Thursday, November 29, 2007

Our Shakespearean Tragedy: The One About the Idiots

Trillanes is an idiot! He just became the laughing stock of the entire country. Hasn't he and his followers learned from EDSA 2? from Gringo? from his last attempt at a power grab? Is he and his allies so blinded by their near-sightedness that they can't read the tea leaves? This debacle today just cost him political capital and handed it over to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's government. This debacle cost him credibility. This debacle cost him a chance at higher office, years down the road. This was political suicide. This debacle handed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo more excuses not to exercise restraint with her power.

Everyone is angered by the sheer blatantness, the lack of finesse, the crudeness, the lack of subtlety The Arroyo Government exercises power. And still nobody sides with these "rebels," these so called civil societies, these adventurers. Do you know why?

People don't support the so called "civil society" and the likes of Trillanes, et. al because when people like him are handed a senate seat, when people vote for people like him (i was one of them), we expect constructive results, not childish, idiotic, spoiled antics like holding five star hotels hostage when they don't get their way in court!

EDSA is dead. Get over it.

These people talk about being soldiers all the time. What poor excuse for soldiers they are. They tarnish the hard working, and poor soldier who rightfully deserve this nation's gratitude. Where are those soldiers? They're in the jungles fighting Muslim extremists and members of the so-called Progressive movements. They're dying as cannon fodder or dying poor and used without homes of their own, pawns without a centavo to take home to their families.

Soldiers take bullets for their countries. With respect to Trillanes and his cohorts, they are in a position to take figurative bullets by subjecting themselves to the courts, such as they are. They could work and make the system better from behind the cell. This isn't the 18th century nor the Spanish Inquisition: our people aren't stupid. The Filipino people isn't stupid, we know when justice isn't served. Haven't you learned from history (EDSA 1) that our people will not stand for injustice? That our people would reward the underdog but only when they're right?

People made a big deal about a child dying out of poverty. There are a lot of people who are poor and starving. What people need now are jobs and quality education for children. We need the Filipino diaspora to be sending in money and channeling back expertise to this country and not just to keep their family well-fed but to encourage them to start their own businesses or to invest in the Philippines. How can you do that when after a little step is taken, we take two steps back? How do you expect to show the world that we're better, when we bend the law to our will whenever it doesn't suit us?

It isn't that our People do not care about news of abuse and corruption. Our entire history stinks with that stench! Bring proof! Throw someone in jail! Not these endless accusations! Not these mindless stories that after the news cycle is over, nothing of value happens. make it stick. At the end of the day, there isn't any change, no one goes to jail on either camp.

By now, some may be thinking that I am bashing the Opposition endlessly. This is the part where I start my bashing the idiotic decisions of the Arroyo Government. The Arroyo Government was just handed political currency, which you needed, which was golden and you just threw it away!

What idiot had those media people so blatantly arrested, without outright charges? How many bloody lawyers does this government have? You had hours to prepare for that decision! You could have timed it with a statement saying why these people are being suspected of something, or at least why you are taking them into custody. Instead you have had our police force look like thugs out on a vendetta. Our police force who arrested Trillianes and his cohorts deserved to be called heroes today. That was snatched away from them. My point being: that could have been handled with more finesse!

Everyone knows that the mere hint of impropriety, the mere hint of abuse of power brings back horrid memories of Martial Law, which every single government since Marcos has had to apologized for. So what idiot advised the President to raise a curfew? Do you really think there would be an uprising? Did you not realized that because of Trillianes' idiotic stand, the people is siding with you on this particular issue?

The Government is saying everything is under control. That there is no need for panic. And yet you do this. You undermine the ability of people laugh it off, to trust you. Instead of creating a situation where you say out loud to all those people trying to create disorder "you are not a big deal," that to the whole world we should be saying, "this is not a big deal", you just gave the impression that it is a big deal and that you are not in control. That this isn't over.

Government does this all the time. Every time, instead of marshaling support, it has this ability to turn that support to apathy and disgust. The government goes into overkill to stem off the the probability of militant activity, which no one in their right mind supports. Tomorrow, being a holiday the bloody so called "progressives" always celebrate is appropriately a good opportunity for disorder. Instead of diffusing (which i contend, you did with the arrest of the biggest idiots of the day: Trillanes and his gang), The Government just added more fire to the powder keg. Brute Force is a good weapon when applied properly, in this case, finesse over brute force would have served you better.

This is the part where Darth Vader's Theme (better known as the Imperial March) is supposed to be played.
I so wanted to call our military and police force as they eliminate threats to peace, heroes today. What a rare moment wasted.

The Global outlook isn't looking brighter come 2008, with the growing lack of confidence in the US economy (one of our biggest trading partners). With our economy so dependent on oil, which is both volatile and on the rise, bet you that should markets across the planet start to slowdown, our people will be one of the first to feel the crunch. We need to get it together people! we should not sabotage ourselves! There is so much opportunity out there.

The answer however imperfect is People Power through elections, and not hotel sieges, nor endless and mindless street demonstrations that do nothing for the bottom line. it means making more jobs thus creating and nurturing wealth. it means we exercise democracy. it means we exercise our right to vote even when it means our people votes back into office "corrupt" ones, then so be it. That means, "baby steps". What this country needs is a steady, methodical approach.

Our Leaders give the impression that like Trillaness and his cohorts, they do not understand our people, nor what we need. What disgusts me the most is that they meaning all our leaders on both sides of the equation say one thing and all do another. People want to exercise their People Power through elections and not coup d'état. People expect results, and not empty posturing. Our people demand creating and growing wealth, not infinite accusations and unending mudslinging with no one, who should, is going to jail. People want jobs, not hotel sieges. People want quality education and not curfews. We seem to be self-deprecating in a bad way. We always unheedingly find ourselves moving to our doom by finding ways of shooting ourselves in the foot. If i didn't know any better, I'd think all this sound and fury, signifying nothing is scripted! Poignant it may be, is it far from the truth to think that our nation's story is Shakespearean tragedy?

6 comments:

sparks said...

EDSA isn't dead cocoy. If its our special secret weapon, we only use it when people truly believe it is needed and when the time is right. At this point, what citizen will rally behind someone like Trillanes? We have 2 genuine EDSAs under our belt. We've learned that they don't always produce the desired result. If anything this shows us that EDSA cannot be manufactured dissent.

Cocoy said...

sparks,

"EDSA isn't dead cocoy. If its our special secret weapon, we only use it when people truly believe it is needed and when the time is right."

i like that train of thought, very mythological.

sparks said...

haha! well, "nationalism" is also a myth that we as a "people" share a collective destiny.

now that i have been away for some time, and seeing the struggle for democracy from an external perspective makes me less cynical. we invented people power cocoy. we inspired many new democracies around the world that a bloodless transition is possible. now...all we need to do is to keep our democracy and keep working on improving it.

Cocoy said...

sparks: "all we need to do is to keep our democracy and keep working on improving it."

cocoy: indeed. :D

John said...

Great post oldman, but we must also look at our own media: As much as I do not like his government, we have to also realize that our local media has a tendency to be assholes too. They are a bunch of bullies who seemingly care for press freedom, but if you look at it closely, care more for ratings...

Cocoy said...

john,

thanks!

i'm with you. In this particular issue, media isn't entirely innocent. media, local, or global has this tendency to sensationalize, to scandalize and to sell sex because like it or not those three things attract people and thus ratings and thus advertising and thus pays the bills. it is a dog eat, dog world.

that said, i'm always reminded of that Bacon quote. you know the one about books and that there are some books you taste and others you digest?

in a world where there is /so much/ competition with respect to our attention, and in a world where there is /so much/ data that needs processing--- people have to increasingly figure out what's in between the lines, right? discernment and intelligence are important aspects of freedom aren't they?

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