|
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Garcia: Nothing new
By Pablo John Garcia
Breakfast at Noon
The 2004 Nobel Prize for Literature went to the relatively unknown Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek.
That’s right. Who the hell is Jelinek? She was cited “for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society’s clichés and their subjugating po-wer.”
Right again. How do clichés subjugate people? How can overused, “trite or stereotyped phrases or expressions, or the ideas expressed by them” oppress people?
Let me try my hand at this. Let me–as the saying goes--add my two cents’ worth. There’s no harm in trying. In fact, if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
Nobody said this would be easy. I’m no Einstein. We’ll just take this one step at a time. A journey of a thousand miles, after all, begins with one step. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
And we’ll have to start from scratch. Jelinek--she blazed a trail. No one can accuse her of choosing to walk on the safe side of the road. The Nobel Prize is no mean feat. (We hope she doesn’t rest on her laurels.)
Or maybe I should stop trying. If Jelinek says clichés are subjugating people everywhere, maybe I should just take her word for it. But then, we can’t change horses in mid-stream. Might as well get our ears wet.
Congressmen won’t give up their pork. You thought you could talk a dog off a meat wagon. Well, what can you do? You can’t teach old dog new tricks. Old habits die hard.
Fair is fair: Some congressmen did try to set the example. But you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. So what the hell? If you can’t beat them, join them.
What if there’s a deficit that doesn’t seem to go away? Life goes on. Inflation is up, but what goes up must come down. This, too, shall pass. Time will tell. Hope springs eternal.
Remember: all good things come to those who wait.
Another general implicated in a military funds scandal. But they’re getting to the bottom of things. There’s a full-blown investigation. No one will be spared. Let the chips fall where they may. Heads will roll. Justice will be done.
Illegal logging causes deaths and displacement. It must have been an isolated incident. Don’t mistake the trees for the forest. Everything is under control. We’re on top of the situation. Behind every cloud is a silver lining.
You see, there’s a reason for everything. God works in mysterious ways.
The Philippines is in deep crisis. But in Chinese, the character for “crisis” is the same as that for “opportunity.” It’s not the end of the world. The glass is half-full. Midnight is where light begins. It is always darkest before dawn.
Yeah, I know you’re in a rut. Down in the dumps. Well, there’s nowhere to go but up. Better feeling pain than feeling nothing at all. Love hurts. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
And remember: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
Well, Jelinek, that’s it. You’ve proven your point. But the well’s run dry.
(pablojohn@gmail.com)
(December 9, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
