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Thursday, March 24, 2005
An interview with God
By Henrylito D. Tacio
LAST week, while I was having a break from myself (by not writing two articles per day), I was having a blast.
I just walked around and watched television. In some instances, I played with my nephew, Dave. Or if Kyle, another nephew, was around, I would tease the little boy.
Of course, I still had the time to read the emails sent to me by my editors, friends, and "fans." Well, I received two very special messages.
I am sharing them to you, dear readers. Unfortunately, the first one, "The Interview With God," was forwarded to me by a friend; there was no author known. I am sure you will be inspired after reading the piece:
I dreamed I had an interview with God.
"So you would like to interview me?" God asked.
"If you have the time," I said.
God smiled. "My time is eternity. What questions do you have in mind for me?"
"What surprises you most about humankind?"
God answered: "That they get bored with childhood, they rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health.
God continued: "That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live in neither the present nor the future.
That they live as if they will never die, and die as though they had never lived."
God's hand took mine and we were silent for a while. And then I asked: "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"
"To learn they cannot make anyone love them. All they can do is let themselves be loved. To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
"To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in those they love, and it can take many years to heal them. To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.
"To learn that there are people who love them dearly, but simply have not yet learned how to express or show their feelings. To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.
"To learn that it is not enough that they forgive one another, but they must also forgive themselves." "Thank you for your time," I said humbly.
"Is there anything else you would like your children to know?" God smiled and said: "Just know that I am here... always."
The other interesting piece was sent to me by my journalist friend, Alan C. Robles. The award-wining author penned the piece below for his regular column in "South China Morning Post." The title of his piece:
"National Identity Crisis."
Intellectuals here like saying that because of all their colonial experiences, Filipinos have no identity. Well, the government has a solution for that. It wants to give each Filipino a card that will tell him (or her) exactly who he (or she) is.
The administration of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo is campaigning heavily for a national ID card, a document that each citizen will be compelled to carry and produce to any official who demands it. The card will contain all the information the government has on the individual.
Does the word "Gestapo" come to mind? Anyway, supporters of the scheme love to point out how other countries have such cards, implying that you have not really arrived as a nation until you have dossiers on your citizens.
You, however, might think that the true sign of national maturity is a justice system that works, and politicians who are not grossly corrupt and abusive.
But this is just the sort of carping liberalism guaranteed to find its way, as a notation, into your file.
The government argues that it needs the ID to fight terrorism and help prevent atrocities, such as the recent wave of bombings. I am not exactly sure how such a scheme can stop bombers striking, unless authorities intend to issue cards to the bombs themselves, which conjures up really weird images.
Policeman: "No ID, eh? You're under arrest." Bomb: "But I'm not a terrorist device, I'm a firecracker. I'm just late for the Lunar New Year."
Perhaps the Arroyo government hopes that when they get their national ID forms to fill in, the villains will be thoughtful enough to write "terrorist" in the space for "profession." That should flush them out, for sure.
An ID card could identify the poor in the country, so that the government can target them for more taxes. It could aid law enforcement: for example, if a senator's son decides to discharge an assault rifle in a crowded parking lot.
The police would seize him, examine his ID card, verify his identity and then release him at once, saving a lot of embarrassment.
Because setting up the scheme is such a delicate job, the government will want to entrust it to reputable hands - perhaps the same consortium that won the bid to modernize the voting system; members of the group vanished as soon as they were paid, but I am sure they will turn up.
Anyway, there is nothing more reassuring than knowing that all your most important personal data has been put in the hands of a few people you do not know, and is liable to inspection by such reliable Philippine officials as generals and politicians.
This is the sort of knowledge that will let Filipinos sleep better at night, provided of course that those Filipinos sleep in America. My email: tasyo2002@yahoo.com
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (March 24, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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