It has been some days since the anniversary of the infamous declaration of Martial Law. I saw posts from friends and former students attacking activists with questions (and sarcasm) like “Kahit naman sinong presidente, ayaw niyo pa rin, kailan ba kayo matatapos sa kaka-rally?!” or “Akala ko ba mataas presyo ng bilihin? Eh bakit nakagastos pa kayo para lang makagawa ng effigy na susunugin?” I write this in response to these. I write this not because I find my friends who post it to be stupid (although if they share fake news they sure are hopelessly stupid). I write this because I, too, once thought on the same lines. My own journey from passivist to activist Politically, I’m neither red nor yellow, in fact I want to assure you dear friend that I transcend all colors because I think therefore I am (wink to Descartes!). If we are in Europe, I might be called a left-leaning centrist: I seek to balance my conservative beliefs with my liberal ideals. I am someone who will offend both left and right since I always stands with Aristotle’s in medias res. But I have not always been like this. When I was in high school, the same age most of my “right-wing” former students, I am more of ultra-right wing, activist-detesting, nationalistic ideologue. I, too, question the worth of activism and their untiring efforts. I view them as hindrance to national progress and their criticism as unhelpful and infantile. And then I learned that I am the infantile one. When I took the PUPCET, I was so repulsed by the sight of anti-government streamers and placards. For me, this is vandalism. I wanted to enroll in another school, a Catholic University maybe, where my place in the ivory tower of well-maintained cuticle, immaculately clean shirts, and intellectual superiority will be safeguarded against the virus that was activism and communism. Yes, I was too Americanized I already have bias against that which I do not know. But God writes through crooked lines. I did not enter a private university so I have to stick with PUP where “activists and communists” thrive. Upon entering I made a pact with myself: 1.) Never join a frat; 2.) Never fail a subject; and 3.) Never join an activist group. I managed to fulfill the first two (although I almost missed number 2) but the last one I did not. I was taking AB Philosophy. I thought the loftiness and sophistry of philosophical ideas will save me from the dirt of social awareness but I was wrong—it soiled me more into social responsibility. The words of our great professor, Ka Abe Tuibeo still rings in my ears: “Kung wala kang ipinaglalaban sa buhay, you’re a worthless animal.” I began my philosophical studies hating Marx and ended haunted by his words, “Philosophers should not just question the world; it is they time to change the world.” In front of my own social security I found myself guilty of the very destituteness of the Other as Levinas gazes more and more on me. I realized that Thomas Aquinas’ quinque viae of proving God’s existence first proves to me that my neighbor exists and if so and if God exists too, then I am infinitely responsible to him. Even in Nietzsche’s proclamation of God’s death, I am still bounded by the look of the Other that Sartre said is also objectifying me. I am more and more becoming a social animal that a true human being is. And so awake from my dogmatic slumber, with Kant and Heidegger as my guides, I joined a moderate activist group. First it was just a matter of being pragmatic: I joined them then I got friends and tutorials on some subjects, I can even borrow books I need. But later on, I have really committed myself. Our group’s advocacy then is not too political but since politicians and capitalists almost always are brothers, then it becomes political. We advocate the restraining of greedy mining. I have not participated in a rally or a “hiking” and I left the group when I also left PUP and entered the seminary. But the lessons of social responsibility and beyond is still with me. Now I am just an “arm-chair activist” with no other weapon but my words. Still, as Ka Abe always say to us then, “Words are more violent than arms struggle.” Weapons will kill a man but words can give life to humanity. And so, I write this because I understand both sides of the fence. “Gawa nang gawa ng effigy na susunugin, aksaya lang sa pera” With the effigies to be burned and arm-chairs to be thrown, I too share the sentiments of many that it is just a waste of money. Yet one must not forget the symbolism these acts convey. In a sense, making an effigy and burning it is a form of an art and art is not just for consumption of us in the middle-class visiting a museum where artworks that cost billions were exhibited, art is the self-expression of the artist. Behind the seeming waste of resources, activists whose thoughts words can no longer present use these visual arts to express themselves. In denouncing them because of “wasting money for their cause” then we also denounce Pablo Picasso’s works which are his self-expression and rebellion against the capitalistic realism of his time, we denounce Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy where he denounces the corruption of both the secular and ecclesiastical authorities of his time, we denounce Juan Luna’s Spoliarium that so vividly present the brutality of colonial rule as just a waste of oil and canvass. Again, the words of the cop that became viral sounds right: “May pinaglalaban sila.” Puro rally at pagtuligsa sa gobyerno, wala naman naitulong sa bayan… My answer to this is a flat, loud “You’re wrong dearest.” Most of the liberties we take for granted in a modern liberal state is not inherently part of democracy and were only successfully installed when people rose up and incessantly “rallied” for it. Examples? The 8-hour maximum work-time, the illegality of minors working, and slavery. When modern democracies sprung up in the late 18th century, capitalism is also on the rise. It is just normal to see people working 12-14 hours a day with a wage depending on the employer (yes, there’s no minimum wage) and children as young as five years old as workers. Only when people “rallied” against it that it was scrapped. Universal suffrage. When states adopted democracy, suffrage or voting is reserved only for men—white men, educated, bourgeoisie, white men. All others are excluded. It is only thru activism that states adopted the universal suffrage. And of course, how do you call Rizal’s works if not a form of activism? Did not Rizal help shape the destiny of this country? Kailan ba matatapos ang pagrarally ng mga lintek na aktibistang ‘yan? NEVER. Yes, you read it right, never. When revolutions become successful and the former slaves become masters, it is inevitable that the former revolutionary will someday morph into a dictator. This is an irrevocable burden of justice: justice carries violence even as it fights violence. A former critic who successfully overthrows the governor and becomes himself the governor may one day find himself silencing his own critics (the Bolsheviks of Russia is an example with Stalin as the apex). That is why the French Jewish Philosopher of Responsibility, Emmanuel Levinas, tells us that there is a need for a continuing revolution. A justice that always seek improvement. Like Hegel’s dialectic, the human dilemma is that every synthesis becomes a thesis and as such needs an anti-thesis to perfect and correct itself and make a new synthesis and the process repeats. An idea becomes polished only when challenged. The human condition is that we are innovative animals—we cannot just sit idly looking at what we have and say, “Hey, it’s already beautiful I won’t change it.” Change, according to Heraclitus, is the only permanent thing in the world. Even when opposition seems pestering and annoying, its views are still beneficial to the improvement of a project. Conclusion We cannot achieve utopia (in fact that’s why it is called u-topia meaning a place that does not and will not exist) but as human beings we have to try and try and try. The constitution enshrines it with the words: “in order to build a more just and humane society.” The catechism tells us that human life on earth is a preparation for heaven, and if so then we should strive to let His “Kingdom come” and His “will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is a daily call. Complacency always leads to social perdition. Whether you choose to go to the streets, or write a critical essay about our social condition in the silence of your room, or try to live out your daily life trying to change the world in your own small ways, these are all what makes as human and humane. Only he who comfortably sits, cellphone on hand, spewing hatred against socially-committed persons, sharing fake news, secure in his world with his enclosed mind is not worthy to called a human being. - Anonymous Lenz 09/25/18
So, Sen. Tito Sotto’s Senate Bill 1906 or the TRAIN 2 bill that is renamed as “TRABAHO” (Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities) bill so as not to have the stigma of the unpopular TRAIN 1 Law has a provision that seeks to repeal Section 12 of RA 8047 or the Book Publishing Industry Development Act of 1995. RA 8047 Sec 12 exempts books, periodicals, and other such printed educational and cultural materials from the expanded-value added tax. Should TRAIN 2 passes, another train wreck will happen, now in the reading culture in the Philippines. “Eh ‘di naman nagbabasa ang ‘Pinoy,” some may say. But the fact that you are reading this essay and the probability of you being a Filipino betrays the very argument uttered above. Yes, we read! Yes, we do! The common misconception in our feudal-oligarchic society is that reading is only for the elite few, for the middle-class who still have time to waste and to escape the daily pressures of life. The argument that Filipinos do not read is so pervasive that slowly it is becoming a reality and here we have a government, who instead of encouraging a paradigm shift in this cultural bias, seems to put more sand to the fire of learning and culture. How reading changed my life It was on a sleepy summer-break afternoon of my 5th grade self that I first reached a book that is not a school requirement. I only got friends from school and my parents work during the day while my siblings always have their own schedule with friends during summer so naturally I am left alone with food to stuff my stomach and a television to stuff (supposedly) my mind. Bored with the noontime shows’ monotonous antics and the solitary confinement I am at, I reached for a book. My siblings’ books are displayed (yes, displayed) at the lowest part of our estante in the sala (ironically, the TV is at its center as if it is the heart of the house). There I found another world. There the silence around me began to be filled with people from far far away or maybe just near near here yet unseen so far. There I have travelled without leaving our home. There I have accompanied someone solve a crime. There, for the first time, I learned what adventure is and how does it feel. With that new discovery, I thought I was unique. And I am wrong.
self with walking home just to buy a book at least once in every six months. My sisters would smile at my innocent joy when sniffing the pages of a new book and this made them buy more or give me money to buy more for me. I thought we were unique. And I was wrong. In college, we have been exposed to STPAULS Librería. After college and after my short stint as a teacher in a senior high, I have to be exposed to it once again. All in all, I’ve been at SM Bicutan, LKK CDO, and Ayala Cebu branches. What I’ve seen during my short stays in these stores is that there is a hunger for the printed word. And mind you, these are religious printed materials. Yes, the demand for it pales in comparison to the demand for religious articles and stuff but there has not been a week that there has been no book sold. One or two a day, regardless it speaks of a spiritual need for the printed word. Also, at the same time, I encountered Fullybooked. This is not just a bookstore; Fullybooked for me is a community. You can seat there, read a book even without buying it first; you can converse with other bibliophiles if you are the outgoing type; and in their main branch you can even sip a cup of coffee or lick an ice cream while reading. I’ve been at their CDO, Cebu, and BGC branches and never have I been the lone customer in the building. And yes, never have I been the only one who looks like whose wallet is full of crumpled fifties or one-hundreds saved after weeks of struggling between life choices and the joy of reading a new book.
I, too, once thought that reading is for the elite and by reading I too becomes one of them but I was wrong. And I love that I am wrong about it. How reading changed the world and the PH The history of printing is very long so I need not elaborate here too much or else I’ll just bore you and you’ll never reach the end of this essay especially that of my main point. So here is a sketch of how reading and printing changed the course of human history (just research about them if you are interested):
Why we don’t read Given all these, you’ll still ask, “Why are we not reading?” For me there are two reasons, that SB no. 1906, instead of extinguishing, will just encourage more.
Conclusion
Regardless of these obstacles, according to the latest survey (2012; ohhh so long ago) by the National Book Development Board of the Philippines, 88% of us are readers (see http://booksphilippines.gov.ph/2012-readership-survey-highlights/). And I have seen with my own eyes that Filipinos regardless of age do read. Someone once told me that Filipinos do read but they only read what they want to read. So, if we continue feeding ourselves lies then we would hunger for more lies. And taxing books and other printed media will really help this trick. But if we are committed to the truth then we should feed ourselves with those that can sharpen the criticality of our minds. Books, my dear friends, might not all contain the Truth. In fact, they can contradict each other too. But at least they teach us one thing: have a critical mind. What we should do is promote reading more; lower books’ prices if it can be; help our people who are physically and financially unable to own a book either because they are far from cities or because they simply don’t have enough even for their own food. Books are necessities in a free society. As we fill our hungry stomachs, we should also fill our hungry minds and imaginations. The two goes hand-in-hand. Thomas Aquinas would say, “Eat first then philosophize” with which Karl Marx would add, “You cannot think with a hungry stomach.” But with a society who punishes the hungry because of his hunger, what can the boy who longs for a book do? It's been a while since my last blog so in a way this is a resurrection.
February... a month full of reds (not communist though, sorry Marx) and chocolates (happy feast day to Ferrero and Kisses!). If ever the number of newborns on November will increase you'll know why... Well, traditionally, for better or worse, February has been known for two things: (1) it is the only month composed of 29 days and it only happens every leap year and (2) it's the month of hearts i.e. Valentine's day. So let me shatter your sweet clingy-wingy day with a philosophical reflection or rather a book review. A newly ordained Jesuit, Fr Patrick Vance S. Nogoy, SJ, has just published his book, Touching Love: Thoughts and Stories (Pasay: Paulines, 2016). Last Friday, February 10, 2014, I attended his public lecture in Xavier University Cagayan de Oro. So basically this essay is just a re-echo of what has been discussed (though not that comprehensive since I haven't finished the book yet). Fr Pat reflects on what is the place of love in this world characterized as a Post-truth society. But before anything else, what's Post-truth? "Post-truth" is Oxford Dictionary's 2016 word of the year; it simply means that facts and evidences no longer possess much influence over public opinion than emotions and feelings have. Well, we can easily see this. The "Brexit", Donald Trump's anti-immigrant stance, Marine Le Pen's nationalism, Mocha Uson's wisdom, Alvarez's Death penalty and so on. So, in a sense, Fr Pat's question is: where is love in this whirlwind of emotions? Fr Pat equates love not with sex or just mere feelings but with the Truth. Love is aletheia i.e. love is uncovering (yes, Heidegger's fans will like the book, as well as Jean-Luc Marion's and Emmanuel Levinas'). Love is opposed to totalization precisely because it is aletheia. Love is collaboration: "Collaboration is opposed to totalization - an aggressive and violent promotion of one's own plan" (p 17). In love, the lover lets the beloved strip herself and reveal who she really is (aletheia) yet in this stripping I still cannot own and dictate her she is forever an infinity enclosed in a finite being (of course the metaphor of stripping is mine not Fr Pat's, hehe). For Fr Pat the essential question is not "Why is there something rather than nothing?" but "Should I love or not?" "Yet despite its demands, it is almost impossible to not love" (p 70). Love creates possibilities and for Fr Pat possibilities are always more important than actualities (unlike Sartre's there is really no potentiality bu only actuality) because in love's promise possibilities become real. This is the reason why it hurts when promises are broken, when the beloved goes away or finds another. It hurts not because of the unfulfilled promises but because "of abandonment - I am left alone. It is the experience of being forsaken - the denial and rejection, especially by the one I love" (p 73) The choice to continue loving is left to me. Thus it no longer matters if love will go back what matters is that I love you... in this act of loving the I finds himself truly as he is: "Self-becoming is achieved ironically because of an Other, unique and mysterious, an Other that exerts an opposite or counter-force" (pp 46-47). In our society who loves emotions and feelings, love stands as wisdom's beacon. To love is to let the Other unfold - let her be - though this will take until forever since I will always be surprised of new things that I will discover about her. This is truly aletheia! Love then is not just an emotion or feeling such that define the Post-truth society, Love is a decision. Now the question is: will you love? Happy Valentines! (for those who want a copy of the book, it is available at all ST PAULS Libreria and Pauline Media Centers nationwide or just visit stpauls.ph) Christianity is founded on love. It espouses the doctrine of loving thy neighbor, not judging others, and forgiveness. These are the opening words of Miss Mocha Uson, the celebrated celebrity-turned-political analyst, in her article in the Philippine Star entitled “Is the CBCP anti-Christ?” (12/6/16). And yes, indeed, the Catholic Church has just closed the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. So, the question remains: Why is the Philippine Church reacts violently against the burial of the late dictator at the cemetery for national heroes? Is the Church being hypocritical once more teaching forgiveness while not giving it to a dead man? Before I begin answering her questions, it might be good to state first that indeed I am biased. Yes, I am. I know some of her loyal followers will do a Character Investigation on me and will find that I am a seminarian so naturally I am biased on the side of the hierarchy of the Church. Another is that before entering the seminary I studied philosophy at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines whose philo department is known for leaning to the left. Technically most of them will critique this article using a lot of ad hominems and ad baculums but to the open mind I ask to have an intellectual conversation. And so yes, I am biased but, as Paul Ricœur said, we cannot actually remove our biases and prejudices but the challenge is to choose the right biases. Shall I now proceed? The Catholic Church and the Philippines Textbook history always depict Spanish colonial rule as oppressive and non-humane in the images of fat friars with native concubines. When the student reaches college or anytime he seriously reads Rizal, this belief will strengthen just looking at Padre Damaso. The problem with this stereotyping of history is that it is stereotyping – a hasty generalization. One tends to forget Padre Florentino of El Filibusterismo or the fact that the GomBurZa, who were priests, were Rizal’s inspiration for his nationalistic passions (in fact, El Fili is dedicated to them!). It must be noted that the negative aspect of the Church in the Philippines only appeared in the latter part of Spanish Colonization (i.e. after the Napoleonic Wars in Europe) and does not actually constitute the whole Church nor the whole Philippine archipelago. When Legazpi began the conquest of the Islands, the Augustinian Friars with him are often the ones who defends the natives having learned from the experience from Latin America. The reason why the Aztecs, Incas, and other native races of Latin America died is because the Conquistadores did not see them as human beings. This the missionaries fought with Fr Bartolome Delas Casas being the most notable one although it may be said to have failed. Having learned thus, the first missionaries in the Philippines fought for the human treatment of the Indios. This actually went so far as the Synod of Manila where the Church declared that it is not permissible to enslave nor mistreat the natives. One good example here is the martyr Saint Pedro Bautista who has been assigned in the Philippines for a long time before being sent to Japan and died there. He reprimanded the Governor-General in public when the latter approved of mistreatments against natives. Of course they have also their faults like the wiping of indigenous religious articles and practices but we can still say that the first batch of missionaries are actually first-class religious. As the world saw the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte in France and threatened the whole of Europe, the European missionaries went back to the continent and so an amazing vacuum of priests was thrown to the face of the Philippine Church. This made the Archbishop of Manila encourage the natives to join the priesthood. This new batch are what Canon Law, or the Church’s law, calls the “secular priests” or what is now called diocesan clergy. They do not belong to any religious congregation as compared to the religious or what by then is called the “regular” priests and they do not answer to any other superior but to the bishop directly. This is the group where notable Filipino priests like Fr José Burgos, Gregorio Aglipay and the like belongs. But things began to shake when at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, a new breed of religious friars were once again sent back to the Islands. Most of these are the friars Rizal and other Propagandistas met at their time. Indeed, the struggle for liberation started with the Filipino priest’s struggle to regain parishes that are rightfully his from the Spanish friars. At this point is Miss Uson first wrong. Rizal did not hate the Church as a whole (in fact, he is close to the Jesuits) but only some in the Church. And, in fact, this tension can only be felt in the Archdiocese of Manila (back then comprising almost three quarters of Luzon) the Diocese of Nueva Segovia (Upper part of Luzon) other dioceses like Cebu, Jaro and Nueva Caceres saw harmonious relationships between their religious bishop and secular priests. So at the end, Miss Uson you have jumped to conclusions and committed a hasty generalization and are historically wrong.
First things first. Is the Catholic Church against the burial of FM? No. Nothing has been stated about that. Most of the Church leaders are against the burial of FM at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. The logical question will be: Why? We should remember that the LNMB is a resting place of heroes. An editorial of a broadsheet in the Philippines, one of those that still operated in Martial Law days, stated that the LNMB’s dead are not actually all heroes because some are presidents and national artists and scientists. I dare to disagree. The latter are still heroes in their own way. The former presidents who were not expelled by the Filipino people and the national artists and scientists are heroes because of what they have done. Martyrdom might be the highest heroic proof o be honored in the pantheon of national saints but it is not the sole criterion. Thus to bury the late dictator is to encourage more the culture of impunity in the country: i.e. run for public office-steal public funds-a case will filed against you-after long year you will be acquitted-and lo and behold you’ll be buried at LNMB. Thus to bury FM at LNMB is symbolic of enthroning his statue in place of Rizal at Luneta and declaring two scores of history null and void. Does this mean that the Church is unforgiving to a corpse? By no means. In fact, it must be recalled that after the Marcos family fled to Hawaii, it is Jaime Cardinal Sin (whom Miss Uson accuses of propagating the “yellow” bias) who asked the Filipino people to forgive the Marcoses and not harbor ill feelings. Furthermore, the Church or any of her ministers cannot forgive a corpse – because only the living can ask for forgiveness. Indeed, Christ himself said that there is actually one sin that cannot be forgiven – the sin against the Spirit. What is this sin? The sin against the Spirit is unrepentance and repentance cannot happen only privately if your sin affected a wider audience. Mercy must always be balanced with Justice and that is a basic Christian tenet. “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than holocausts” (Hos. 6: 6) but “if you offer me holocausts, then let justice roll down like waters” (Amos 5: 24). Given the case that FM really did repent, the answer of the Filipino people must remain a no since there has been no acceptance of guilt (publicly) and retribution (publicly). Why do I insist that these will be public? Well, the only answer is that because Ferdinand Sr’s sins are not only sins against God but crimes against mankind – crimes against humanity. Thus it is not only the Church who must forgive him but all of humanity. But since neither he nor his family has even accepted a single guilt then there is no room for forgiveness. Another note: Miss Uson accuses the Church to encourage people to hate and desecrate a dead person to which I answer that the Church do not. Rather, it is the Marcosian lie itself that encourages people to place him at the gates of hell.
Further, love and hatred are not contradictories. You may hate the one you love even as you still love him. The opposite of love is hatred. Thus reprimanding the sins of the past and encouraging others to hate the unrepentant who tries to deceive them that what he did is good is actually another form of love – that is what we call, fraternal correction. Then what is an anti-Christ? For me, it is the pointing finger. for a very good account on the clergy's role in the Philippine Revolution, see Schumacher, Revolutionary Clergy (ADMU Press); about the Philippine heroes especially Rizal and Burgos, see Nick Joaquin's books and Ambeth Ocampo's Rizal without the Overcoat (Anvil)
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"The absolutely other is the Other" Archives
September 2018
"There is only one corner in the universe that you can be certain of improving and that's your own Self" |