By Marylaine Louise L. Viernes 

Where have all the noble men gone? Wilted away like flowers as we’ve been thriving in a garden abounding with weeds that siphon out the nation’s strength and essence. Those we see on TV nowadays are nothing but publicity-hungry savages; now it seems like the great men are nothing but figments of our imagination. What’s real is when you look around; you see nothing but hungry, hard-working Filipinos living on less than minimum wage, while others don’t even have anything at all. These portraits depict the awful reality many of us face.

I’ve watched Valkyrie starring Tom Cruise, which depicts something we Filipinos could learn from such a point in history. The demagogue in Hitler was able to entrance and gain the loyalty of many Germans while very few men—those with a strong moral sense—knew better. Hitler can never justify the harrowing death of many people. There’s much to learn from the paradigm of debacles past, yet sadly, we allow history to keep repeating itself. Worse is that we proclaim ourselves evolved and civilized when to this date, we still go by the harsh principle of “the survival of the fittest.”

Operation Valkyrie was employed by men who wanted to end Hitler’s unjust rule, and the beauty this teaches us is that there will always be those whose values enable them to contrive ways to fight for what is right. In this country, however, it seems like the cries of the oppressed citizens are muffled by the system, and those who are supposedly able to do something about our situation just would not, perhaps for fear of failure and losing their stakes in this long-running dirty game. Gone are the men who dreamed of a free Philippines, and dedicated everything they had to make it come into being. We’re stuck in the clutches of those who simply sit back in their lavish abodes and watch this country go down in the flames they started. There are other people such as myself, who can only write and hope that my screaming words would wake people up.

We all try to entertain ourselves yet we can never really forgo reality; we tune in to the daily news and we get bombarded with nothing but news on atrocities! Those whom we look up to to uphold justice and reinforce the law do nothing but pose and smile, then declare that they are “working on it,” when in actuality, there’s no such thing as a justice system in this country anymore. The limbs on which this country used to stand with or reach up with have been paralyzed by its own system. These are the things that we tune in to lately and discombobulate us all . . .

Making stars explode

There are many awful things happening in our country. These become sensational items for a while, the culprits promising to make amends to those victimized, and then all is forgotten. Examples of these situations are the Sulpicio Lines tragedy, and most recently, the Starmaker fireworks factory explosion in Cavite. But there is another form of tragedy, where the trust and dignity of our citizens are taken away. For instance, several preneed companies barter accountability to deceive their disenfranchised plan holders who can do nothing but wait and see if they can reclaim even a portion of their investments. Big players easily run to crises control experts who advise them to just let the issue die down and let the victims swallow the bitter pill. Lives and livelihood are taken away without even any form of reparation for the physical, emotional and financial troubles done to them.

Wowowee Nation

Needless to say, Filipinos all over the world are die-hard fans of Wowowee and other shows of a similar nature that make us feel good. But then it also makes you wonder what kind of people we are breeding with the way media manipulates our minds. While it’s good to instill hope, using people’s emotions to sell airtime will not necessarily turn their hopes into a change for the better. What we need is the proper way of motivating the Filipino people to look for ways that will make their lives better. We can never rely on chance for these only happen in game shows. Or do they, really? Kawawa we?

Pacquiao nalang nang Pacquiao

I do not look up to Manny Pacquiao because of his great ability to surmount his opponents in the ring. What I admire is the deeper side to him that has enabled him to become who he is despite his humble beginnings. Many Pinoy boxers have achieved far greater titles, but none has been able to attain his status, fame and monetary achievements. While Pacquiao has achieved what he has by rightful means, the others do nothing but hoard and steal (Pakyawin) the resources which others need to have a share of. Thanks to the relentless pag-Pakyaw of some selfish people, our country is totally knocked down and out.

So watch you waiting for? Write me at marylaine_viernes@manilatimes. net; visit my blog at apotheosis.multiply.com

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