Jose Ma. Montelibano
THEY SAY that when anxiety deepens, people pray more and the sales of candles increase. They say when people are depressed, people drink more and the sales of liquor go up. Frankly, I have not seen statistics to prove these assertions, but I have not heard much argument to the contrary either. Let me proceed, therefore, assuming that there is truth to them, enough to stimulate our minds to reflective, if not critical, thinking.
The agitation caused by the proposed Bangsamoro Judicial Entity (BJE) brings to fore old wounds which have never healed well. The heart of the controversy is not the terms in the proposed agreement but in the hearts of prejudice and historical animosity. After a thousand years when conflict first broke out between Christians and Moors in North Africa and Iberia, a great distrust has grown between three religions that all came from Abraham — Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
On the surface, the BJE controversy covers the extent of what is considered “ancestral domain” and the resources therein. The issue is not only where and what, but who controls where and what. Glaringly, the chasm between Christian and Muslim relationship predicates everything, as though a concession for one is a defeat of the other. It is almost as though that one expects the other to remain an enemy despite a negotiated agreement.
When two groups are friends to each other, the blessings and victories of one are cheered on by the other. In the last 100 years, Filipinos have cheered victories of the United States against its enemies — Germany, Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba, North Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq and some more in Africa and the old Eastern Europe. When the opposite is true, Filipinos have mourned every defeat of the United States.
Muslims around the world may cheer the BJE as a victory of Filipino Muslims, which means that the BJE is a defeat of Filipino Christians. That is what partisanship and prejudice do to a spat between brothers — make wounds fester rather than heal them. And there is enough ill will going around by this time between people of the same blood and country that makes it easy for vested interests to play one against the other.
The belligerent rhetoric that has dominated the air waves and print media stokes the resentment that is all so easily awaiting to be activated. Thank goodness that not everyone has jumped into the bandwagon of mindless drumbeating for war. Thank goodness that something deeper, like common blood, country and culture, can sometimes rise above the din of fear and anger and attempt to make these heard and seen.
In the midst of great uncertainty in an ugly environment polluted by corruption, poverty and violence, many Filipinos have turned to religion, turned to gambling, turned to fantasizing. Escapism has been the preference of people who cannot take the stark horror of daily societal life, the tens of millions of poor Filipinos who live from one meal to another. And leaders from the Church, from the State, from Business and Media have not come together to understand the deterioration of a national psyche and the corruption of a national soul — then work together to counter the perversion of a beautiful people and culture.
Is it, then, a search for Utopia that I am caught up with? Is it Utopian to tie white ribbons for peace while many others scream for war? Is it Utopian to dream of a society where every human being is equal in worth and dignity, where each one works diligently and produces according to his or her talent, where the value of good relationships outweigh the value of money?
Was it Utopian when the early Christian communities shared everything with one another and no one was in want? Is it Utopian to believe that, indeed, these early Christians did exist and that, indeed, a lifestyle of caring and sharing is possible?
May I quote Oscar Wilde when he tried to describe Utopia:
“A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of Utopias.”
It seems, then, that Utopia becomes an obsession when the day grows dark, when the night is chilly and empty, when the air is heavy and laughter disappears, when foreboding penetrates even the most optimistic of people. Perhaps, the demand for Utopia has wormed itself into the creative minds of artists, writers, performers and directors responsible for TV shows like Dyosa, Dyesebel, and Darna.
On the social front, the Gawad Kalinga movement is anchored on cultural and spiritual values like bayanihan, nobility and sacrifice, heroism and a vision that has in its center the presence of God and love of country. Its high-profile work has not prevented Gawad Kalinga from quietly but bravely establishing its presence and work in many areas considered delicate because of their history of conflict and violence. Its formula is simple: Filipinos are first brothers and sisters, before being government or anti-government, before being Left or Right, before being Christians and Muslims. Its plea is, hold the line for peace, and tie white ribbons anywhere and everywhere as peace symbols.
How many other individuals and groups have been there before Gawad Kalinga and kept Utopia in their hearts and have never tired of sharing it at our worst moments? How many managed to set aside personal comfort and convenience in order to pursue and promote the truth, in order to feed and clothe the needy, in order to keep alive hope and aspirations in the hearts of those bludgeoned by despair?
There must be more and more among us who will defend Utopia and ensure its perpetuity. There must be the warriors whose prowess for war is overshadowed by their capacity for nobility and virtue. There must be Filipinos who have become victorious in other lands who must come home with their sons and daughters to rescue those they left behind and help them build their Utopia.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
there is mucn apathy that floats the air. There is no actual problem. Its all in the state of mind, in this case, its the mind of a fake president who loves to play tricks. watching the lame president walked out on her staff twice during a very important new briefing simply says that there is more to form than substance and i think our fake president is more like a puppet without strings.
there is something wrong with the current scenario, peace is something to be achieve using peaceful methods. however with the current mindset of our government which is to ensure its survival in further squatting malacanang, there is no stoping her and her minions to continue plotting and abusing the human rights of every Filipinos.
Self serving and greed of power, let us see how long can the government continue to fool the common folk…
I simply pity the MILF for follwoing a loose thread agreement after all these years of negotiations. Its like giving your neighbor a land without giving him the right to utilize it…
we cannot just tell ourselves that there is nothing wrong with what is happening around us, the problems need to be solved and it should start from fair and balance , give and take relationship….
Lessons have been learned, GMA will not go away and her minions would like her to stay more…so they can stay longer…The power that is abused is no power at all…..
where do you think this mumbo jumbo will end?
August 19th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Everyone has his own utopia of his dreams. The jihadist Muslim look forward to the 72 virgins that await him after his demolishing job on earth is done. GMA’s nirvana is when she becomes the next prime minister after 2010. Jamby will be in eternal paradise when she becomes Tita Chito’s chosen one to share the vast fortune she left behind. Erap’s heaven is when he becomes president a second time around. Ping will be on cloud 9 when he finally catches Big Mike red handed. Joey The Third will be on seventh heaven when he gets the NBN deal all to himself and his dad gets to be prime minister if GMA does not beat him to it. Ping’s conviction in whatever means, who cares what it may be, is Big Mike’s eternal bliss. Manny, Mar, Loren, and Noli’s ecstasy is to become president unless something happens before 2010 that sends GMA for an extended term. The MILF will be in absolute rapture when the entire archipelago is declared their ancestral domain following Esperon’s wish since the Muslims were already here long before Magellan came to visit. The count goes on and on …
August 18th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
history will repeat itself…Philippines was not discovered by Magellan. Chinese and Arabs were trading long before these crusaders arrived. They christianized all filipinos by the sword and brute of force and people like LAPU LAPU, a HERO of his time and now defended the natives with courage unlike no other. but since historians are composed of spanish priest who thrive in calling our grandfathers “INDIO” has written a total different HISTORY or THEIR-STORY.
A lot of Philippine history is crap, at school we never deal with lessons that it was Aguinaldo who betrayed the supremo Bonifacio, and Rizal was just lucky to die as a hero when he was more of Espanol than a Filipino….
Utopia is something of a dream these days, i admire the writer for sharing such wonderful thoughts. Muslims and Christian can live in Unity and with out predudice and with respect and peace. We see in Qiapo that Church and Mosque are just a street apart and yet people respect each other. The problem lies within teh colonial mentality, Pinoys mourn when US are deafeted and yet they are happy when people are wronfully accused and detained at GITMO for being a suspected terrorist…while in the US , GITMO was just another theme for a movie starring HAROLD AND KUMAR, the actors are from CHINESE AND INDIAN origin.
We say we have a democratic country and yet we are the number 1 corrupt nation. We simply forgot that Philippines was one of those countries that pioneered development after WWII, and most countries in asia were 50 years left behind, now we are behind…ironic?
We have a president, a fake one that is, that is surrounded by different generals who lost their honor by selling themselves to power…executives with shadow past, the list goes on and on…
I agree that -
Its plea is, hold the line for peace, and tie white ribbons anywhere and everywhere as peace symbols.
PEACE OUT THERE, NO TO WAR, NO TO CHACHA, NO TO GLORIA, HELLO GARCI!
August 18th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I agree that every piece of land that belongs to the Republic of the Philippines should be defended against terrorism and (separatists).
But let us not give up on peace. We are one people, one nation, regardless of our religious beliefs. We may disagree on many issues. But dividing our nation (and killing each other) is not the solution to the many challenges we are facing today.
We encourage all parties to go back to the negotiating table and exhaust all means to cease all hostilities in all areas affected by this conflict.
I may have been living in the US for so many years. But it doesn’t mean that I have forgotten the Philippines. It hurts to see that this beautiful country is being destroyed because of politics and religious beliefs.
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”
August 18th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Boy Montelibano’s writings have always been full of wisdom and admirable compassion for our country and our people. He is a brilliant defender of truth and justice. To have a massive explosion of Filipinos with his benevolent thinking and mindset would be a utopia for our struggle against injustice, corruption, poverty, and abuse in the Philippines. May his tribe increase, indeed.
God bless the Philippines and the Filipinos!