For reasons I cannot as of now enumerate, both personal and professional, I've been (belatedly) trying to hasten my own education in citizenship by scouring the web for intelligent political analysis. Despite my relative naivety regarding politics, I was confident that my finely tuned crap detector would be able to separate the chaff from the grain, so to speak.
One recent discovery is Newsbreak Online. While I may not always agree with their insights into Philippine politics, their writing is brave, intelligent, and, this may come as a surprise for many who have preconceived notions regarding the editorial slant of Newsbreak, at times rooted in a spirituality which speaks of the finest qualities of the Filipino. From the touching story of how three term San Fernando town mayor 47-year-old Sabas “Abang” Mabulo, is attempting to perform a miracle by running against my old friend Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo in the 1st congressional district of Camarines Sur ("I am pitted against money and a powerful political machinery. But God's wonder never ceases," Mabulo says) to their coverage of the longterm implications of Fr. Ed Panlilio's candidacy for Governor of Pampanga, Newsbreak has featured quite a lot of inspiring political stories rooted in either our Catholic or Christian heritage.
It's about time that we acknowledge the profound role that our faith plays in our politics. As was previously blogged about by my good friend (and former student) Jan Vincent Ong in his blog entry on the public nature of Francisco "Soc" Rodrigo's faith, which I reproduce here in part:
"We are all Catholics, and we are all citizens. So far, we have not experienced the slightest difficulty in being both. In fact, knowing our Catholic faith as we do, it seems obvious to us that the better Catholics we are, the better citizens we shall be"
We should not be afraid to raise the specter of argument regarding the separation of church and state. Rather, we should embrace it. Otherwise, however will we determine how one could both serve and believe? It is ridiculous to assume that one cannot do both, in the same way that it is ridiculous to assume that all decisions conducted largely out of one's beliefs are either completely wrong or completely right.
This is why I would like to insist that in order for political discussion to be relevant, it has to be inherently spiritual. Simply put, we reserve the right to aspire for more. We owe it to our children.
2 comments:
wow, I got mentioned by John D.
The only TV show I watch is American Idol. So, I decided to connect with society by watching local tv and I was bombarded by political ads. They were all so cheesy. The biggest let down was seeing Sarah Geronimo use her beautiful voice for Angara.
Another realization is I can't believe I went to Communication to be part of this circus(hopefully, no IMC teachers are lurking here).
Hey Jan! I agree; it's been quite a circus. Hopefully, and that's only if the current surveys are to be believed, our voters are not so willing to be swayed by traditional political media. Keep up the good work! And vote!
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