Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Barrita: We need heroes By Eddie O. Barrita Small Bites
MEDICAL board topnotcher Marlon Diaz-Garcia plans to practice medicine in America.
Don’t blame him and those who, like him, want to work abroad.
You see, ever since we praised Filipinos working abroad as our “new heroes,” many young Filipinos want to become heroes too.
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We need heroes, journalist-professor Jun Varela said, to remind us that man can be larger than life itself.
But with the way we mark National Heroes Day, the few heroes we have may soon slip into oblivion.
We can’t also hastily elevate the living for, as Reynolds Price observes, we might only later “discover dark patches of fungus on the idol’s face and hands.”
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Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief Ibrahim Murad has called for a ceasefire on military strikes so government and MILF peace panels can return to the negotiating table.
Talking peace is certainly better than being rained upon with 500-pound bombs and howitzers.
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China led the gold medal haul in the just-concluded “near-flawless” Beijing Olympics.
In the Bird’s Nest, China’s national stadium, the Philippines laid a fat zero.
Well, two Filipinas actually bagged gold medals in Beijing, but they’re for promoting breastfeeding.
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Beijing’s “no-fun games” reflect how China handled dissent and free speech during the Olympics.
Would you believe they even put up “protest zones” during the Games?
A US comedian said these “protest zones,” which went unused, were also called jails.
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Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a bill to set a uniform time for Filipinos to follow.
When this bill is enacted into law, Filipinos will have “one time, the right time.”
But will the law change the meaning of “Filipino time”?
