WITH all the political killings and disappearances that are happening around us, Jose Ma. Montelibano laments why are we not out in the streets to condemn the killings. Even US solons have urged GMA to act on the killings.
The absence of collective outrage may be explained by the absence of a collective sense of nationhood.
Those who are silent about these killings, view these killings as a fight between the left and the right. They are silent because they are not part of any of these groups. They are mere watchers on the fight between these two protagonists.
We all know that the killings are condemnable. We should rise up against it if we are morally upright citizens. But unfortunately, we are, collectively, not good citizens. It is more of a norm to look in a different direction when we see unlawful acts. Good deeds, good citizenship, volunteerism, heroism are very common news items because they are not the usual way things are done. Apathy, distrust, hopelessnes is not news because these are the prevailing attitude. These are the norm.
The absence of a collective sense of nationhood results in a collective silence towards political killings. A campaign on citizenship will help bring about this sense of nationhood. With s strong sense of country, we can easily mobilize our people to pressure government to act on the killings. With better collective moral values, it may be difficult to find individuals who will commit these dastardly acts. Our moral values have become so low that life has become so cheap. The absence of a collective outrage to condemn the killings is a reflection of what we are, as a people, walang pakialam. But we can do something with this kind of collective attitude. We are just too busy with our individual advocacy and agenda.
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August 23rd, 2007 at 9:10 am
well, as emerald says, we just grow up not learning to love our country.
otherwise, we wouldn’t allow these koreans to even apply to make a resort at taal; we wouldn’t allow the koreans to infest baguio and take over the city, occupying all majority of our hotels, condos and townhouses, now even building houses and apartments and schools in every lot they can get a hold of..
why do the pinoys allow themselves to be used as dummies of these nationals? why don’t the officials even check on zoning rules, business permits, building permits, true ownership of real estate where these koreans are? some of our brokers have appealed for an investigation of these koreans here in baguio for possible violation of philippine laws of ownership - that is good..yet our city officials, esp our vice-mayor, is so gung-ho and in awe of the koreans wanting to develop this and that park..so, how can we even expect an honest investigation? we are sure so much money is making the rounds in our city hall…and, maybe, the bureau of immigration
if we cared about our country, kahit our city man lang, we wouldn’t prostitute it to foreign nationals…even for the sake of so-called progress
it’s so sad…
August 18th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Collective silence is the product of the Filipino mentality of not getting involved to get out of trouble. We are a nation of uncommitted people who would rather watch things than make things happen. I guess that is the reason why we have been reffered to as belogning to the “crab mentality” race.
In order to get involved, one has to be burnt and be a victim of such injustices and persecutions by the powers that be.
The Pinoys need a unifying factor and a just cause to make them rise to the ocassion. The death of Ninoy is one such example. As of the present I guess we do not have any yet. I guess that is the reason for the collective silence.
Besides that is mainly the reason why we have what we call the SILENT MAJORITY in our society.
August 18th, 2007 at 9:47 am
My views on this matter are more in line with Bert. Yes, Filipinos are fighting the right way. The ones who are now supporting GMA are those whose bread and butter depend entirely on their support to her regime. I refer to them as Penoys who are eating on time and in style because of what they are receiving from this bogus regime. Now, there are those who are still eating on time but their provisions are coming from other sources other than connection with lucrative positions in Gloria’s regime. And because they are not part of these sources of corruptions, they can be forthright with all their god given sense of decency. We are the ones who refused to be corrupted. There are many of us who are still well and alive. One good example is US Major General Antonio Taguba. If one will do some research, which the PHilippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) are getting good at, we can see that like in a maze the interconnecting links between the clans and oligarchies that are now entrenched in our government agencies like “lintas”….these are the Penoys, mostly “half-baked” in their Filipinoness who are now singing Gloria’s mantra of economic development and rosy predictions amidst the gory killings of those who are deemed as a threat to her continued squatting in Malacanang. We can find these Penoys in all sectors of the governmental agencies and the medias. While there many of us who can’t in our hearts of hearts accept lies as truths and injustices as just. And with God’s grace, we have our childlike adherence to what is right and express our disgust to what we consider as fake, bogus, and lies. I am strong in my faith that the good will prevail over evil eventually. Let’s not be disheartened. We must continue to let go…express our disgust and our opinion against all kind of evilness that seem to be lurking all over the country, specially when it comes of political injustices. To read more about Antonio Taguba, google with key words: Abu Ghraib Prison, or, The General’s Report, The New Yorker.
August 17th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
I myself will find time to join a rally calling for the solution and end to extra-judicial killings. But only if it is for that purpose alone.
How can ordinary Filipinos like me join such rallies when you join hands with masked, suspicious-looking groups with placards that read, “Ibagsak ang US-Arroyo(or -Ramos, or -Aquino, etc.) regime?”
Those groups that moblize mass actions these days have personal interests to pursue. And I am wise enough not to allow myself to be used by any of them.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
There will be a cleaning alright … there will be a cleaning.