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 22nd, 2008 at 11:40 am
Our society has evolved so much and in so many ways that Utopia which was deem as possible in the past is now regarded as a pipe-dream of idealists searching for a miracle that would suddenly transform this wretched country into Paradise.
Gaining supremacy by physical means or progress is not Utopia. In Utopia, equality is so absolute that no one person is better than the other.
August 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 am
‘August 21,Ninoy’s and the Filipinos,and…’
Utopia!!!-and reading the writeups about Ninoy’s 25th year of Martyrdom,turned me to the same ‘utopia’ i had after the assasination,the funeral,the snap election,and EDSA 1,and making me really pray and reflect.I can’t forget the funeral,as I was the last one at Ninoy’s grave,alone and craying.And today,I can really say that I have the same feeling again that I have during those times.So many things happened,in the country,in the world,in us Filipinos and in me personally.And I can say that Boy Montelibano ,my tukayo is right,as I continue reading his columns,and as I remember those years.But…you are right again,in your latest writings,not all…!!!,and we who felt or who experienced that ‘utopia’,should continue,I thank Ninoy and Cory and pray that they will continue to inspire us as we…do and join the ‘utopia.’
August 21st, 2008 at 12:55 pm
The current agitation regarding the “bangsamoro” is by no means related to the quest for Utopia. On the contrary, it’s merely GMA’s ploy to test the waters and to sow the seeds of discord. It is a trojan horse designed to divert the people from their current predicament and dangles a madness which is GMA staying in power long after 2010.
Utopia is an ideal state a government should aspire for. But that is never part of the plan nor the grand scheme GMA is hatching in her demented fragile little excuse of a mind.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
We were butchered by the Spaniards and yet we cheer when Pau gasol makes a shot. We were duped by the Americans when we were sold by Spain, and yet we buy the lastest Kobe Bryant nike shoes. We were raped by the Japanese and yet we continue to send our women to be raped again and again…
Colonial mentality is strong in us and we dont even have a true identity,that is the reason why we strive hard to be like these conquistadores, GI joes and Kamikaze’s…..
August 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
For a long time many Filipinos have complained about how disunited we are as a people. I offer a suggestion. People should define themselves first as human beings, then their ethnicity and then their religious affiliation. And in that order. The last two are just accidents. They are adds on. Inordinate preoccupation of ethnicity can deteriorate into value judgments about other groups as superior or inferior, which eventually can lead to ethnic cleansing. The same is true with religious affiliation. Inordinate pride of one’s religious affiliation can lead to fanaticism and exclusivism. Unbelievers can be demonized and can be scape goated as the root of the problems in society. Both can result to violence and war.
Being a human being on the other hand can only lead one to unity and harmony with others. When a person discovers or recognizes his humanity he finds kinship with other human beings. He sees himself in others. He recognizes that what happens to others, good, bad or indifferent, can happen to him too. When he sees the sufferings of others he feels their pains too. When he sees others treated unjustly he reacts to correct the situation immediately, because he feels it could be him in the future. During the second World War it was the humanity of hundreds of people that caused them to risk their own safety, their own lives to hide Jews in their houses from the Nazis. It was also St. Catherine of Siena’s humanity that empowered her to rebuke the hypocrisy of the cardinals in the 14th century saying:”You are flowers that shed no perfume, but a stench that makes the whole world reek.” It was St. Francis of Assisi’s humanity that inspired him to pray: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is despair, hope; etc. etc. etc.
Gawad Kalinga is humanizing all sectors of society- from the bottom up and from top bottom. The lives of the poor are finally being turned around, and slowly they are beginning to feel that they are indeed part of the human family. From the top down the works of GK are challenging/inspiring the well off to reach down to the core of their being- their humanity, where they can cry together with the poor. As a poet wrote when she passed a beggar woman on the street. ” I took her hand,
kissed her delicate cheek
we talked, she was
the same inside as I am,
from the same kind,
I sensed this instantly
as a dog knows by scent
another dog.”
That’s what our humanity does for us. It connects us to others.
GK is a wondrous gift, a blessing for all of us. We need to nurture it, support it and celebrate it. I believe its works can pave the way to peace in the south. It is truly an organization/movement of the people, by the people and for the people. It is already uniting many Filipinos- local, hyphenated Filipinos from across the globe and the OFWs. GK is our utopia.