Thoughts on Man and Society in General
Archive for cynicism
September 1, 2009 at 2:57 pm · Filed under 1986, Democracy, Manila, Philippine politics, Philippines, Pinoy, aquino, arroyo, cynicism, despair, edsa, edsa dos, election and tagged: edsa, movement, Philippines, revolution
The People Power of 1986 was not merely a one-time congregation to pressure change; it was characterized by economic boycotts, demonstrations, and active acts of defiance preceding that of the actual February ‘86 event. Read the rest of this entry »
June 6, 2008 at 10:20 am · Filed under 1986, America, Ancient Rome, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Church, Democracy, God, Manila, Philippine politics, Philippines, Pinoy, Southeast Asia, World, agape, american empire, aquino, arroyo, autocracy, blogging, cardinal sin, chance, commitment, composition, congress, corruption, cory, cynicism, darkness, despair, dictator, dictatorship, duty, edsa, edsa dos, election, electoral reform, enlightenment, epiphany, estrada, faith, federalism, ferdinand marcos, filia, fulfillment, happiness, hate, heart, independence, inertia, influence, inspirational, interfaith rally, issues, judgment, justice, life, literature, love, magdalo, marcos, martial law, mind, momentum, natural love, ninoy, ninoy aquino, obligations, oscar cruz, pain, peace, people power, political reform, politics, rebellion, reflection, reform, relationships, revolution, self, social debate, social justice, social reform, social science, suffering, true love, work, writer, writer's code, writing and tagged: crusade, forgiveness, healing, idealism
History books and heroes carried an EDSA that was about setting things right in the Philippines, and maybe some of them had the right idea, but mostly, the context of that demonstration was misunderstood.
This is an article not to serve the peacemakers, or the warmongers. At the core of this, is an article that sets to explain why both of them are wrong… Read the rest of this entry »
March 2, 2008 at 6:32 pm · Filed under America, Ancient Rome, Christian, Democracy, History, Roman Republic, Southeast Asia, US election, US politics, United States, World, american empire, assassination, autocracy, castro, caudillo, china, chinese, chinese politics, communism, cuba, cynicism, despair, dictator, dictatorship, election, enlightenment, fidel castro, french revolution, globalization, hate, independence, insurrection, issues, justice, karl marx, labor, land reform, latin america, lenin, mao, marxian socialism, patriotism, political reform, politics, post-Cold war, rebellion, reform, revolution, social debate, social justice, socialism, soviet union, stalin
They were freedom fighters, at a time when the whole world was absorbed into the American economic empire. They were romanticized, and championed. Even today, one of their own, the Argentinian Ernesto Guevarra, is still hailed as a popular icon. So how could they fail? Where did they go wrong? With this, I present the second installment of my series, “Searching for Democracy” Read the rest of this entry »
February 29, 2008 at 5:47 pm · Filed under 1986, Christ, Christian, Church, De Venecia, Democracy, God, History, Legislature, Manila, Opinion, Philippine politics, Philippines, Pinoy, Society, Southeast Asia, Suharto, Thoughts, US election, United States, United nations, World, aquino, arroyo, autocracy, cardinal sin, chance, china, chinese politics, cory, cynicism, despair, destiny, dictator, dictatorship, duty, ed panlilio, edsa, edsa dos, election, enlightenment, estrada, euphoria, faith, ferdinand marcos, hitler, independence, inertia, influence, insurrection, interfaith rally, issues, judgment, justice, legitimacy, magdalo, marcos, martial law, military, momentum, music, nazi, nazi germany, ninoy, ninoy aquino, obligations, oscar cruz, pain, patriotism, peace, people power, political reform, politics, rebellion, reflection, reform, republic, revolution, serfdom, suffering, thaksin, thaksin shinawatra, work, zte scandal, zte-nbn
No, no, no, Arroyo will not listen… but we will howl nevertheless. In the two years she remains in power, we will howl her in the streets, howl her in the courts, and howl her out of office. We will howl like mad, and make all of government tremble with fear… Read the rest of this entry »
February 28, 2008 at 7:48 pm · Filed under America, Southeast Asia, Suharto, United States, United nations, autocracy, caudillo, cynicism, despair, dictator, dictatorship, ferdinand marcos, hitler, idi amin, judgment, justice, milosevic, mussolinni, nazi, political reform, politics, romania, russia, suffering, thaksin shinawatra, warlordism
Throughout the world, the end results have been the same. Dictators who were overthrown either have the sympathy of the new strongman, or have entered ill health as to no longer be held accountable for their crimes… In record, I can count maybe one or two who were actually tried and executed for atrocities… Read the rest of this entry »
February 19, 2008 at 3:01 pm · Filed under America, Democracy, History, Legislature, Opinion, Philippine politics, Philippines, Society, Southeast Asia, Suharto, US election, US politics, World, afghanistan, bhutto, castro, commitment, communism, congress, cuba, cynicism, dictatorship, duty, election, entertainment, fidel castro, happiness, hate, independence, insurrection, issues, kosovo, legitimacy, military, milosevic, movie, movies, musharraf, pakistan, pakistani elections, peace, political reform, politics, post-Cold war, reform, revolution, serbia, work
Everywhere there seems to be a feeling of fatigue for one failed system after another, and movements (like Obama’s, which seems to be sweeping the United States) have begun to spring up, maybe not with real platforms, but change for change’s sake. Until recently, we’d never have seen Thai soldiers suddenly meeting on closed doors with the blessings of their king, to topple a corrupt leader. We’d never have seen protesters taking to the streets of Myanmar in opposition to that country’s junta. Read the rest of this entry »
February 19, 2008 at 12:16 pm · Filed under Christian, Christianity, Democracy, History, Legislature, Manila, Philippine politics, Philippines, Society, Southeast Asia, Thoughts, aquino, arroyo, assassination, commitment, cynicism, destiny, dictatorship, duty, edsa, edsa dos, election, hate, hitler, insurrection, issues, legitimacy, marcos, military, nazi, nazi germany, nuremberg trials, obligations, peace, people power, political reform, politics, reform, revolution, zte scandal, zte-nbn
We are forever frustrated by the continued existence of Gloria Arroyo as President. But would you have stood up to Hitler’s Germany? And can you really stand up to Arroyo’s Philippines?
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February 13, 2008 at 8:40 am · Filed under 9-11, America, Christian, Christianity, God, History, Iraq, Opinion, Society, The Good Samaritan, Thoughts, War, World, afghanistan, arroyo, commitment, cynicism, dictatorship, duty, enlightenment, faith, filia, fulfillment, happiness, hate, heart, inspirational, life, love, obligations, osama bin laden, pain, peace, reform, relationships, suffering, tranquility, work
Tirelessly, and with no reward in sight, they will still work to care for people. They come off as traitors, and fools. How could they love people with so much hate? How could they give their lives to people who would readily sacrifice it to murder innocents? “I don’t care how many lives he’s killed. So long as he’s here, he’s my patient.” “God taught us to love everyone. Even those who hurt us.” “We are equal before God. Everyone deserves a dignified life.” Read the rest of this entry »
February 12, 2008 at 6:13 am · Filed under Christian, Christianity, Enchanted, God, Opinion, Society, Thoughts, commitment, cynicism, enlightenment, entertainment, faith, filia, fulfillment, happiness, hate, heart, inspirational, life, love, mind, movie, movies, pain, peace, relationships, suffering, tranquility, work
We live in a cynical world. In our search for Love and Happiness, we found only pain and suffering. In our labors to find the goodness of the human heart, we have found only deeper and deeper levels of cruelty. But there is much to Love, and therefore be happy, in this world…
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February 11, 2008 at 6:23 pm · Filed under Christian, Christianity, Democracy, God, History, Manila, Opinion, Philippine politics, Philippines, Pinoy, Society, Southeast Asia, Thoughts, World, aquino, arroyo, congress, cynicism, destiny, duty, edsa dos, election, enlightenment, faith, french revolution, inspirational, insurrection, labor, land reform, life, magdalo, people power, political reform, politics, reform, revolution, serfdom, work
And here is why I believe that the EDSA Movement is indeed God’s gift to the Filipino people, and why it is different from other revolutions out there: it sired a peaceful demonstration, but more than that, it was cultivated by the Church as a labor of Love. Read the rest of this entry »
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