Estremera: Honesty is such a lonely word

Saturday, January 21, 2012

BILLY Joel crooned it for us who are nearer half a century than sweet 16. This was remade by Beyonce and thus, us who are nearer half a century than sweet 16, can make the clueless young ‘uns who have never heard of a person named Billy Joel believe we’re cool and updated with today’s music.

The decades that separate the original version and the remake, however, is a period that has made this virtue even lonelier. And I say that as Chief Justice Renato Corona sheds a tear while the “Impossible Dream” plays in the background…

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To the consternation of many who had to shed gallons of blood, sweat, and tears just to get a PhD in Asia’s oldest Catholic institution, Corona got his because he delivered a lecture. That was before the impeachment trial that has taken the place of afternoon soaps in today’s households saw how topnotch lawyers can hee and haw at and swipe with arrogant savvy the bumbling prosecution panel with the defense’s topnotch knowledge of the law and where the loopholes lie.

The Filipinos also gaped in consternation as it was made apparent that statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs) need not be disclosed contrary to the intent of the law that required government officials to file their SALNs. The nation witnessed that as the Supreme Court clerk tried to hold on to Corona’s SALN because only the Supreme Court can order her to disclose its contents. With officials who find more than just a loophole but a quick exit route through technicalities, no wonder the Freedom of Information Bill just cannot budge much less lurch forward.

All throughout what we are witnessing these days, however, is the virtue called honesty.

Yes, that word which according to Beyonce and Bily Joel before her, is such a lonely word.

It’s a fact that we live in a society where a certain amount of dishonesty is tolerated, much like when a mother consoles her child by saying she has a beautiful voice when everyone else around is just about ready to cover their ears from the racket she makes whenever she belts out a song.

There is also tact and diplomacy that prevents us from being brutally honest. But all these have to be kept within tolerable limits lest we create a society that is devoid of trust.

Trust, is a basic value in human relations. There are a lot of things that happen in any civilized society where we can rely only on trust, on the assurance that somebody’s word is good enough to hold on to.
But today’s world is eroding this.

Way before we even learned of the existence of a Renato Corona, we were already battling against the penchant of many a student to copy and paste articles and even books from the Internet and claiming these as their own, confident in the belief that he will not be caught.

The harassed teacher, on the other hand, will allow this to pass simply because checking out each and every student’s essay in the Internet is such a bother. Honesty as a virtue has been eroding way beyond a mother’s boundless love for her child and another person’s refusal to offend.

But can we allow this virtue to just erode without any one of us stepping in and saying this should no longer be allowed to continue?

Definitely not. And here lies now the so-called parental guidance that in this day and age has become even more important. With televisions all tuned into the impeachment trial within the hearing distance of the young, and the loud discussions Filipinos have a penchant for while arguing with what is being shown on television news, there should be a conscious effort on each and every adult to set straight whatever it is that seems to have been twisted, by the savvy of legal minds who are willing to hide the truth beneath legalese and technicalities. In between, the young ones have easy access to information that can erode the basic values that hold civilizations together, and thus we feel an emptiness… the unconscious knowledge that we are missing out on something important and yet not recognizing what it is.

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye,” the fox told the little prince in Antoine St. Exupery classic, “The Little Prince”, as he imparts the importance of the intangible values over and above the material.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose . . ."

We have tamed out society and called it a civilization, but because we are driven by what we can touch and grab, we forget our responsibilities to this world we have tamed.

Dishonesty wielded with sheer impunity is but a manifestation of how we are eroding the foundations on which basic civilizations are founded on, let us all keep that in mind as we hold government accountable for abuses committed while in power. Impunity, after all, has already taken on different forms – from extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances to graft an corrupt practices. How much more should we let pass?

Ideally, no more.

Yes, we are allowed half-truths and can expect this even from persons we look up to with respect, much like our mothers and to some extent those we voted into power. But to allow them to wield untruths with impunity is letting go of the civilized human in us.