Sunday, March 02, 2008 Lim: Miracles By Melanie T. Lim Wide Awake
THE dramatic turn of events in the last month has given birth to “heroes.” Accidental they may be, these heroes represent a beacon of hope in the sea of conspirators silenced by shared guilt and shameless cowardice.
The first of these “heroes” is Jun Lozada who has unleashed a torrent of unspeakable truths that threaten to topple the President. There were days when I sat transfixed by the tube watching the Senate hearings and moments when I seriously wanted to send the senators interrogation tips.
The Senate should consider a hotline for the public during these hearings. All of us---frustrated litigators could have our fill. After all, if there is anything we, Filipinos, should be proud of, it is our political consciousness. We are a highly politicized people. We are aware of what’s going on in our country. And we have an opinion on everything especially in matters of government.
This is not always the case for the rest of the world. The general populace in many countries is largely unaware of what is happening in their governments. Many do not even know or care to know the names of the highest officials of their land.
But not the Filipinos. We speak of politics at the dinner table—the latest political machinations, would-be leaders and squabbles. Perhaps, our tumultuous political history might have something to do with it.
I was eight years old when Martial Law was declared. I was 16 when it was nominally lifted to pave the way for the pope’s visit. Throughout most of my formative years, I lived through a repressive regime that killed my dream of becoming a student of Journalism. My younger sisters were at the forefront of the Edsa I revolution. Busy forming human barricades, they refused to come home.
Many ask, why is Gloria still in power? Why have the masses not rallied as they did in Edsa I and II to topple a corrupt leader? Most notable is the absence of a popular constitutional successor. It is no secret that the public’s fear of the vice-president becoming an accidental president is one of the major reasons Gloria is still in power.
And while Cory Aquino’s influence has somewhat waned, there is no substitute for Cardinal Sin.
Aside from a confluence of the “right” events as my sister suggests, a revolution, bloodless or otherwise, I believe, requires a leadership that can convince the people that beyond corruption, there is hope—that we can survive and prosper as a nation not only economically but morally as well.
It is not just political change, elimination of poverty or even a reversal of the brain drain that we thirst. More than anything else, we want our conscience back. And until a leader who can effect a moral metamorphosis emerges, it is unlikely that we can unseat Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, damned she may be by the Filipino people.
But where accidental heroes emerge, miracles may not be unlikely. For those who believe in miracles, a revolution is never impossible.
