Mono£ogues

My country is experiencing Moral Bankruptcy…  

Lots have been happening in my country today. I’m sure if you’ve been watching the news you’d know that our dear Philippines is experiencing “moral bankruptcy”… borrowing the words of our City Vice Mayor…  

Sigh… this isn’t an easy time. And it isn’t a first time phenomena either… with so many people wanting to have their spot in the limelight to have that coveted “fame”… you aren’t quite sure anymore who is “really telling us the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. 

In my opinion… and I haven’t really voiced mine so much since… for nowadays almost everyone has an opinion they want aired. Yet mine is just simple…  

To me… if these guys are really true and sincere in getting the truth heard… they shouldn’t be flaunting themselves in front of the camera, the mob, the media. For saying the truth is not an act of showmanship or a time to bask in the limelight. One doesn’t parade oneself in front of everyone to be glorified, for to be totally honest and sincere is to be humble about it.  

To me… If they are truly sincere in what they say as these people say they are, then they should know that this act of selflessness is in itself a great responsibility for these can cause a ripple effect and so many consequences. When one is faced with a great responsibility one must be extra cautious in action, word and deed. 

To me… the truth should shine. NOT the persons telling it or wanting to tell it. 

To me… Deciding to reveal the truth is in itself a noble act. But to reveal the truth would depend on what is the motive for it and the people who empathize or take advantage of it.  

To me… When someone is adamant on revealing “truths” to the public, this person should be careful on how these would affect everyone. So instead of putting up a show, true sincerity is keeping oneself in a low profile and let the truth shine by itself and silently pray. That is the very reason why, when a person is truly sincere in his act of nobleness and truthful in his quest for a “better” change, he invokes in him humility, reserve and prudence in his actions for he is aware that in the process he would be hurting a lot of people.. He should be aware that his actions could influence the populace… for people who have been experiencing in the past incessant graft and corruption, will clamor for anything and even blindly believe and pursue even a flicker of light in the darkness.

 But we citizens must be smart and not to easily be led. For a flicker in the darkness doesn’t necessarily mean sunlight or a way out of the dark cave we might have been stuck for years…. but this flicker could be a deceiving light that reflected the fire or a snarling dragon that might just lead us instead to our demise. 

Unfortunately and sadly, these guys who claim to be telling the truth have not been keeping a low profile, they haven’t even showed even a small act of humility and remorse but instead are arrogant and egotistical. And are even basking on the propaganda and joining the bandwagon and feeding on the cheering of the mob. Look at their eyes and their faces when they are interviewed on TV, when they are shouting in front of the crowd, when they are shouting on the streets and they are cheered on… this whole thing is actually a great performance for them to demonstrate and flaunt their influence and power. If we dare strip away their façade with their pretentious smiles do we see kindness and God’s face revealed or would we be exposing their evil self-seeking malicious intentions, scheming maneuvers and probably meet the devil himself..

We’ve had our time on the streets. Yes, we prayed on the streets and God heard us. We stopped a dictator in his regime of 20 years. Toppled a government and put up new hope. That was 21 years ago but sad to say we have never learned our lessons. Today we ought to be ashamed of ourselves.

Fellow Filipinos, do you really think the best way to have that change everyone is clamoring for is to march on the streets again and snarl and bark like mad dogs, screaming and blaming everyone else but ourselves? We’ve been doing that since time immemorial. The sad thing is, the Edsa Revolution has been used and manipulated and its memory and essence cheapened by people who use it to attain their selfish reasons. We have abused our independence. 

I once had a heated conversation with a cab driver. I was on my way to a client’s meeting and on my way there; this driver didn’t turn right on the proper street where we were supposed to have a left turn on the corner. He instead went in the wrong street and wanted to make an illegal left turn where there was a very big sign that says otherwise. I told him to stop and turn right instead and follow the flow of traffic. I asked him why he passed that way, cause by then we were going to have to take a longer route which would make me late for my appointment. This driver slammed on the brakes so suddenly that I almost hit my head on the dashboard and with a raised voice angrily told me that it was my fault coz I didn’t let him make that illegal left turn. I turned to him and said it was a traffic violation and that if I was hurt when he suddenly slammed the brakes I would have him arrested. This irate driver then told me to get out of the cab. I said he will have to bring me to my destination first before I get out of the cab and because I was irritated and yes damn angry that I was shouted at and almost got hurt, I commented that one very good reason why we don’t progress in our country is because people can’t follow simple traffic rules and are the ones who get angry when told. Then he retaliated that it’s the corrupt people in the government who are to blame. And I looked at him and said, he just affirmed what I meant. People are so keen on pointing the finger at other people and forget to look at themselves and see if they were partly to be blamed. These officials are not the only citizens of this country…. we all are. 

God suffered this way when we crucified him because we were not happy with what he was doing. We wanted him out. And since then, we’ve wanted anyone who doesn’t satisfy us… OUSTED.

But fellow citizens weren’t these the very people we voted on? We’ve been given the right to choose those who we want to serve us… unfortunately many of us forget the essence of our Rights to Suffrage. Many have tainted it by allowing themselves to be bought and manipulated; used and controlled; allowing themselves to be trampled upon and morally corrupted. And now…. they complain when these very people are just doing what in the first place they were given permission to do. 

To me… the best thing to do right now is not to bawl at the top of our lungs in anger and hatred and march on the streets, but gather family and friends or sit down by oneself quietly in silent prayer. We need to sincerely ask for forgiveness for each of our own faults which contributed to the decline of our country’s moral and pray fervently that God be merciful on us and lead us, enlighten us and guide us to what is best according to His will. It is time we seek God’s guidance in utmost humility…. not rallying on the streets.  

God is the truth. But He is also Love, Forgiveness, Understanding and LIFE. It may be the truth but if spoken in hatred and blame… then it is not God speaking. Take heed my fellow brothers and sisters for the Devil takes on a thousand faces looking like good on the outside but rotten inside.

It has been at least 23 years since my father left our family for a better life for him. The first year after he left, we would receive recorded cassette tapes of his messages and songs he would sing and record for us. I would remember listening to his tapes over and over, just so I wouldn’t miss him so much. But after the second year, we have heard nothing about him up until a few months ago while I was surfing the internet to assist my daughter in her assignment, I came upon his name and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I saw his website and with trepidation I clicked on it and on my computer screen flashed his pictures of his business, the places he has been and lo and behold…. the daughter he so proudly claims to have. 

How often we have heard of people talking about parents who would always rally behind their children no matter what the odds. They would go the extent of sacrificing just so that their children will be spared the pain and difficulty. With the number of weddings I coordinate in a year, the number of marriages that get broken is even doubled. With every one couple who commit to stay together, somewhere there are at least four couples who finally decide to go their separate ways. Relationships between couples end anytime. But as a mother, I can never begin to understand how a parent could just leave his family like a useless discarded item… to pursue one’s ambition and happiness is by all means something we must all do for ourselves….  but to abandon your children, who in the first place didn’t ask to be born to this world, is a crime. For such a selfish act can leave dire consequences, deep wounds, broken dreams and, hurting souls.  

Ok, we as human beings, setting aside our responsibilities as husbands, wives, parents or whatever, have every right to decide to go for, what we feel should make us happy. True. But just one thing to ask, if you’re a spouse and a parent, and you feel that you cant stand the sight of your wife/husband or your children any longer, then by all means end the relationship with them in a clear and acceptable way. Talk to your children. They may not understand it at first but eventually they will learn to accept.  Your children will become grown ups in time and surely they would have learned the wisdom to understand your decision. End it with them. That is more courageous and your family will respect you for it.

Don’t be a coward and run away leaving your children hanging. And as with the case of my own father, have the pompousness and arrogant nerve to flaunt his “new adorable family” in the internet for the entire world to see.  

In a world where belonging is as essential as the air we breathe, an abandoned child harbors the misconstrued feeling that he has to assert himself at all times to belong and be loved, to seek the approval of others for his personal fulfillment and happiness… for in his mind, if his own parents can reject and forsake him, then how much more those people whom he just meets along life’s highway and whom he is practically a stranger and a nobody to…         

I was listening to the news about the mayhem that has been happening in provinces all over the country that the recent election caused… I asked my sister sitting beside me on the sofa…. “If government pays so little….why do these people fight for such positions in government?” “Power and ambition” she simply said. I once met a friend who told me that if it’s not for her ambition, she wouldn’t be here today. I say, she sure is right about that…for every one of us. In my years in my business, I have learned it is not where we start, but where we go. However, how we get there and what we learn along the way is ultimately the secret to success. 

Getting to where we are going entails us to be ambitious. It is my conviction that ambition, fueled by compassion, wisdom and integrity, is a powerful force for good. It will turn the wheels of any industry and open the doors of opportunity for us and countless thousands of people.  But fueled by greed and lust for power, ambition is a destructive force that ultimately does irreparable damage to the individual in its grasp and to the people within its reach. Just look at our politicians…. (sad sigh)  It is more than just a cliché to say that ambition can either make or break us. There is a more superior ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind higher. He who helps another up climbs the highest.  For us, to do something, however small, to make others happier and better is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope which can inspire a human being! In the midst of our ambitions, let us always remember “Success is determined not by what we get for reaching our destination, but by what we become by reaching it.” May our country’s leaders find it in their hearts the ambition to be of service to mankind.  God help our country.