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Monday, August 22, 2005
Gulle: What ails us?
By Inocentes A. Gulle
Your Business is Our Business
NEVER in the history of this republic has there been a political insanity such as we have now. Never in my more than seventy years this side of hell have I seen such a filthy ugliness in our country's political establishment. What could be the root of all these evils?
In any event, our politics have always been characterized by underhanded power grabbing methods. We know of the dirty tactics (murders included) employed by our so-called fathers of the revolution (against the Spanish colonizers). Some records say we had even been sold by one of them to the Americans. That's beside the fact that the Spaniards had sold the islands to the Americans.
Under the American's fifty or some years of political superintendence over the country, it seemed we had learned a better way of running our affairs. In fact, I have lived through the tail end of that dispensation and I thought it was a fairly good proposition all around, notwithstanding the punctuation of World War II.
Then we were left on our own by 1946. Everything looked all right for a while. However, I observed conditions declined little by little as years went by. Things seem to have gone far worse as soon as our politicians got overwhelmed by the power, wealth and privileges that one would have just being up there in the "pilothouse". Everybody thus, wanted to be there. From then on grab-as-can-grab became the norm of our politicians as "politicitis" set in and became and endemic disease in our political system. And us too, in the process. Then we were in trouble.
Marcos, perhaps in the beginning, had in mind to overhaul the foundering ship of state to remove the obvious cause of trouble, exacerbated by the left-handed elements of a strange ideology, who likewise, wanted to grab power. But, alas, the bug was too much for him and in the end he managed only to make things even worse.
Then with American help, Madam Cory came forth "to save democracy" kono (according to them). Well, she did save democracy and modified the system to boot. Her new constitution gave the very strange beings that Mr. Marcos wanted to eliminate, to enter halls of power via the kitchen. Our politics have since become even crazier.
I remember, just before the clock struck 12:00 midnight December 31, 1999, all TV stations this side of the international date line hooked up and kept vigil, showing peoples in different countries eagerly awaiting the dawn of the new millenium. I liked to believe every son and daughter of Adam and Eve was praying, even expecting, a brighter, peaceful and prosperous new day. At least, I did.
But, what have we got? Instead of the hoped for better conditions "politicitis" became a more deadly disease similar to the rabbis. Erap became the victim. For a while I thought the virus went with Erap's demise. Yet, before Ate Glo's butt warmed the seat, another attack came on. Somehow, she has managed to hang on, even managed to extend her stay.
But the disease has perhaps become even more virulent that there's no more letup in its attack. Every one in the pilothouse of the proverbial ship of state has been infected. All kinds of remedies have been proposed and nothing seems to work. To make matters worse, while the navigators are biting each other up there, the passengers are getting weak of hunger, seasickness and suffocation. Worst foreboding still are the storms that are fast gathering in the horizon - upsurge of terrorism spawned by Islamic fundamentalists that undoubtedly caused the sudden upswing of oil prices. Which again could evolve into more serious confrontations that could trigger another global conflict.
Well, these troubles are already announced three thousand years ago. But who believes in bible prophecies? And who believes the bible, in the first place, much more understand it? The fact is, we even practice a different kind of Christianity than that the bible teaches. For example, the bible emphasizes that we set aside the Seventh Day to make holy as a sign between Him and His people forever. No, we instead set Sunday, the day of the sun god Helios as our "Christian" Sabbath. The bible teaches that Christ is the only way to the Father, but no, we have to have many saints to intercede for us, some of whom were even subsequently disqualified for lack of eligibility.
The bible teaches that Jesus had several brothers and sisters, but our priests and elders teach that Mary stayed a virgin throughout and has become something of a goddess to whom we can ask for blessings and who could intercede for us.
Now, isn't that confusing? So what can our politicians be without biblical guidance? Confused, of course, and would naturally lead us all to confusion.
So, what's there for us? Perdition, if we do not find the truth--"Seek the scriptures (diligently and with prayers for spiritual guidance) for in them you will find the truth and the truth shall make you free."
For Bisaya stories from General Santos.Click here. (This section is updated every Monday)
(August 22, 2005 issue)
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