“GIVEN the strange and uncertain times that we are in—and they are strange, and they are uncertain—with each day’s news cycles bringing more head-spinning and disturbing headlines, I thought maybe it would be useful to step back for a moment and try to get some perspective.”
This is according to former US President Barack Obama.
Today, when President Duterte makes his third State of the Nation Address (Sona), many words will dominate public discourse.
This discourse is important not just because it is the President’s report of his administration’s accomplishments, his “world view” and “world building,” according to the Rappler’s Iñigo de Paula on July 21.
The reactions will not only come from journalists and social media influencers; citizens will also have their responses, not just to what the President says but also to the state of the country as it is experienced and witnessed by many, especially those in the margins and away from the seats of power.
This is why, in view of the tempest of discussion that will be stirred by the third Sona, it is essential to draw insights from an earlier lecture made by Barack Obama on July 17 to honor the late Nelson Mandela, the South African leader whose struggles for equality and democracy serve as a beacon of inspiration for many people.
The 2018 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture centered on the theme, “Renewing the Mandela Legacy and Promoting Active Citizenship in a Changing World.”
According to the nelsonmandela.org website, the 16th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture is intended to be a “unique platform to drive debate on critical social issues in South Africa and around the world.”
The quote that begins this editorial is taken from Obama’s 2018 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture. It reminds us that although increasingly many Filipinos feel we live in “interesting times”—a backhanded curse that captures the culture of death and impunity, incivility, and pessimism prevailing in the country and the rest of the world—there is a need for reflection and appraisal to guide our decisions and actions.
In the age of unceasing bombardment of information, misinformation, and disinformation, the need for contemplation is all the more needed.
Obama reminds that humanity must not give up its vision of transforming societies from being in the dark—where “certain races, certain nations, certain groups were inherently superior, and that violence and coercion is the primary basis for governance, that the strong necessarily exploit the weak, that wealth is determined primarily by conquest”—to moving towards the light: that community must be built on secure foundations, “the principle of national self-determination,” as well as “the principles of democracy and rule of law and civil rights and the inherent dignity of every single individual.”
Every society faces differing challenges in its transformation. However, the common threat to democracy and the rule of law comes from a challenge that has globally metastasized: “strongman politics.”
“Strongman politics is ascendant suddenly, whereby elections and some pretense of democracy are maintained—the form of it—but those in power seek to undermine every institution or norm that gives democracy meaning,” he said.
Along with the rise of populist leaders and the siren call of authoritarianism, “censorship and state control of media,” as well as the misuse of social media to promote “hatred and paranoia and propaganda and conspiracy theories,” complicate the struggle for democracy, particularly inclusiveness and respect for human rights.
Regarding a critical uncertainty—“How should we respond?” to being at “a crossroads” of “two very different visions of humanity’s future”—Obama throws back the challenge to citizens.
It is as it should be. The future of democracy rests not only on leaders but on all citizens.
We cannot let our leaders decide our futures without our participation.