A basis for some “hope”…
Written on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 7:18 am | by benign0Someone whispered to me last night that if certain “liberal demagogues” who currently happen to be immersed in blogging somehow seized an opportunity to wield power (Jeg implied here that he finds this a savory idea) equipped with their “expertise“, that they would likely do even more damage to the country than the morons that currently inhabit the Government. I’m with Jeg in latching on to a presumption that they “have no taste for government and what it takes to get into it” as a basis for hope.
With that, I salute jcc’s great and timely summation here:
Corollary to this ugly part of democracy is the ability of the same charlatans and demagogues to bribe the vociferous media, entice the urban poor with free merienda and bus ride to Liwasang Bonifacio or to EDSA complete with band and “fiesta” decors of all sorts of banners and slogans to end the misery of the people backed by a very powerful political insight of dead white males:
“ it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness”.
These demagogues, who have benefitted from the very regime they find horrendous, would like to abolish it with “ocho-ocho” revolution on account of their being temporarily dislodged from power and privilege and had suddenly found a rude reawakening in the laps of minions of poor people they now wish to wear armor for and be their zealot gladiators.
Then again, given our luck as a people, you never know…
But there is hope of enlightenment folks! For once Patricio got it right:
Net–the forces of Arroyo will win this war this time. And no one can actually prevent them from getting what they want. Gloria in 2020? Why not. We deserve it anyway.
We do deserve it, Patricio.
The last ocho-ocho “revolution” catapulted her to illegitimate power, remember?
Then the problem of the illegitimacy of her presidency came up. Trouble is, it was not all about the above 2001 ocho-ocho festival. It was about some obscure ‘Hello Garci’ triviality that then launched a series of inane events that culminated in the failed ocho-ocho festival I call the Great Commonwealth Avenue “revolution” of 2005. So pathetic was this exercise as to prompt Belinda Olivares-Cunanan to lament:
But more than this is the sorry move of former President Cory Aquino to lead the street protests because she and her followers cannot accept the House’s closure of the case, as this allegedly did not ferret out the truth. As former President she ought to uphold the Constitution that was drafted under her rule. At the Batasan last Tuesday evening, a veteran of the Ninoy protest rallies came back to the session hall in near tears. She saw Ms Aquino walk out in the company of Sandra Cam, the confessed jueteng illegal lottery bagwoman recruited by Sen. Panfilo Lacson to testify at the Senate jueteng hearings. Said this lady from the Visayas: Cory was our icon at Edsa. Now, she marches arm-in-arm with the relics of the Marcos era, the ultra rightists and the leftists who sought to rabble-rouse the striking workers at Hacienda Luisita. In a recent column, Star Max Soliven also mourned Ms Aquino’s call to her “friends” in the military to join their protests.
Nevertheless, it’s still one other ocho-ocho “revolution” I added to my collection of Pinoy infamy. But maybe we are indeed a lucky people. As Marco Garrido wrote in the Asia Times Online back in 2003 about the relatively more obscure impeachment bid against Justice Hilario Davide in the article “Philippines: Between democracy and disaster“…
True, the House ultimately respected the Supreme Court’s decision [presumably to junk the impeachment bid against Davide], and thus, one could say, upheld the rule of law, but had the pro-impeachment forces [garnered] greater moral support, it is not unimaginable that they would have imposed their will despite the law - and legalized their move after the fact [my boldface]. One need not even imagine it; one need only recall the events that installed Arroyo as president in 2001.
… considering that for me, these ocho-ocho “revolutions” already constitute a string of national disasters — each doing cumulative damage to the Republic — I’d say the country still somehow muddled along (albeit in abject mediocrity) and averted what could have been another (albeit, minor) disaster there.
We are indeed a “blessed” people. We survive almost entirely on this continued ethereal “blessing”. But it’s a very precarious surivival strategy, specially as more and more Pinoys gain access to the Pinoy blogosphere where these “experts” rampage and pillage waving their swords of “expertise”.
============
Join us on Facebook!
- Crisis and the Narrative
- The Speech That Brings Hope
- A Sigh Of Relief
- Now Showing: The Congressional Cha-Cha Zarzuela
- Term Extension, Shanghai Crabs, And Impeachment
- People Of The Year 2008
- Senator Ted Kennedy’s Speech At The 2008 Democratic National Convention (Full Text and Video)
- Sulpicio Lines’ Legal Maneuverings, The Hypocrisy, and updates
- After the love-fest, answers
- Turning Law’s Majesty Into a Travesty
Comments
19 Responses to “A basis for some “hope”…”
Leave a Reply
Current Events, News, and Press
- Manny Villar Resigns, Juan Ponce Enrile is New Senate President
Senator Manny Villar has resigned as Senate President. Immediately, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile was nominated then declared New Senate President. Read More...
- The Catholic-Muslim Joint Declaration
Three days of talks at the Vatican that included scholars from The Islamic and Catholic faith, finally concluded with a joint declaration. Here is the full text of The Catholic and Muslim Joint Declaration. Read More...
- Change.gov The Official Website of President-elect Barack Obama
To those who wish to dive deep into what President-elect Barack Obama has in store as his presidency nears, you can go visit Change.gov, his official website introducing the reader to his policies during his presidency. Read More...
- Obama assembles White House team
Barack Obama has started forming his administration by asking Rahm Emanuel, a former adviser to President Clinton, to be his chief-of-staff. Read More...
- Pimentel cautions colleagues against obstructing probe of Bolante
Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, (PDP-Laban) today cautioned his colleagues against blocking the reopening of the Senate's investigation into the fertilizer fund scam that could expose them to suspicion that they may be unwittingly covering up the scandal. Read More...
- Full Text of President-Elect Barack Obama Presidential Victory Speech
Here is the full text of President-Elect Barack Obama Presidential Victory Speech. Read More...
- Barack Obama Presidential Victory Speech Video November 5, 2008
This is the full video of President Elect Barack Obama's Presidential Victory Speech. As November 4th gave way to November 5th, America heralded in a historic moment, by electing, for the first time in history, an African-American as President of The United States of America. Read More...
- A Global Market Meltdown
The world financial system is teetering on the "brink of systemic meltdown", the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned in Washington. Read More...
- Full Draft Copy of The Proposed Bailout Plan
This is the Full Draft Copy of the proposed bailout plan that was struck down just yesterday, and is estimated to cost The United States government, $700 billion or upwards to $1 trillion. Read More...
- Chavit Singson Is New Deputy National Security Adviser
MANILA, Philippines—After a yearlong absence from the political scene, former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson is back in the corridors of power. Read More...
Archive for Current Events »
- Manny Villar Resigns, Juan Ponce Enrile is New Senate President
-
Subscribe to Filipino Voices!
-
FULL TEXT
Fuck me?
See you at Starbucks
Jeg implied here that he finds this a savory idea…
Ah, but I find it savory only because Im of the impression that said blogger would NOT seek to wield power.
And I find your endorsement of jcc’s theory that the only reason people oppose the current dispensation is because they want to wield power themselves as too, well, simple-minded. =wink=
As per Patricio –What’s with the bitterness, Patricio? Where’s the fight in you, man? — if we the people ratify the cha-cha to make Gloria president beyond 2010 in a referendum, then we can truly say that we deserve her.
hope is wasted on the hopeless, benign0.
i’ll do everything in my power - no matter how “hopeless” or “blessed” and “ocho-ocho” it may seem - to change things in this country for the better. because 20 years, 30 years, 40 years from now, i’ll still be in it.
things will change for the better, sir, even if it takes someone like me to do it. i don’t know when, i still don’t know how, but things WILL change, and we’ll get our self-respect and pride back.
to be perfectly honest, sir: i don’t know about millions of filipinos, but as for me, I don’t f***ing deserve this s**t.
Don’t worry Jeg, I gathered as much.
And, yes, you’re well within your right to …
It’s a case of me over-quoting I guess (i.e. unwittingly including jcc’s last paragraph). But having said that, you never quite know, do you? Even if they have no direct inclination to wield power, a few may actually look forward to seeing some specific characters rise to the occasion.
Unlike Yours Truly (who hardly ever talks/writes about personalities) most ordinary schmoes are UNABLE to get past personalities.
Then again:
It’s simple, really™
Isn’t it?
That’s the spirit, Marck.
Just make sure you don’t grow some sort of false “expertise” along your journey and allow it to get in the way of your potential for world-class thinking.
If I am the decision maker, the ocho ocho revolution is a blessing. I will listen to their side of story. The best decision should not only be coming from the top but also from the activity below. Growth comes from activity, not from world class understanding. Let it be. Let ocho ocho continue until we have nowhere to go. It is an effort, a basis for some “hope”.
i do not agree with the move to impeach gma not for the simple reason that those who were doing it wanted to wield power themselves. i think i made myself clear that my opposition has something to do with the principal movants being corrupt themselves.
i made it clear also that I agree with MLQ3’s move to impeach as long has he does not do it in conjunction with the trapos in the likes of JDV, et al.
but i also made myself clear to MLQ3 that the impeachment is counter-productive considering that there is about more than 12 months for gma to rule.
Good, jcc. As for impeachment, Im with Marocharim. It doesnt matter if the president has 2 years or 2 days. If he or she commits an impeachable offense, he or she has to go through the impeachment process. Of course that’s water under the bridge now. We the people dont have the power to overrule Congress in the current system.
But notice your choice of language: rule.
A lot of people I have spoken with do think we need a ruler, a monarch. That’s where we are right now I think: The president is supposed to rule and not preside.
Jeg, consider yourself priviledged to find yourself at the dawn of the latest original benign0-ism (as Senator Abe calls them)!
Given the known character of Pinoys, I think the choice between the above two is quite clear. Crystalline, in fact.
It’s simple, really™
Meh. To rule is to presume you are better than your constituents. Divine right and all that. Proactive or reactive has nothing to do with it. To rule is to presume that even with a proactive constituency, the ruler chooses to ignore them.
But we’ll let the benign0ism slide for now. I suppose you need time to develop it before we can examine whether it is indeed brilliant or bull.
i have outlined in my previous post my disagreement over the impeachment of gma.
1. the anti did not have the number to unseat gma;
2. divisiveness in our society and any potential instability brought about by this political exercise far outweighs any suffering, perceived or real of Pinoys under gma in her remaining years of governance;
3. the principal movants are as corrupt as the powers in Malacanang;
now this is my fourth reason, “Today is Christmas”.
Thanks for allowing me that, Jeg. I’ll be sure not to disappoint.
Abangan….
to Camano: Is Phil-Supreme-court now a fo gotten item and California Bar took things properly?
Why do we need a Supreme Court when we Elite Bloggers can simply meet a Starbucks and decide what is best for the nation?
And if the laws turn out to be a hassle, then we can throw the rulebook out the window and make things up as we go along while also quoting Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton to impress lesser minds.
See you at Starbucks
Conyo,
We still need a Supreme Court to decide whether the extra-constitutional move were plotting is constitutional or not.
Is there a Starbucks’ in Padre Faura? Better invite the justices for coffee.
Hey, Jeg. On second thought, just cut me some slack, mate, and leave this new “benign0-ism” as it is unexpounded upon.
First of all I’m kinda in the middle of an attack of tamaditits (hey, I’m Pinoy too, ain’t I?).
Second, I think this latest koan of mine is self-evident.
And, third, spinning a blurb around it would simply make me as guilty as people who make a business out of spinning mythologies around ocho-ocho “revolutions”.
Better yet, why don’t you have a crack at it. Who knows, my response to your crack may turn into another blog article here (or better yet, a full blown GRP article).
“i think i made myself clear that my opposition has something to do with the principal movants being corrupt themselves.” - JCC
Another brilliant lecture on corruption from our resident leave the lawyering to lawyers Atty de Kuleleng Camano.
After all, who better to give us a lecture on corruption than a convicted extortionist and super kalan thief like Mr. Camano.
Bravo!
Hey, Jeg. On second thought, just cut me some slack, mate, and leave this new “benign0-ism” as it is unexpounded upon.
No worries. I already had a crack at it in the previous comment. Although perhaps like you, I think that at this stage of our development, Filipinos do indeed prefer a ruler, as jcc’s Freudian slip showed.
But Im an optimist. It may seem like we still have a hell of way to go but we’ll get there.
Thanks Jeg.
As Raul Pangalanan writes here:
To which I disagree in the latter. People Power should not exist as a separate concept. It’s always been there. Edsa 1 was just one manifestation of it, and needless to say, the subsequent ones — ocho-ocho “revolutions” — were mere perversions.
The on-going, operational manifestation of people power (note that I don’t enclose it in quotes here) should be in a form channeled via legal institutions and processes.