frailties of our traditional politicians. And the inclusion of fresh faces refer to a few young politicians with very old names. There are no exciting dreams, no inspiring visions, that are being offered to the people. Politics still, after all, have little to do with alternative ideas to a frustrated people. They remain very personalistic, very anchored on money and machinery. Filipinos will have to sit this one out again,hold on to their dreams by themselves once more. There are no knights in shining armor, not yet, not this time.

When help is not forthcoming from the outside yet a painful situation has to be resolved, then Filipinos can look only to themselves. And while a personal transformation can begin a change of mindset and perspective, it is collective enlightening and concerted action that will usher in a new life to the nation. The urgent challenge to Filipinos, therefore, is to recognize, accept and be passionate over dreams that must be fulfilled. A society that has slid to being one of the world immoral will never be at peace until the glint of honor returns to their societal lives. Tolerance or patience has often been viewed as a virtue, but not so when we are tolerant to wrongdoing,when we are patient over exploitation.

It is said that seeing what is right but not doing it is cowardice. It is easy to fault other people for doing what is wrong, but pitiful when we have a choice to be heroes yet choose cowardice.***

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