Friday, September 22, 2006
Lee: Serving the Country
By Kelvin King Lee
Babble On
I MISSED column-writing during those "break" months, partly because it had become a part of my system to churn out articles every week and to write on public and sometimes even private affairs.
In my own little way, I guess, I felt that it was a manner of serving the country. Columnists, pundits, journalists, bloggers and people from the media all share this basic belief. Though some would think that writing the news or even writing about the news is but a job, it is also a duty, a way of serving our country and its people.
Think about it. Without the news and writers, much of what is happening throughout the country would remain unknown. Opinions and points of view would be unshared, matters of public importance would not be commented on, and as a consequence, change would not happen.
The seeming importance of the media is enshrined in our own Constitution which has provided in Section 4, Art III that "no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress or grievances."
Blackstone, an ancient but revered legal author during the time of Abraham Lincoln, said that "the liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state..." Our own national hero, Jose Rizal, according to Father Bernas's textbook, counted freedom of expression as one of the reforms demanded by the Filipinos from the Spaniards.
It is no coincidence that when Martial law was declared by Marcos, he went after the press and television stations first. This is the same thing the Thai generals did recently in their coup. They nuzzled the press and even took CNN, BBC and other news channels off the air. Eliminate freedom of expression and you eliminate the truth.
"Freedom of expression is needed for democracy to work properly," said Father Bernas, a constitutional law expert, “the citizen-critic has to be given the information required for him to be able to perform his civic-duty.”
And in a way, columnists and writers are critics in their own right, doing their duty and serving their country by keeping its institutions on the straight and true path. Without freedom of expression, do you honestly believe our policemen would be honest (sort of), our politicians hard-working (somewhat), our public servants open to differing ideas (kind of)? This is the function of the columnists and writers and the media. We serve the country in our own special way.
And I guess it is this sense of duty that has also harkened me back to column-writing. The demands of studies notwithstanding, a part of me always felt that I should return to writing about current events. It was as if I would not be complete without doing so. It is a sense of duty that sparked my return, a need to serve the country in my own little way.
This reminds me of a story about a six year old boy and his family, who went to visit Washington, the capital of the United States of America. They went to see the Washington Monument, and the boy wanted to go to the very top of the monument. The elevator operator, who was a government employee, looked down at the little boy and asked him if he wanted to operate the lift. The wide-eyed and excited boy said that he did, and the man told him which button to push. The boy pushed the button, and the elevator operator announced to everyone on the elevator: “look at this man, only six years old and already serving his country.”
We can all serve our country in our own way. I plan to do so through this column, by using the constitutionally guaranteed rights accorded to me of Freedom of expression, speech and of the press. I intend to do my duty of speaking the truth and telling the world what I honestly think. It’s going to be a long elevator ride, so to speak, but I intend to ride that elevator, push the necessary buttons, and serve the country the whole way.
It has been a while since I last wrote in these pages. For those who were surprised at my somewhat abrupt departure, I must apologize. The necessities of work and study overwhelmed me at the time, requiring a short break from column-writing for a few months. Thankfully, Mr. Ajero, our publisher, was willing to take me back.
(Email me at babbleoncolumn@yahoo.com)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (September 22, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
