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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Their Perfect Society
By Antonio C. Abaya Written on June 13, 2007 For the Standard Today, June 14 issue It is not just winning senatorial candidate Antonio Trillanes IV who is being courted by communists, pro-communists and allegedly �former� communists. Satur Ocampo is with Isabela Governor Grace Padaca. Renato Constantino Jr. was with Sen. Serge Osmena when Osmena was campaign manager of the Genuine Opposition, and is most likely still is. Just before the May 14 elections, Dodong Nemenzo was quoted as supporting Gringo Honasan ( Ind ), and is also courting Trillanes. The �leftist� KPMP, self-described architect of Trillanes� victory, is said to have campaigned also for Sen. Panfilo Lacson. You can be sure that other comrades have also attached themselves, or are planning to attach themselves, to Among Ed Panlilio in Pampanga, to Jesse Robredo in Naga City, and to other oppositionists who look like they may play leading roles in the future politics of this country. This seems to be a new and deliberate policy of the communist movement. If you cannot lick them on the battlefield or on the streets, join them in their air-conditioned offices. There is no law against ideologically na�ve opposition politicians taking communists, pro-communists and allegedly �former� communists into their confidence or including them in their staffs. Except that this would not have been allowed and would not be allowed in South Korea or Taiwan or Singapore or Malaysia or Thailand or Indonesia . Onli in da Pilipins. And one cannot really blame the comrades for insinuating themselves into the confidence of those ideologically ignorant politicians who look like they may be major opposition players in the run-up to 2010 and beyond. The comrades are just being resourceful, clever, adoptable, sly and devilishly effective in utilizing to the max the �democratic space� that the incredibly inept burgis governments, from Marcos to Arroyo, have allowed the avowed enemies of the burgis state to enjoy.. It also helps that this incredibly venal government is mired in bottomless corruption and is not able to perform the minimum functions of governance, such as holding free and honest elections, creating job opportunities for those who want and need to work, and delivering a minimum standard of education and health care. So we have a situation in which the government is spectacularly imperfect, universally despised by vast segments of the poor and the middle class, and even by some of the rich � many of whom have lost all hope of seeing any improvement in their conditions during their lifetimes � as it stumbles from one crisis to another, without solving most of them. It is this very palpable portrait of endless chaos and crises that gives the communist movement in the Philippines its self-confidence that they are indeed appointed by the dialectic of History to right the many wrongs in Philippine society, even if it takes � in the words of comrades Nelia Sancho, Jesus Lava and Joma Sison � �hundreds of years.� Against the daily reminders of the innumerable and seemingly irreparable imperfections of Philippine society, Filipino communists hold fast to their vision of the Perfect Society that Communism is claimed to represent, even if the empirical evidence worldwide is one of universal failure. To hear communists, pro-communists and allegedly �former� communists rail against the many shortcomings of Philippine society � electoral fraud, human rights abuses, high prices, economic stagnation, environmental degradation, rule by the elite � you would think that they had invented liberal democracy. Yet, even after 74 years of total political control (in the Soviet Union ), they could not translate their theoretical ideal into a functioning reality. Electoral fraud? There are no elections in Cuba , North Korea , China or Vietnam . Fidel Castro explained it bluntly: �elections are divisive.� In the late, unlamented Soviet Union and some of its vassal states in Eastern Europe , there were elections, but only the candidates of the Communist Party had their names printed on the ballots. Voters� choice was confined to approving the Communist candidate with a check, or disapproving him/her with an x. Those who disapproved had to drop their ballots in a separate ballot box, in full view of electoral officials. As most voters did not want to risk losing their jobs or their children�s places in school, they obligingly approved the Communist candidates. That was how the communist parties won what to us is statistically improbable: 99.5% or better of the votes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe . Maguindanao Province , where 19 senatorial candidates got zero votes last May 14, must be run by pseudo-communists. Human rights? There were/are no human rights in Communist societies. The dissident Soviet historian Roy Medvedev put at 40 million the number of Soviet citizens executed or starved to death, etc in the gulags of Josef Stalin. As recently as June 1989, hundreds of thousands of students, massed at Tienanmen Square in Beijing to demand more democracy in China, were mowed down by the machineguns of the People�s Liberation Army, resulting in the death of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of them. Bayan Muna should think about that the next time they mass to shout �Ibagsak!� This massacre was ordered by no less than Deng Xiaoping, chief architect of China �s return to capitalism and the profit motive. It was a definitive statement that although economic liberalism was in, political liberalism was not. The Chinese Communist Party does not and will not tolerate political opposition. To this day, the millions of members of Falun Gong, a meditation cult, are not allowed to gather in public in groups of more than five because the Party fears they may become the nucleus of political opposition. The Tienanmen Massacre was widely condemned around the world. But it was publicly applauded by two Filipinos: Joma Sison of the CPP and Crispin Beltran of the KMU. High prices? One of the proudest boasts of Soviet Communism was that the price of a loaf of bread had not been increased since the 1920s. Like all other basic necessities in the Soviet Union , they were subsidized by the socialist state, but they were perennially in short supply. The state�s financial resources went into the subsidy of low prices, rather than into the increase of production. So, yes, everything was cheap, but everything was also in short supply: bread, eggs, meat, fish, fruits, typewriter ribbons, car spare parts, door knobs, radios, TV sets, batteries, toiletries, nylon stockings, ball pens, hand tools and a million other items, which required Soviet citizens to fall in line for hours everyday for their daily needs.. My Vietnamese guide, Ly, in Ho Chi Minh City last year told me of similar hardships and shortages they endured until the Vietnamese Communist Party, like the Chinese before them, re-embraced capitalism and the profit motive in 1986. The core tenet of Marxist economics is the rejection of profit, which is considered a measure of exploitation in a society, according to Marx�s Theory of Surplus Value. Hence, in the Soviet Union , all production units were owned by the Soviet state, even innocuous ones like taxis and shoe repair shops. No one was allowed to make a profit from the needs of others. Co-operatives, which are the economic expression of the socialist ideal, were not allowed until 1988 (under Mikhail Gorbachev) because ideologues suspected they were mere cover-ups for closet entrepreneurs trying to make extra money.. Environmental degradation? The worst nuclear power plant accident ever occurred in Chernobyl in 1986 in Ukraine , one of the component republics of the USSR . It was blamed on primitive design, so primitive it would not have been allowed to operate in the West. When millions of East Europeans literally walked out on their communist governments in 1989, hundreds of Wartburg and Trabant automobiles � products of the most technologically advanced socialist country � were abandoned on the East-West German border because they could not meet the anti-pollution standards of West Germany, with their noisy and smoky two-stroke engines, similar to our tricycles�. Starting in the 1960s, Soviet authorities diverted the flow of rivers feeding into the Aral Sea in order to irrigate the cotton fields of Uzbekistan (SSR), thus shrinking the lake from 26,000 sq. miles to less than half that size, and leaving dozens of ships beached in the shallows like dead whales. Rule by the Elite? The Soviets did not invent it, but they dutifully followed the exclusivist example of the despised Romanovs. The nomenklatura or official ruling class, who made up less than two percent of the Soviet population., lived a privileged lifestyle totally alien to the average Soviet citizen. They had their own restaurants, their own vacation resorts, their own schools for their children, their own hospitals, from which the average Soviet citizen was pointedly excluded. What ever happened to pantay-pantay? According to a Soviet diplomat in the UN, who defected in the 1970s, the most famous nomenklatura restaurant was located inside the Kremlin where the prices of gourmet food were kept at pre-World War II levels, while the average Soviet citizen had to line up for hours to buy a bag of potatoes or half a dozen eggs. The nomenklatura also had their own exclusive luxury shops called beryoshki, stocked with imported capitalist consumer goods, in which the Russian ruble was not accepted, only US dollars, German marks, Japanese yens or Swiss francs, which the average Soviet citizen did not possess. Political dynasties? The Hermit Kingdom of North Korea has been ruled by the same family since it was founded by Kim Il Sung in 1948. When he died in 1994, he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il, who is now training his son Kim Jong Nam to succeed him when he dies. The longest reigning leader in the world is the indestructible and unelected Fidel Castro, who has been ruling Cuba unopposed (�elections are divisive�) since his revolution overthrew the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. When he went on leave last year due to an undisclosed medical problem, he turned over his presidential powers, not to parliament or to a constitutional successor, but to his brother Raul. Worse than Binay in Makati . I could go on and on, but there is not enough space here to detail all the failures of allegedly scientific socialism. So, my dear comrades � Joma, Satur, Teddy, Ka Bel, Liza and the rest of your noisy gang � the many imperfections that you denounce in Philippine society were/are just as prevalent, if not more so, in the Perfect Society that you want to force on the rest of us If after 74 long years of absolute political control, the Russians did not succeed in building the Perfect Society, what makes you think you will?. As it is with the trapos, so is it with you. It�s all about grabbing and holding power. Nothing else. ***** Reactions to [email protected]. Other articles in www.tapatt.org and in acabaya.blogspot.com OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Their Perfect Society� More Reactions to �Fidel Castro Trillanes� �A Funny Thing Happened�..� Dear Tony, Thanks again for another interesting article. Just a whimsical perspective: I was wondering if the leftist have evolved (or devolved) into a business. I guess making a new religion and betting in the lotto are no longer the only legal ways to make quick money. Kudos, Gene Earle, (by email), June 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Yours is a perfect analysis of Our Perfect Society resulting in an IMPERFECT RESULT. We continue this crusade against Their Perfect Society with the ever-mighty sword of your pen. A thousand soldiers sent to fight at the frontline (killing, killings, killingsssssss galore!) cannot equal the one mighty sword of a writer - THE PEN!!!! More power to you! Maybe a FRENTE AMPLIO IN THE OFFING and about coming. This Philippine government can only gain respect by respecting itself and as for other nations not respecting the RP government, it needs to TANGO WITH THE IMF AND THE WORLD BANK! We can only sing DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA after the Philippine government proves its arrogance against what's making the Filipinos poor and hungry - THE DEBT OF MARCOS, AQUINO, RAMOS, ESTRADA AND ARROYO contracted at the expense of the Filipino people - $90 billion dollars!!!! (It is more like $56 billion, still a staggering amount. ACA) ARGENTINA - AFTER DEFYING IMF and WB in 2001 - is now a respected country by the Argentinians - who else would? Does it matter if the financial world dubs ARGENTINA AS THE MOST ARROGANT COUNTRY IN THE WHOLE HEMISPHERE? No, because Argentina cares for its people! Who else would? There is only one way - ARROGANCE of the entire Filipino nation. Think about it. Many ways. The MAY 2007 IS THE BEST START - VOTER ARROGANCE! And it showed what power the PEN (written VOTES) HAS AGAINST THE SWORD! More power to you, Mr. Abaya. Elsa Bayani, (by email), Little Rock , Arkansas , June 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Oh, how I wish all the living characters mentioned here will read this article. Ed .J. T.Tirona, (by email), Paranaque City , June 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mr. Abaya, The country owes you one for this excellent and courageous piece, "Their Perfect Society". We need, more than ever, a new generation of leaders who share the vision to help us build one nation, one community of responsible citizens who deeply love this country. Perhaps you can, in future articles, share your thoughts with the Filipino people on how we can bring this conversion about. In one generation. Thank you. Rex C. Drilon II, (by email), June 14, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, It's a waste of time trying to analyze these people (Joma, Satur, Ka Bel...etc..). As far as these "wise guys" are concerned, they're the only ones who have the right ideas, and the rest are wrong. No government is ever acceptable to them, from Marcos to Cory, Ramos, Estrada, and Gloria. You can bet your bottom peso that the next government will just be utterly unacceptable to them. You want to know what's on their mind? Just identify the government's position and these communist will oppose it (the Government's position ) and then try to think of ways to justify their opposition. Ergo, they're not thinking after all. Stop giving importance to their "thoughts". Stop interviewing these mindless communist. let their opinions be a non issue. (I do not interview communists, I merely analyze their words and actions because they are a political presence., whether we like them or not. ACA). They have been here for decades and have not contributed anything good for the country. T. L. M. Paras, (by email), June 15, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony: Those who believe in a "perfect" society are either naive or hopelessly delusional. Those who promote it, or are its aggressive advocates, knowing fully well that there never is and will never be, must be driven by less than altruistic motives--and that is to put it mildly Communism is dead! Period. It has been consigned, irretrievably, to the dustbin of history. Those who continue in efforts to revive it must be benighted beyond hope, or hopelessly utopian. Democracy is far from being the "perfect" system either. You don't have to believe Plato who said long ago that democracy could easily degenerate into the Rule of the Mob. But there will be no end to humanity's long search for a "perfect" system. Rational men and women need no longer join that search for they will only end up being frustrated, disappointed and disenchanted. They need only settle, realistically, for a system that is "good"--which is that system which somehow is able to effectively restrain the beast that is in all men. Mariano Patalinjug, (by email), Yonkers , NY , June 15, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Why rant about the failed past of communist command rule? Tien an Mien marked the end of class war, of leftist and rightist, communist vs capitalist divide. That event marked the beginning of another facet of power governance, people who wanted to conserve what power they are already holding against those who dreamt that this power should be shared by the many. Who cares about communist tenets, of serving the people, of to each according to their needs, to each according to their capacity bullshit. Once you are holding power and the benefits you accrue from it, why allow others to grab it from you. Deng served as the symbol of the most adaptable political animal, probably Satur, Liza Masa, Beltran, Carino, et al have learned much from him. Who cares about ideologies these days. (The comrades still do. They believe that the victory of Communism is inevitable, �even if it takes hundreds of years.� ACA). What is of value today is the power you are holding, whether this is money, position or religion. What worries me is the current political terrain in the country, it is extremely fluid nobody can actually predict with educated certainty what will happen next. Not much can be heard about the middle forces, today is the age of extremes. Paradoxically, people in power now are those you have mentioned who belonged to the failed communist past and those who belong to the military, whether they prevented coups or mounted such military take overs. They now have access to the coffers of government and they have powers to make a significant difference in governance. If they continue to pursue whatever hidden agenda they would like to foist on the people, they now have a wider window of opportunity or mischief. With the middle forces in disarray, unfortunately, they committed suicide in Hyatt, what do you think will happen next? According to Dr. Mina Ramirez, quoting Fr. Senden, "Any one sidedness is the pulverization of reality." Felix Zamar, (by email), June 15, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww "My Vietnamese guide, Ly, in Ho Chi Minh City last year told me of similar hardships and shortages they endured until the Vietnamese Communist Party, like the Chinese before them, re-embraced capitalism and the profit motive in 1986. " Perhaps this is what the country needs. Let the communist do their "cleansing"-- eradicate/banish (..and even liquidate if necessary) the present day trapos and their ways of running the country. Then revert back to capitalism. (But that�s against all common sense. Why go through a Maoist or Soviet phase at all. South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand achieved broad-based prosperity without going through even one day of Maoist or Soviet socialism. ACA) Of course, there is no guaranty that the Filipino communists leadership (--which could very well be different from the Vietnamese or Chinese sense of patriotism and nationalism) will not be spoiled by their new found power-- they themselves might morphed to present day corrupt trapos they replaced who are "....all about grabbing and holding power." In other words, quoting a Pilipino cliche -- "...kami naman!" About the "hardships"part-- what do you call the present situation? If it is not "hardship"- then what are the people carping about? (I do not know what hardship of which people you are referring to. My paragraph above clearly referred to the hardships endured by the Vietnamese until their government re-embraced capitalism and the profit motive, starting in 1986. For the past ten years or so, Vietnam �s GDP has been growing at 8 to 9% per annum, almost twice that of the Philippines . See my articles Here Comes Vietnam [Dec 06, 2005] and Vietnam Pilgrimage [Sept 26, 2006]. ACA) Only in the Philippines indeed-- and the zarzuela goes on! Alexander Po, (by email), June 15, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi! Sir Tony: Here's a radical opinion in conjunction with the issue at hand. Excerpted from: www.ilonggo-nation.8k.com Banwa_Mo! Section. The article, The Political Spectrum: Where do you belong? Sa guihapon... dinggol.. ..... III- "THE TAMA NA!!!" A- The first group comprises the young and the young once from all sectors of Filipino society including advantaged Filipino expatriates with patriotic fervor, who silently shed their blood, sweat and tears to keep Philippine economy afloat. This group are feed-up and wanted a change by whatever means as long as for the betterment of the Filipino People. B- The second group are the armed elements in the Philippines : 1) The Military Reformist: While some who have tasted power during the martial law era wanted "the return of the comeback!" sabi da! ..to sing "Happy days are here again" there are still others who are seriously taking things with noble purpose. If we could blend the vim, vigor and vitality of these idealistic young officers in active duty with the experience and wisdom of likewise, idealistic retired officers who had tried hard but nonetheless failed to cure the "Cancer of Filipino Society" what a relief it would be. 2) The NDF-CPP-NPA: The seemingly never ending struggle for national democracy of our brothers from the left shall only be supported by majority of their kababayans if and when they abruptly renownce the 'Godless Foreign Ideology", that is gradually fading in the global scene. In short: NDF, maybe! - NPA, maybe! - but CPP, a "BIG NO!!" NEVER! The question: why wage war with the lowly soldiers and policemen just doing their duties?? Why not with the "ogres" themselves? -- I wonder why? I really wonder why?.. Instead of fighting each other, since they share common objective: to defeat the "ogres" and reform society, why not do your patriotic duty and offer these few "Incorrigibles" in the altar of righteousness. It would be hypocritical to say you do not know these people, as we're sure you do. To sacrifice simultaneously 5 or 10 in every Region is relatively very low compared to the millions of Filipinos who shall be benefited. And more importantly, the impact to discipline the whole Filipino Nation. Yes, mga kababayan "Discipline is the name of the game"... and very soon! ... or forever perish as a people. Where do you belong? Dinggol A.Divinagracia, (by email), June 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony I do not think that many disgruntled Pinoys will be willing to embrace communism. That ideology has lost its influence as an alternative to an imperfect democracy as practiced in the Philippines . JOMA's persuasive influence is gone and a thing of the past. For now, being a radical Islam is cool and appeals more to a younger crowd. Being a Maoist is for the middle-aged with high blood sugar and blood pressure and elevated cholesterol! Dr. Nestor P. Baylan, (by email), New York City , June 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Manong Tony, Your topic today touched me deeply. I am still optimistic about the future of our country, despite the contrary versions I see around me, and see and hear in the evening news, and read in the newspapers everyday. I still dream that someday, our socio-economic-political situation will significantly improve. We see the improvements now, in our improved economy and our slowly maturing electorate. It may not happen in my time and your time, as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo mentioned the year 2020, but like you and me, we would like to leave this maddening, crazy, beautiful and challenging world a little better. It may not be the "perfect society" that is embraced by some of our brethren. The undeniable truth is that this is everybody's world, where all of us, in our own ways, try to live in Peace, Prosperity, Unity, and Love (PPUL). If ever that "perfect society' is reached, then we could say that we are dead. There is no perfect society. It is a panacea. This phrase is abused by opportunists who take advantage of the less informed, less educated, and poor in our society. And there are many of us. This is why this administration is concentrating on the economy which will improve the material and educational aspirations of most of our countrymen. God bless our land. Jerry A. Quibilan, (by email), June 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, What are these noisy gangs doing in congress? How come the likes of Ka Bel and Satur, Lisa, and Gringo and Trillanes (in jail w/ pending case) were elected in the office? Looks like our voting public are no longer concern of the credibility of our candidates and hope for our country. If these kinds of people will be elected in congress what will happen to our country? Looks like our country will soon be under the rule of communist? These elected people are absolutely dangerous! In case of Trillanes, how can he attend congress if he�s inside the jail�.oh my dear Philippines I�m soconcerned about you. Gilbert Menez, (by email), Saudi Arabia , June 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Tony, Murphy's Law says: If something can go wrong, it will. Everything has gone wrong with the communists. How many countries in the world pratice communism? One could count them in the fingers of one hand. I don't know why our comrades don't realize that. Regards, Napoleon P. Serrano, (by email), Dhahran , Saudi Arabia , June 16, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww BULLSEYE! KAYONG MGA ALAGAD NI KARL MARX AT MGA COMRADES NI STALIN, MAO ZEDONG, CASTRO, AT IBP., AT SA MGA MAGKAKAPATID SA DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT, WE KNOW YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE. SO PLEASE STOP FOOLING US. WE CHALLENGE YOU TO WORK FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF OUR DEMOCRACY AND SOCIETY, INSTEAD OF TEARING IT DOWN. Tom de Guzman, (by email), June 17, 2007 Peace and Joy Every Conscious Moment! (Please refrain from using all-caps as they are hard to read. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww You said it all. The perfect society the world's communist countries claimed they had was a big lie. That is why the former Soviet Union and its erstwhile satellites have now become less "perfect." China has opened its doors and is now the biggest trade partner of the United States and the free world. Unfortunately, though, the Filipino communists have steadfastly clung to their flawed ideology. Probably because they have nowhere to go, they are forced to remain confrontational, activists, and just plain de-stabilizers. Now, we are seeing the leftists walking hand in hand with the opposition, blaming everything going wrong with them on the government. For want of allies, the opposition embraced them. This alliance of the left and the opposition somewhat succeeded as they find themselves voted into the legislature. The lefties have found a place to vent their ideas that would make the Philippines a perfect society. And as a bonus, they are rewarded with perks and pork that they channel back to their movement to fund the search for some more rebellious but popular personalities that they can align with. Victorts, [email protected], June 17, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww What can I say, your article sums it all up. I should feel sorry for the Filipinos still living in the Philippines and hoping for a better society, but on second thought, they were the ones who have the vote and continue voting for Left leaning parties or right wing coup plotters or ex-Catholic priests. Oh well, I have been living in Australia for 21 years now, and my view of Philippine Society just kept deteriorating year after year after year since after the first People Power Revolution. The economy is just about recovering now, but from past experience, I think political instability will stuff it up again. I have almost given up on the Philippines now ever becoming a developed country or even maintaining it's current economic position in ASEAN that I am looking forward to the day when Philippine nationals start scrubbing toilets in Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos , with their only consolation being that they get to elect their politicians in a "democratic" election. Regards, Jesse, [email protected], Australia , June 17, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Sir Tony, Your articles truly awaken national consciousness! Kindly mail me a copy of your booklet "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Communism". Your avid reader, Allan G. Buyayo, (by email), Rosario , Cavite , June 17, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I read with nostalgia your article, "The Perfect Society," The wording smacks of the righteous endorsement of its advocates, particularly as it was at the City College of New York in the early fifties. I was invited to their meetings held off campus. Their services took on all of the emotions of revival services that I attended as a child, but now offering "Heaven on Earth." There were in place of hymns "workers songs" sung with all the emotion of church hymns, followed by soul-searching sermons, expounding on the paradise of the USSR , and yes, at service end, the devoted converts beckoning at the exit doors, to see the light and offering religious Marxist tracts in a final effort to convert capitalistic sinners. Jack Sherman, (by email), June 19, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya. What is it with the local comrades ? Marxism is dead and buried ! Maybe it's just saving face. If you recall, most of these local comrades were once upon a time the cream of the crop of the local intellectual elite kuno. They were heralded as the angry young men who will effect social change in these backwater islands called the Philippines . Unfortunately, a glitch in the history of political-economic theory rendered Karl Marx irrelevant. So it's hard to change, particularly, if you are having an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with this thing called ANACHRONISM. As for those naive/ignorant newly elected politicians playing footsies with these old farts, here is an unsolicited advice: Tell the local comrades to help you in drafting a Pinoy version of the Internal Security Act. Sincerely. Auggie Surtida, (by email), Tigbauan, Iloilo , June 21, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww There are great forms of governments yet people who govern them are BAD as hell; but then, there's no perfect government. As long as human beings are alive, it's our natural traits to complain about almost anything... We've been plagued with bad politics and politicians. The NPA top brains and analysts are really working hard. not by force but in subtle and cuddly moves. When the anti-Arroyo reached boiling point, the smart comrades take advantage of it. No magic formula. it's plainly a collective hatred to the administration. GO and NPA have one thing in common (to oust PGMA or stop her from holding power beyond 2010) but their core and final needs are too different. They will eventually fight (to power) once their one dream of getting rid of PMGA is fulfilled. They're bunch of animals who keep on waiting a chance to devour Philippines and its power. Let's see about Trillanes. I think, he's the right man as the next president. Brave, tough, smart, savvy and young and hopefully with fresh ideas. with less political payback from the elite but the Filipino mass. If he is a leftwing baby, then we're screwed. So help us God! LF, [email protected], June 21, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Allow me to call you Tony because it will mean I am one of the few who agree with you one hundred per cent. And by this I have found someone who can articulate his understanding of a cultural divide. Sometimes when I open mind among members of my own family--my wife and adult children especially, even they think I am very radical or my thoughts and ideas are not acceptable in my lifetime. There seems to be so many defects in our culture and you were able to define and dug deep enough to expose them like warts on a child's body, for one like me to understand. All along I blamed our political leaders for their greed and shameful corruption and aggrandizement but I wasn't able to pinpoint the "Warts" that deface the Filipino psyche. Thank you for this. Allow me through you, to congratulate the 11 million Filipinos who voted for Senator-elect Tony Trillanes (your name is the star now). Let's pray politics will not destroy this rough diamond) in a young man who seems strong enough to fight the "Gargoyles of Society"! Since we chose to practice the American-type Democratic Ideology and consequently allow free ideas to flow into our daily lives, can we now cleanse the rotten portion that media imposes into our culture? It's quite a problem, isn't it? One example that's so glaring and atrocious, to say the least, is the intrusion in between programs of one practitioner's#&@!* voice asking this question: "Are you adventurous in love and sex?" And the TV station (ABS-CBN) allows this? And this is repeated on and on! What's going on? My views may not make a dent in the prevailing practices by media people, but I am making my protest known to you who can (perhaps) articulate them in any of your future insights. Thank you, kind Sir. I am Yours very respectfully, Jose I. Regino (by email), June 24, 2007 (An 80-yr-old gov't retiree) Nota Bene: I can contribute my insights, but I don't think the Filipino today is sufficiently attuned to what's good for them. No harm intended, just my reflections. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, We voted for Trillanes even if we are Senior Citizens. Our national Hero Jose Rizal once said "Nasa kabataan ang pagasa ng bayan". And Trillanes is considered part of kabataan. What have the old seasoned politicians in government done to our country? No wonder many supported Trillanes. Those who are scared of him being one of our Senators, must have many things not very nice to hide. Rex Rivera (by email), June 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Mr. Abaya, might I confess to the fact that I made a mistake not voting for Trillanes? I voted for Ralph Recto because I thought he would make another term as an active legislator. I should have voted Trillanes instead. Fidel Castro is someone that can be emulated. His strength as a leader then even now as he calls the shots is inspirational. Take a look at Cuba 's public health system -- doctors make house calls!! Mortality rates improved and lot more that's not visible to the ordinary eyes. Think about it... Very truly yours, Mariquit Soriano, (by email), June 24, 2007 (Fidel Castro also provided quality education for all Cubans and developed world-class athletes in several sports. On the other hand, is it politically mature for a people to have an (unelected) leader 48 years? And still counting? I see the value of having a long-reigning president or prime-minister. But he should earn it by being elected and re-elected, like Lee Kwan Yew and Mahathir Mohamad. Think about it. ACA) wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww While the recent winning of senator-elect Lt A. Trillanes is phenomenal and that of Among Panlilio of Pampanga, it is not enough to change the country for it takes a while to change the moress and characteristics of a nation, ( I guess I am fond of saying the above reason} Let me quote somebody who said something about it. The honesty, the integrity of a people and their government. do not arise from just systematic change. They arise because of the culture that defines them, their religion, the ethos that determines their customs and habits, their educational system, their folklore, their dreams, their value, their patriotism, their determination to make good and succeed and this process takes decades and even a generation, even centuries to mature. I hope I am wrong, I hope for the sake of our people and the country that a quick turn around for the better will happen soon enough. Roger Loteyro, (by email), June 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, Napupuyat ako reading your email. Had the chance to talk with Sen Sonny Trillanes and he strikes me as someone who has his head firmly attached to his shoulders. He accepts offers from different universities to do studies for him. He is open and because his line is RESEARCH, we can be assured that he knows how to read and understand what he is reading. The challenge will be how to choose among these many advisers/studies. But this is where we can test would-be-leaders - how they can make the right decision at the right time after hearing many well-meaning voices. Leadership is something earned. Rene Locsin, (by email), June 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, Kindly suggest to your responders to use caps and lower case. All caps responses are a real pain in the eyes. If they really want to emphasize every word of their responses, I suggest they just type them in bold mode (unless, of course, their keyboards do not have lower case fonts.) Thanks. Frank Jimenez, (by email), West Orange , New Jersey , June 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww You have been getting a lot of reactions from your articles� readers. I am sure 90% of those who read your articles are your silent allies. I hope they come out in full support of a desirable change at the proper time. Cesar Sarino, (by email), June 24, 2007 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww �A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Communism� Dear Tony: I finally got a chance to read your columns, thanks to a MAC pc gift...You may not remember me but I was active in the NPC before I migrated in 1967. Tirso del Rosario was NPC President and I was on his Board of Directors, the first editorial cartoonist elected (while serving as elected President of the Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists (SPIC) now defunct. (Sorry, but I was never a member of the National Press Club. ACA) In your reply to Mr.Javier Ailes, (by email), Kazakhstan , April 04, 2007 you stated: "I wrote a booklet, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Communism, published in 1985, before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. I still have some copies left If you will give me your mailing address, I will mail you a copy." If you can spare me a copy, I would be happy to pay you for it. I'll request my nephew Atty. Doroteo "Dodi" Aguila to get it from you, and he will advance the amount in my behalf. Thank you, and henceforth I hope to read your columns, Dani Aguila, (by email), Nashville , Tennessee , June 21, 2007 THE WORLD IS BLEST BY MEN (such as Tony Abaya) WHO ACT ON THINGS AND NOT MERELY TALK ABOUT THEM."�John Ruskin (?) (We will airmail a copy to your address in Nashville , TN , with my compliments. ACA) OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |