Not my government
The thing about being a political activist (a national democrat, to be more specific) is this: you always feel somewhat…detached from the chaos of dirty politics, the corruption of the ruling elite and their culture and economics. Not detached as in apathetic or indifferent; it’s more like being above this government and it’s rotten, stinking ways.
This isn’t my government. I oppose everything it stands and works for. I abhor this socio-economic and cultural system. I believe in the worthiness of the calls for its complete destruction, and I am all for creating a new system to replace it.
Whenever I read the newspapers (and I read about 10 everyday) and the reports are all about the latest crimes and transgressions of the people and institutions in power, I always feel such outrage because I am so aware that these crimes are also committed against me by extension.
This government that has the gall to speak for me, to say that it represents the Filipino people and has their best interest at heart, this administration I never voted for. Everyday the newspapers are filled with reports that comprehensively detail my reasons for wanting an end to it.
Six US Marines rape a 22-year old Filipina in Subic. What the heck were these American military personnel doing in my country anyways?! They have no right to be here, and they all deserve to be dragged out into the streets and shot for raping a Filipina (well, actually this is what I think should be done to ALL rapists. The fact that the rapists in this case are US Marines makes me rethink the punishment: they should dragged over a mile-length of pavement strewn with hot coals and broken glass and then shot.)
The Macapagal-Arroyo government which is by no means my government continues to take a jellyfish stance on this rape case, afraid of causing the US government any inconvenience or reason to doubt Arroyo’s loyalties. The rape victim is being forced to relive her terrible ordeal every single time Malacanang and its subordinates undermine her credibility and throw doubt against her testimony. According to reports, since the approval and implementation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), over 60 rapes have been perpetrated by American servicemen in the country. Has anyone been arrested? Nah. Has the government said or done anything to bring the rapists to justice? Nothing.
This is not my government.
Infamous ex-Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano has returned to the country after almost five months of mysterious disappearance, but he is is still playing cat-and-mouse with the authorities. He refuses to surface publicly and account for his role in the May 2004 electoral fraud caper and explain the contents of his controversial conversations with various politicians including Macaagal-Arroyo.
Has the Macapagal-Arroyo government said and done anything to compell Garcillano to speak up in the interest of truth? Of course not. Without doubt, if the government could find a way of completely and permanently silencing Garcillano short of committing outright murder, it would do it. A fugitive from justice is running around, but the administration is not lifting a finger to apprehend him– no orders or directives to the PNP or to the courts to issue a warrant of arrest and a subpoena.
On the other hand, the Arroyo government is leaning heavily on and threatening charges against the organizers of the Citizens Congress for Truth and Accountability (CCTA) because it’s supposedly guilty of making a mockery of the justice system. To be plain about it, the CCTA was nothing more than a well-organized forum wherein the various issues Macapagal-Arroyo allies in the House have refused to investigate were brought up and discussed in detail. It had no pretensions of being a real court (whatever that means. This government has a bogus justice system anyways).
This is not my government.
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The apologists and reactionary-reformists are so desperate in their efforts to find glue strong enough to piece this crumbling admistration together; or worse, to find band-aids that will heal the system that has long been festering like a gangrenous wound. Uphold the rule of law,they say. Clean up the government by initiating reforms from within.
Sheesh. Give it a rest, will you! Wake up and smell the garbage.There’s no saving this government, no reforming this system.
Their resources and ideas are running out (they consult each other, meet and talk and discuss among themselves, try to impress each other with things they’ve read or tv documentaries they’ve seen and in the end nod to each other knowingly as if they’ve come to some incorruptible truth and the truth still resides in the obsolete and decaying belief system they uphold), and whenever they feel the desperation creeping up on them (no more answers! the walls are closing in!) they lash out against socialism, against communism, against those who dare to dream and risk their lives to realize that dream of a nation, a world where capitalists and their paid stooges in the governments they build are not in charge.
Nakakaawa. Oh well.
It’s so bizarre to me how anyone can defend capitalism. How anyone can even say that it’s the best system there is and that history will end with it. It’s like trying to describe a gigantic pile of refuse and shit using pretty adjectives and positive superlatives. How can anyone justify the wars created by the greed for profit and territorial expansion (also for profit)? Wars that have caused the death of untold billions?
How can anyone explain away the deaths of billions because of starvation, simple diseases, malnutrition, homelessness exposure to cruel cold and killing heat in the Third World when a few thousand families and business groups live in decadent luxury, mindless waste, unproductive sloth?
And they still sing praises to capitalism! Holy crow.
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Ang pinaka-nakakabwiset ay ito: ang kapal ng mukha ng mga naghaharing uri at ng mga aroganteng mayayaman na patuloy ipangalandakan ang kanilang mga aktibidad sa harap ng tumitindi at lumalalang kalagayan ng lipunan at ng mayorya ng mamamayan. Party dito, party dun. Libo-libo ang ginagastos sa make-up, mga sapatos, damit at kung ano-anong luho. Pinapalaganap pa nila ang kanilang kulturang walang kwenta, artipisyal at maka-sarili.
Wala namang problema na gumastos sa damit, sapatos, etc. O uminom ng mamahaling kape minsan kada dalawang buwan. Pero utang na loob, anong klase kang tao na naaatim mong magwaldas ng P7,000 para sa isang lalagyan ng celphone, o para sa isang wallet?! O gumastos ng P15,000 para sa isang relo?!
Imposible na ang mga taong ito ay walang kaalam-alam na laganap ang kagutuman, gera at sakit sa lipunan nila. Na araw-araw, may 10 bata ang namamatay sa tigdas o pneumonia o tuberculosis. Na napakarami ang nakatira sa gilid ng mga rilis ng tren, sa ilalim ng tulay, sa malalamig na semento ng lungsod. Na may gerang sibil dahil sa militarisasyon, pangangamkam ng lupa ng mga magsasaka, pagkitil sa mga karapatang pantao at demokratiko.
And these same people went to freaking Catholic schools! What the heck did they learn in their religion classes - that God loves the rich and He made the world solely fr their enjoyment?!
Grrrr. Actually, am writing this as a delayed reaction to what I witnessed last week when I watched Harry Potter 4 with my family in Ayala. It was a Rotary Club-sponsored showing (long story how we got tickets. Not worth getting into).
When I went to the concession stand to buy popcorn for my sister, I dutifully lined up (lumaki sa University of Pila. Sanay sa paglinya) and waited my turn.
I stood second in line. I was placing my order when holy crap I noticed that suddenly, there were at least five rich people (yeah, yeah - they looked rich alright. They were yapping away in English and the women had Ferragamos or Manolo Blhaniks) next to me and practically YELLING at the people manning the booth.
Wala bang pila?!!! (Actually I said "Is there a line or isn’t there? Where’s the decency and discipline around here?!" in a loud voice).
They just just gave me a look and then ignored me.
Leche. Di kasi nila kasama yung mga katulong nila e sanay na may inuutusan kaya ayun, sinigawan yung mga taga-concession stand.The popcorn guy was in a panic and the girl at the soda fountain looked like she was ready to cry.
Needless to say, I didn’t get my popcorn.
postcript: my husband says I’m anti-rich.
Maybe a little. I can’t help it. I am offended by their values. Im not saying everyone with a Gold Visa or an American Express Card should drop dead, but to be honest, a lot of rich people MAKE.ME.SICK.
Pasensya na. #
