Battle of the Righteous: People Power in an Age of Ambiguity
I rarely have the title of a piece before I write it but this was an exception. The story of Lozada gripped me; the damning corruption scandal stirred my consciousness. And yet, I found it impossible to write. I tried to shake off this title in the hopes that I lose all restraints but that made it even more difficult. Then I realized it. This difficulty is the story. As powerful my feelings are about this latest episode in our history, I still don’t know what to think.
The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within.
The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.
The true democrat is he who with purely nonviolent means defends his liberty and, therefore, his country’s and ultimately that of the whole of mankind.
- Mahatma Gandhi
I was supposed to join the rally yesterday. I wanted to express my outrage and call for greater accountability in government. I knew for sure that it wasn’t going to be a People Power IV and I don’t think anyone genuinely thought that it would be. And yet, when I approached Ayala Avenue from the southbound lane of EDSA, I didn’t shift to the right lane to exit into Makati; I shifted to the left, slid into the tunnel and avoided Makati completely. As anyone who travels that area would know, that is a point of no return.
I couldn’t say that I changed my mind. Chances are, it was never even made up. I’ve been thinking about going the whole day of Friday, and at times I could imagine hearing Emperor Palpatine speaking to this Darth Vader: “Search your feelings. You will know it to be true.” But why is it that a scion of the Dark Side is the one convincing me to go?
In a large way, it felt like betrayal. I was there in EDSA Dos. On the evening of the 19th of January 2001, I was there with my family to be a statistic and a footnote in history — we were one of the ‘hundreds of thousands’ in our country’s second ‘peaceful revolution’ to overthrow the most popular president we’ve ever had. But we know what eventually happened to that statistic — the revolution was called everything from a de facto coup, mob rule, and the elitist revolution (and that’s hard to shake off with the fact that I write this from a laptop, use sound English, and self-publish on the Internet.) Moreover, what change did the revolution really bring us?
In March 2004, I graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Political Science. By then I have formed a strong opinion that the Philippines is still in a transition from an feudal agrarian society to a modern post-industrial state, that democratic consolidation will be a long arduous process tied with economic development, and that only true reform in our political party system, our bureaucracy and our elections can usher in lasting change in our government.
Since then I’ve critiqued and tweaked this position through the aid of intellectual bastions such as Randy David, Kishore Mahbubani, Jeffrey Sachs, Fareed Zakaria, Ibn Khaldun, Lao Tzu, Confucius and Larry Diamond. However, together with this intellectual development grew a disbelief in revolution — the mass rally, People Power, ‘communal action’ kind. I’ve come to believe that any change in society has to begin first and foremost with the individual before we can conquer and reform our institutions. Now I see EDSA Dos as an instance where democracy had to be destroyed in order to be saved; but how long until we no longer have anything to be salvaged?
My years as an educator only further reinforced this belief. During the height of the Garci scandal, students asked me whether another People Power was imminent. I remember saying: “Students belong in the classroom, not in the streets. Through education we free ourselves; let that be our activism.” Through the lens of history, I taught my students that we have the power to make and break the cycle of history; the past isn’t our destiny. The irony of People Power is that once the cries of freedom and justice subside, the people are powerless once again. Politics and governance fall back into the hands of the elites who have always dominated our history.
Instead, true revolution begins when we shake our youth off their apathy and teach them to envision themselves as change artists, trailblazers and public servants. Students always ask me whether I aspire for the presidency; I always say, “Sure. Why not?” However what they don’t realize is that the realm of public service is much larger than politics. As an educator, it is my hope to welcome all we can into this realm.
As a people, we will never run out of reasons to despise our government and distrust our leaders; no one can deprive us of our anger and outrage. What we must lose however, are the reasons that continue to bar us from the task of not just changing but of forming government. I don’t believe we have a problem finding an alternative to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; the thought that there is no one better than her is only proof of how authoritarian she has been. Not only has she curtailed our freedom, but our imagination too.
We have many intellectuals, technocrats and idealists who aspire for public service. What these people don’t see however is how government can be an alternative for them. Salaries are too low, the bureaucracy is rife with patronage, nepotism and cronyism, and politics is about personality rather than policy. The reasons why better people don’t join government are more economic and structural in nature; ideology doesn’t play as large a role, save for personal morality and the notion that politics is a dirty game. That too must change. Regime change is important, but true democracy doesn’t begin with the ballot and end in the streets.
It begins from within. Let me repeat the words of Mahatma Gandhi I quoted at the beginning of this post.
The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within.
The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart.
This is why, despite the strength of my convictions, I was stirred. No, this is not the fault of other ideologues such as Conrado de Quiros, George Orwell, Mao Zedong or even Barack Obama. Once again I feel indignant, but it is not because of any high-minded aspirations for the changes we need right now. I still believe that we live in a democracy where people’s ability to complain outpaces their capability to improve their lives; the change we get now may as well be loose change.
This is why for a brief moment yesterday, I felt that I had to exit into Makati and join the rally. For a moment, I felt that I could drop all my intellectualism and just go with my feelings. Damn intellectual dishonesty; this isn’t about me. I realize that the change I believe in has no guarantees. I realize that there are far more people in this country who are not willing, not able to wait for the changes I am sure will come.
And yet why did I fail to make a stand? Perhaps, I am not of the same mettle as those who did rally after all. I confess, I feel nothing but envy right now for those went. I am not going to make any excuses for myself save for conceding to the fact that change — especially a change of heart — is not easy to do, especially when the mind is all made up.
While I can’t presume to speak on behalf of others, I am certain that there are others who now look at the news and wish they were part of the 10,000. Clearly, between our hearts and minds remains a battle of the righteous that has to be fought.
Rest assured, I am indignant. I am enraged. My heart goes out to Jun Lozada Jr. and the quest for truth and accountability he has inspired. I refuse to live in a country where doing the right thing will leave you in hiding while those who do otherwise are respected and hold the highest offices. I was compelled to go to Makati if only for the spark that he lent to light up our fires.
Maybe I have yet to walk my path to People Power. Or perhaps I’ve been walking it already. Day in and day out, I am a history teacher. I teach and spread the message that we can be the change we want to be. In the end, we will not be judged by the creeds we hold dear, but by the deeds that define us. I may not have been in the streets, but as an educator I aspire that in the future we need not be. Rallies and protests inspire me, but it is my students — our future — that give me hope.
So if all these words amount to nothing and I fail to be the change that I can be, then hold me accountable. Before we take stock of anyone else, let us start with that. We — the true power in a democracy — must be held accountable too. 
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Well, from where I stand change does not only begin from oneself.
It’s a self-defeating process. One cannot change the society by changing himself first. It’s nearly impossible to do.
If you wait for yourself to change first before doing something to change society or at least the community around you, you can bet the farm that you’d be too old or even dead before you’ve completed your self-change.
You can’t do it the other way around either, changing society first before ‘adjusting’ to it. Because society can change so fast or so slow, individuals have trouble coping up with it.
The solution, I believe is to change both one’s self and the society at the same time.
Because without the individual there would be no society, and without the society the individual will perish.
Just my two cents’ worth.
I completely agree. The self and society must change at the same time. In that case however, where do we begin? For me, beginning with the self is simply being realistic, or even, pragmatic.
This is a view I developed as an educator, working everyday with students who possess various interests, talents, competencies and ambitions — each one with a role to play eventually but not immediately. They have to hone themselves first and ready to take part in the larger task of nation-building in the same way that we who have preceded them are now teachers, doctors, businessmen and captains of industry. The phenomenon of one changing himself before changing society happens all the time. Our country is not short of success stories of people who have made something from nothing, and left a lasting impression in our national consciousness. We all have something to contribute to the larger story.
This view also comes from a public policy perspective where ‘change’ has two senses: revolution and reform. The two work hand in hand with the major difference being that revolution focuses on the near-term (for example, toppling Saddam Hussein in Iraq) and reform is on the long-term (establishing a state post-Saddam). Both are important. But in all honesty now, my competency is looking at the long-term. (Be it as it may, I like trees but I love the forest more.) It is that which informs my actions in the near-term; this is how I can say that I am for change but not revolution. If I were in the White House, I’d leave the war to the generals (whether I like it or not) and work on how to stabilize the country afterwards (this foresight is what the US — and most governments save China — don’t have). That’s the paradigm I’m working with.
Sir, kayo na po munang bahalang mag-rally sa Pilipinas at ipakita sa pamahalaan na hindi na natin kaya ang mga pang-aabuso nila.
Sa tingin ko po, panahon na para mapalitan ang nabubulok na administrasyong puno ng skandalo at gulo. Kung pwede lang sana akong makasali, sasali ako kaya lang wala ako sa Pilipinas e.
Alam kong marami ring mga OFW tulad ko, ang sawang-sawa na sa mga katiwalian at gusto rin nilang sumama sa kilos-protesta.
Sana yung mga nasa Pinas, huwag niyong baliwalain ang pagkakataong makasama sa protesta. Dinggin nating lahat ang tawag ng panahon. Protesta na! People Power na!
Salamat po.
Lester
http://www.lestercavestany.com
How do we insitute that change in society and change in ourselves that we speak of? Masuerte cguro tayo (or malas if ultimately ignorance is bliss) that we can think ourselves to change.I personally believe that education is the key. Paanu mo matuturuan ang mga tao na sa halagang 500 ay binebenta nila hindi lang ang kinabukasan nila kung hindi pati na rin ang kinabukasan ng mga anak at mga apo nila? How do educate the people that there is a better alternative than the shit this government is giving them? How do you wake them up from their present complacency na ganyan na talaga yan wala na tayong magagawa. How do you tell them na meron kang magagawa ,that you can spell a difference? How do you educate the oppressed? Because when they finally know that yes they can effect change and yes they can have a better life, siguro dun magaganap ang pagbabago
you should try and get your hands on a book by Ian Dallas, called The Time of the Bedouin He talks about Ibn Khadun…it is available from kalahari a estore in south africa see also ttp://www.muslimsofnorwich.org.uk/podcastaudio.asp
[...] about one way and feel about another. This is most evident in my latest piece on People Power, Battle of the Righteous, where I articulate this ambiguity between heart and mind rather well. Nonetheless, if you read the [...]