The Logic Of Greed

(Or, The Long Process Of Moral Evolution)

 

We Bikolanos can only hope for a miracle: That in view of 2010’s election, these trapos(traditional politicians) are also thinking genuinely about the welfare of the Bikolanos, and not only that of maintaining their staus quo. However,given this more or less the same configurations of trapos in Bicol region running for “Office” in 2010- and most probably the same story in all other regions of the Philippines- I see 2010 not really as a chance for a profound or deep change in the politics of our country but just to keep things the way they currently are. So we Bikolanos should rather expect more from ourselves with regards to our own personal political education and thinking for a deep, qualitative social change will happen only if each one of us arrives at this level of political maturity and wisdom, that missing factor that is at the root of all these socio-political chaos in our nation. I also do not believe in the battlecry for moral revolution now happening in Manila for it is again just an emotional campaign of some people whose motives and consciousness are corrupted themselves as in the case of Jose de Venecia, Jr., the former Speaker of the House of Representatives.We may recall that, during the height of his power, de Venecia was the epitome of the corrupt traditional politician.

 “We need a moral revolution today and make a fresh start, we badly need cleansing,” says de VeneziaI. But I suspect such loud cry for cleansing for behind it is again the abuse of the Christian doctrine of repentance and forgiveness. That after all my transgressions, all my cheating, my killings, denunciation, injustice done to the society, corruption and plundering the town or the nation,I can simply turn to my catholic belief and ask for spiritual cleansing. Thus a “moral revolution” that will “dramatically reduce political corruption in the country,” so the ousted Speaker de Venezia. He goes further,“When I say this, I mean I am not without sin,…I am 70, and I want to leave a good legacy for my country, for my children and for my grandchildren. We must now do something to lead our country from corruption, from despair and from poverty.” Yes, suddenly this urgency from a former Trapo King, now leading the crusade for moral revolution (a case of a trapo king becoming a political saint?) while sounding like confessing to a bishop for his own salvation. His salvation, but not for the nation.

 Corruption cannot be curbed this way if we want to be honest with ourselves. For as we have said before, corruption is just the tip of an iceberg. It takes more than just a ningas cogon to remove it, more than just a moral revolution and it needs a lot of time. Therefore, I think the the real thing is moral evolution, a natural social evolutionary process of replacing gradually our present moral make-up with something that has a future and sustainable for each one and for the whole nation to survive, where objectivity and rationalism, maturity and genuine political will has the upperhand and not the other way around,yes, this other way, where and how we are at the moment- a nation run like hell by emotions and by the logic of greed, hypocrisy and pseudo-morality – and corruption.

 Our current moral make-up has no future, and so our current political culture for it is badly flawed. Our elected public officials are the rebels themselves against the law of the land. Now, how can a sane man expect them to deliver basic services and social justice to the people when they become interested only in their own pockets and lowly desires the moment they are exposed to the power a government office brings with it? The Filipino politicians regress to primitivity and to his jungle past once given the chance to govern. This is a sad fact, an attest that there is something fundamentally primitive yet with our social perception.The Philippines is governed by thieves from Malacanang down to many municipalities- including Bulan. So don’t expect our nation and our town Bulan to progress as long as our system is rotten and as long as we have not evolved morally into politically-matured people.

 Paraphrasing Hegel, Karl Marx noted that each historical fact repeats itself twice–the original drama becoming a farce. But Marx proved himself wrong for history has shown us that history repeats itself much more frequently. Look at the facts: Before de Venezia, Marcos himself cried out for reforms and self-discipline (“Sa Ikauunlad ng Bayan, Disiplina ang Kailangan”) But what happened? Estrada advocated the same.What happened? C. Aquino did the same. What happened? Ramos cried out for the same moral revolution? What happened? And the sitting Arroyo? Let’s listen to her speaker Ermita ,” the President has pushed for the creation of the transparency group that monitors public biddings; the conduct of automated counting and anti-dynasty bill as part of several political reforms, and the Executive branch has been strongly supporting the independent function of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Human Rights(CHR)” and that ” it has been the duty of every leader to pursue a program on moral revolution to provide a better future for the people.”

 Defending like a rotweiler dog his Honorable President, he continued , “It can come out in any other term, any other form, but definitely the stability of our country, the welfare of our people, and the moral stability of our country is paramount in the mind of every leader, every President, and that includes definitely President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” so the blinded Ermita. I just wonder how much he was paid for talking as idiotic as this. Statements like this one from Ermita is a proof that the age of Enlightenment has not yet arrived in our nation’s history. We still are in the Dark Ages like that time in Europe, when lies were a plenty so as political murders, corruption and religious persecutions for the church dictated politics at that time,- as it is today in the Philippines. But things have changed since then in Europe, though it slid back from time to time in its history to situations comparable to the Middle Age. This is simply the mechanics of social evolution.

Albert Einstein once said that “one cannot cure the ills of society from the very consciousness that created the ills in the first place.” Therefore, be catious, my fellow Filipinos, may fellow tagaBulans. De Venezia’s consciousness is corrupted itself and his motives is one of egoism, of revenge. And there is something suspicious with his method when he surrounds himself with bishops from different churches of the country. This is more of a religious crusade, reminds me somewhat of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages that burned the church heretics. (see my Response To Timothy). This is leading to nowhere for this movement is superficial,hypocritical, very emotional and childish and is doomed to last only short. This applies naturally a considerable pressure to Arroyo but in the long term- or at least for 2010’s election- this will not result in having morally upright people getting elected. We need to progress morally but we need a new ground to start with for as I see it, everything that we have now in our moral department has only led us to defeat and failure as a nation. Something must change fundamentally with our character if we really want to get out of the pit.This is possible to happen, though it will take hundreds of years if we follow the natural course of social evolution. Events to come will gradually transform us to new social beings with genuine sincerity, rationality, better moral instinct and politically mature individuals, a nation of people which has transcended its past and its old maladaptive personality.This moral revolution movement now and in the past is just a small, natural step to this moral evolution in its long process. So again, don’t overrate (or expect too much) this moral revolution happening now for it will not yield good fruits in the coming 2010 election. But in the long run, this is part of those natural procesess that are shaping our future as a nation. Deep within our collective soul, the process of natural self-correction is running incessantly, slowly but surely, in an effort to adapt and survive as a nation. It simply needs a lot of time. And history has shown us that societies evolve and tend to be better with time. In this sense, Taoism’s doctrine of ” do nothing and everything will be done” applies.

 Middle Age is also present in Bulan and is best exemplified by the present government of Bulan. For there is no trace of rationality, transparency but an apparent lack of political understanding and social responsibility. They, too, are rebels against the law of the land, against the constitution, against the Bill of Rights and is ruled not by democratic logic but by the logic of greed. How do you expect them also to deliver genuinely basic services to the people of Bulan? Like a decent hospital and better school buildings in the remote barangays, security and protection for the people, environmental protection. These things are not in their heads for the logic of greed follows that they think first on how they can run away with their spoils of war as they go on fooling the people of Bulan by a little feeding program here and some repaintings of old walls there.This is trickery and superficiality. It is therefore not upon an oath to serve the people and upon an oath to protect the law of the land that this municipal government is based but upon rebellion against the people and of the existings laws of the land.

 

jun asuncion

Bulan Observer