Happy New Year
As this year ends today, we look back with either mirth or anger, regret or resolve, laughter or sadness. This yearend is no exception. We have fought the good fight, we have run the race. Yet, the fight is not yet done, and the race has yet to end. Where do we go from here?
While many of us who belong to either side of the political fence can either claim victory or defeat, the determination to believe what is right and just will spill onto next year. There is no doubt that the forces of the Arroyo government will be prepared to meet the challenges posed by the opposition, but it is equally true that the latter will be relentless in their zeal to seek the truth and find closure to all the controversy that bedevils this administration which is largely the president's own making.
We are presently at a crossroad.
To those in the executive branch, must you continue to believe in the prevarications foisted by the powers that be, continue to enjoy their beneficence, continue to harvest the material fortunes offered while the rest of the country burns in disarray, in woe and in shameful poverty?
To those in the Erap opposition camp, must you continue to dream of reestablishing Erap whose incompetence, laziness and the scandalous company he kept paved the ascension of this present leader?
To those in Congress, must you continue to be lured by the pied piper from Pangasinan who continues to offer you goodies and sweets, not of his own produce, but from the sweat of the people’s brows, and whose naked ambition to become Prime Minister has become as stark as the pale moon? Will none of you dance out of step, draw the line in the sand and tell him there is no shame going against GMA, FVR and to sacrifice his own avarice for the good of all?
To the justices of the Supreme Court, must you continue to remain conservative in your judicial philosophy and thereby, advance the interests of government and big business or can you break out from your shells, be activist in your philosophies and leapfrog the cause of civil liberties to greater heights and for the good of Juan de la Cruz?
To those who remain mired in apathy, must you continue to hem and haw and feel disgusted at the political winds of this country without making a firmer stand? Every time you rationalize that you are sick of the politicking, you affirm our country’s moral ambiguity and confirm that political expediency is preferable over truth and justice. Our moral principles be damned? Is that what we intend to imbibe to our children?
To the bishops, must you continue to discern and be prudent all this time after seeing what this government is capable of doing just to perpetuate itself in power? Have you lost the voice of John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness or that of Jeremiah or Jonah calling upon the people and our leaders to put on their sackclothes and repent? Or have your calves been fattened that you are equally in fear of the material loss that you all may suffer since you have not put on the vow of poverty? Mammon before God?
May you live in interesting times is oft quoted as a curse that a Chinese spews to an enemy. But living in interesting times may become an opportunity for men of right to will the winds of change, to still the enemy and to stem the evil that beset our country.
As the year ends, we take stock of the path that we have chosen. We remain resolved to continue the fight for what is right and just. We dwell with mirth that the small steps we have taken this year will leap into a groundswell of realization that the perfidy of this government cannot last forever, that the evil that they do will rise to the surface and reveal itself more plain to the people. And while we are sad that the Lord has not revealed Himself in ways that we intended, we laugh at the victories that we have achieved, both in small steps and large paces, and remain confident that everything works for the good to those who believe.
We are still running the race, we are still fighting the good fight. The race is not yet over but our cup of confidence runneth over because in the end, good will outlast evil. And that is a happy thought as this year ends.
And so, on this crossroad, I greet you all a Happy New and leave this year with an Irish blessing which I recently imparted to a bosom friend:
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
While many of us who belong to either side of the political fence can either claim victory or defeat, the determination to believe what is right and just will spill onto next year. There is no doubt that the forces of the Arroyo government will be prepared to meet the challenges posed by the opposition, but it is equally true that the latter will be relentless in their zeal to seek the truth and find closure to all the controversy that bedevils this administration which is largely the president's own making.
We are presently at a crossroad.
To those in the executive branch, must you continue to believe in the prevarications foisted by the powers that be, continue to enjoy their beneficence, continue to harvest the material fortunes offered while the rest of the country burns in disarray, in woe and in shameful poverty?
To those in the Erap opposition camp, must you continue to dream of reestablishing Erap whose incompetence, laziness and the scandalous company he kept paved the ascension of this present leader?
To those in Congress, must you continue to be lured by the pied piper from Pangasinan who continues to offer you goodies and sweets, not of his own produce, but from the sweat of the people’s brows, and whose naked ambition to become Prime Minister has become as stark as the pale moon? Will none of you dance out of step, draw the line in the sand and tell him there is no shame going against GMA, FVR and to sacrifice his own avarice for the good of all?
To the justices of the Supreme Court, must you continue to remain conservative in your judicial philosophy and thereby, advance the interests of government and big business or can you break out from your shells, be activist in your philosophies and leapfrog the cause of civil liberties to greater heights and for the good of Juan de la Cruz?
To those who remain mired in apathy, must you continue to hem and haw and feel disgusted at the political winds of this country without making a firmer stand? Every time you rationalize that you are sick of the politicking, you affirm our country’s moral ambiguity and confirm that political expediency is preferable over truth and justice. Our moral principles be damned? Is that what we intend to imbibe to our children?
To the bishops, must you continue to discern and be prudent all this time after seeing what this government is capable of doing just to perpetuate itself in power? Have you lost the voice of John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness or that of Jeremiah or Jonah calling upon the people and our leaders to put on their sackclothes and repent? Or have your calves been fattened that you are equally in fear of the material loss that you all may suffer since you have not put on the vow of poverty? Mammon before God?
May you live in interesting times is oft quoted as a curse that a Chinese spews to an enemy. But living in interesting times may become an opportunity for men of right to will the winds of change, to still the enemy and to stem the evil that beset our country.
As the year ends, we take stock of the path that we have chosen. We remain resolved to continue the fight for what is right and just. We dwell with mirth that the small steps we have taken this year will leap into a groundswell of realization that the perfidy of this government cannot last forever, that the evil that they do will rise to the surface and reveal itself more plain to the people. And while we are sad that the Lord has not revealed Himself in ways that we intended, we laugh at the victories that we have achieved, both in small steps and large paces, and remain confident that everything works for the good to those who believe.
We are still running the race, we are still fighting the good fight. The race is not yet over but our cup of confidence runneth over because in the end, good will outlast evil. And that is a happy thought as this year ends.
And so, on this crossroad, I greet you all a Happy New and leave this year with an Irish blessing which I recently imparted to a bosom friend:
May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
posted by Edwin Lacierda | 2:07 AM
1 Comments:
Happy new year! May it bring long life and prosperity.
And may it awaken those who are pretending to be asleep.
Post a Comment
<< Home