The state of our nation and our spirit

No one may have noticed or paid much attention to it, but is it mere coincidence that two major events which recently took place in the Philippines was about the State of the Nation delivered by Gloria Arroyo and the Spiritual State of the Filipinos revealed through Cory Aquino?

More than anything, the recently delivered State of the Nation served as a reminder of our politically divided and struggling nation, shackled by the greed and conflict among the ruling class. Beyond the address, the event served as a display window of the self-righteousness, selfishness and utter disrespect the leaders of society heap upon each other, yet failing to see their leprous character.

Before we all got dragged in the ugliness of their anger and despise for each other, we were stunned into reality by the death of a person whose life was totally opposite to those whose lives depend on their politics and their delusions.

The five-day funeral of Cory Aquino turned out to be the longest spiritual retreat that any Filipino has ever attended in recent history.

Not even our formerly sacred “Holy Week” has managed to confront Filipinos with the truth that we have all strayed so far from the doctrines of our faith, our patriotic duties and our need and responsibility for each other.

No retreat I know of has dealt with our national dislocation from true prayer, which we now conduct like kids making public birthday wishes or desperate victims gasping for air.

In the days before and during SONA, the “Pro” and the “Anti” focused on the color of anger: red. They drew imaginary lines and territory on a long and wide stretch of road like generals preparing to annihilate each other.

And on the day itself, they went to their pre-determined places. One group applauded with self-satisfaction and self-edification while another group took to the streets and cursed the very institutions and authority they represented.

From both sides, they who claim to be leaders displayed to the nation the meaning of contempt, arrogance, immaturity, anarchy and disrespect. The love they had was only for themselves and the goals they set were only for their political ambition, be it left or right.

When Cory Aquino passed away, we went about our daily lives while waiting for the call. The call for prayer and that it was now time to pay our last respects. So we went about saying silent prayers and tying yellow ribbons on car antennas, trees and lampposts. Once again we were reminded that yellow was not the color of cowards but the color of our love for country and democracy. 

We braved the rain or scorching sun standing in seemingly endless lines sharing thoughts with total strangers like they were our next-door neighbors. There were no Marshall plans, no budgetary outlays, no advanced preparations, just civilians being civilized or better yet Filipinos being real Filipinos.

We began to hear about how prayer was always part of many people’s daily and everyday reality. Suddenly, the often-agnostic media talked about prayer like it was the latest discovery or the most recent lifestyle breakthrough. 

Cory’s five-day funeral certainly brought out the best and the worst in us. In the beginning some had hoped that the process would develop into an excuse for open revolt. What it did was to reveal what has become the content of our hearts.

Some had only grief and a great sense of loss; others were more interested in wishing for mayhem. Has our politics and anger turned us into the very people we hate?

Some had hoped that the thousands upon thousands of people lining up to pay their last respect, the marchers and resurrected supporters shouting “Cory, Cory” would cause great fear and panic upon members of the administration.

What it showed was desperation and lack of wisdom to address the real problems with real solutions. In reality it reveals how petty people have become. Are we so desperate to get back at this administration that all we can do is wish it ill?

Beyond the valuable lessons that Cory left behind, I seriously believe that the two recent significant events are serious reminders for all of us to rewrite and reaffirm our commitments to both our God and our country. Those two events were like mirrors showing us what we now have for leaders and what we should have and must have as leaders.

In our five-day “retreat” we should have rediscovered a burning passion to make things right, to do things right and to do it with the right people and to do something about it.

We must understand that it is a battle that we are about to enter in, it is a fight where we will need to take sides between the good versus the evil, a fight where you must take a stand and not look for a win-win solution or a happy compromise. There can never be good alongside evil.

In gentleness of spirit we must speak the searing truth to the false and the pretentious. In defiant righteousness, we must oppose not only those who would abuse authority for their benefit, we must also expose people who use the enemy to win our allegiance and abuse our trust. One, who uses our enemy in order to use us, is no less than the enemy itself.