Exasperation begets...

Yup, I found myself brought out of semi-retirement from the creative writing profession (of which I was a dabbler of sorts) simply because of too many things to say and so little public space to say it in. Exasperation with the state of things has a way of stirring up the blood, raising the hackles, and giving old tired brains a jolt much stronger than a steaming hot coffee early in the morning.

This Lozada thing had me glued to my TV screens up until late nights, and all I had to show for it is a cross temper the next day, and the heavy feeling that this country really has gone to the dogs. To my mind, there are some things we really do need to become angry about, but it is also important that we recognize the effect our anger (and how we unthinkingly lash out at objects of our anger) has on ourselves, the people around us, the wider community, and in the case of the present social restiveness, the country itself.

I had myself inserted into the list of visitors during the first Lozada session in Senate, and found myself observing not Lozada or the Senators (I guess I was confident I would get all that on TV later on), but the observers who packed the gallery. The VIP section of the Senate's gallery was filled with nuns, all in their habits, staring down the Senators from behind Lozada, as if to scare them into leniency. (It was only later that I realized it served as a very nice background too, on TV, teary Lozada in the foreground, the thirty something nuns at the background, like an army of God following a general down to battle). Call me cynical but if that was not a blatant show of propaganda, I dont know what propaganda is.

(You know, my naughty mind tells me that when the Lord said "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain", I think He also meant the mobilization of the imagery and iconology of the Lord for political purposes. Then again, history is full of examples where the power of the Church to use imagery and theater to influence politics. I should really not be surprised at all, shouldn't I?...)

Now, I hear about Lozada being paraded in schools, about teachers telling students as young as Grade three that Lozada did a courageous act, and should be considered a hero for what he has done, which is expose an "attempt" at corruption. (I wonder why they don't play up the ordinary street vendor who struggles against kotong cops, or recognize those drivers who argue with corrupt traffic enforcers to exasperation. I am reminded of the aphorism about pointing fingers: when you point a finger at something, three other fingers point back at you.)

On late night news, I saw Lozada becoming an Icon, playing to the crowds, building up a popularity that is built on propaganda by people who do not fully understand why, but are simply satisfied with the fact that Lozada blew the whistle on the ZTE thing. (Ironically, Lozada has become an even bigger star than the original whistle blower, Joey De Venecia III. I wonder how Joey feels about being left out of the limelight now that Lozada has entered the stage as the new Golden Boy of the fickle politics of today).

This worries me, this active role the academe is taking in the crafting of the image of a "hero". I fear that many of our teachers (and most of them in private sectarian schools) have chosen to blind themselves to the fact that Lozada is in fact a "hero" with clay feet. For them, it is enough to explain to small children that Lozada is a hero because he exposed corruption. But do they take time to explain why corruption exists in the first place? Do they take time to explain that corruption happens as part of a political system, (of which the Catholic Church has been contributary to, if I may naughtily observe) and arguments about morality and justice within the context of the type of political system that we have are just about as futile as unraveling the Gordian knot? Are they willing to take the chance that kids as young as eight are mature enough to understand the ephemeral nature of truth? It reminds of a quote in Jane Austen...
"Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken."

I also look in askance at the way the academe is now leading the charge for protests against government. I'd expect them to be more moderate, to take more time in reflection and be more composed in their judgement. Now, I am seeing the reverse of what happened during the First Quarter Storm. Instead of young radical students going around campuses conducting teach-ins, its now middle aged nuns, and aging activists arm in arm with unwitting school administrators and riven faculty departments that is bringing the students out into the streets. (In one of those TV news segments, I saw students banging on drums, and swinging their hands into the way of rushing vehicles to attract the driver's attention, and, suddenly caught up in one of my imaginative reveries, I wondered how the school would explain to a parent why their kid got sideswiped by a car, as they rah-rahhed at the side of a busy main thoroughfare, banging out a noise barrage to express support to Lozada... In fact, I never really understood how adding to the noise pollution could become a method of showing support.)

I worry. I observe. I agonize. And finally, I write.

Now, as I clicked upon one of the buttons on this electronic journal, I suddenly remember my favorite actor and writer William Shatner saying "Being an icon is overblown. Remember, an icon is moved by a mouse."