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Sunday, April 16, 2006
Malilong: Back to the real world
By Frank Malilong
The Other Side
THE season of repentance and self-flagellation is over. Christ is risen from the dead. Now it’s back to business.
Sometimes, I wish that every week is Holy Week. For at least two days last week, I was isolated from the gore that is standard fare in the media. The streets were clear of traffic and driving was an enjoyable experience. For two days, I knew quiet and tranquility.
Now, it’s back to reality. Today and the days after, I will read about people’s initiative or about a father raping his own daughter. In terms of depravity on the part of the people responsible, there is not much difference between the two, by the way.
I will once again be assaulted by the shrill and scurrilous voices in broadcast unless, thank God for the choice, I switch off the television or radio set. I will read about Erap Estrada and his children, Kris Aquino and her latest romance, the mumbo jumbo of both the administration and the opposition and the antics of characters like Pamatong and Quiboloy. Why, I`ll probably even hear from Garci himself.
I will now have to fight to every inch of space on the road, curse the other drivers, wish they’d been kept home by a barbecue stick piercing both ears and then later apologize to God for such impure thoughts. See? I told you, it’s back to normal.
On the other side of the coin, now I can laugh. Tradition has made the observance of Holy Week, except perhaps in Bantayan, such a bore. You cannot smile in church for fear of blasphemy. It seems that we have mistaken glumness for solemnity so that the longer the face you wear, the more penitent you are.
Some people had themselves nailed to the cross to show repentance for their sins. Others had themselves whipped while carrying a cross. The President and most members of her Cabinet went on a retreat and probably fasted as most of us did.
But don’t you ever even entertain the slightest hope that things will change dramatically for the better because of all these gestures of piety. If we want change, we have to begin with ourselves.
If we’re not willing to do that, we will be back to exactly where we were before the Holy Week. If I am wrong, you can nail me to the cross.
(fmmalilong@yahoo.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 16, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
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