The Pilgrim's Progress

I have a huge secret I must confess. I give up. I am tired of trying to explain myself to those who continue to pry into my belief system, in order to fashion me into what they think I should be like.

Fine, I am crazy and heretical. But no, I don’t eat people like Hannibal Lecter did. I don’t even like meat. Neither do I sacrifice animals or children to Satan. I love children and animals too much I can’t bear to see them cry, whimper or get hurt. But I am a free thinker. This is a sneak peek into my philosophy in life, politics and religion.

I consider myself blessed to have been able to see more of the world because of life’s tempests. My parents’ families are relatively well-off but I grew up poor. That’s why we live a frugal lifestyle. I don’t even want to be rich. Nothing turns me off than swaggering airheads who think they can push their weight around, just because they have money. It’s great to have seen and lived on both sides of the fence. The quest for wealth, power, status and prestige no longer consumes.

I count myself privileged to have the wounds I have, as a consequence of the circumstances of my life. It has put me in a place where I have nothing left to lose. It pushed me to hold things very lightly. I’m far too pragmatic to be overly religious, proper, sentimental, clingy, attached or demanding. The fear of pain, humiliation, death or loss no longer consumes.

Master Yoda is right—fear leads to the dark side! That’s why Jedi knights are trained to have that mindset. It makes them formidable opponents. Never wage a war with somebody who has nothing to lose. It is not a war you will win. Especially if that person’s allegiance is to what is true, fair and just.

Time and again, I’ve had people try to silence me because my political views are offensive and disruptive. I am tired of people sending out feelers about my political leanings. I will spare you the hassle. I have a Muslim-Mandaya ancestry that I am proud of. My loyalty is to my people, not to any ideology. I consider myself a Dabawenyo and a Mindanaoan first before being a Filipino.

I am pragmatic and level-headed. I do not want war. I believe that as followers of Bathala, Allah and the Judeo-Christian God, we should embody His steadfast love. If war, pain, suffering, discipline and force are used, it should always be nothing more and nothing less, than what the situation warrants. I do not believe in making enemies unnecessarily.

But I also believe in what Edmund Burke says that "the only thing necessary for evil to prosper is for a good man to do nothing."

Consequently, I’d like to take this opportunity to make this appeal to you. Do what you can to ensure that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will exhibit the political will necessary to institute immediate political reforms. Do not sit idly by. Do not even have the gall to pack up and just leave. Let us all help each other lobby for reforms peaceably and amicably.

Pray with me as well that we will be emancipated from thinking of ourselves as brown Americans. Do not be fooled. The oil supply of the United States is running low. We have oil in this land. Also, newspapers and articles herald that the next global war will be fought over water. The key players in this anticipated war will be China and the United States. And yet we don’t even feel the impending water shortage at all. But it will come. So in the meantime, don’t waste water, fix leaks and keep yourself informed.

Given this scenario, is it difficult to understand why we are indispensable to the United States’ interest and foreign policy? These facts should always be brought to the table should we consider an alliance with them.

I am all for partnerships—after all, we are all humans and share the same essence. But not if it is at the cost of our identity, patrimony and interests as Mindanaoans and as Filipinos. Such a partnership is not an alliance, it is called exploitation.

Open your eyes to the reality that there is more to George Bush’s war against terrorism in Mindanao. These same Muslim brothers here and around us are willing, ready and able to fight with us side by side should such a move become necessary for our freedom and progress.

I pray unceasingly that we will be enlightened and see that partnerships like the Balikatan exercises are not real alliances. How can it be called an alliance? Alliances are supposed to be mutually beneficial relationships. So what should we call it then, when one party divides in order to conquer? It is called pure, cold-blooded, vile exploitation.

I have quite a few journalist friends who covered the "war in Mindanao" only to discover that it is merely a play orchestrated by an obvious, albeit hidden director. Most of those journalist friends have disappeared, some have been bought, others have died hoping to have made a difference.

While my heart grieves for those who died untimely deaths, I know they consider such a death as "going down in a blaze of glory," regardless of whether their sacrifice will be remembered or not.

After all, nobody is indispensable to the quest for freedom in Mindanao. But you can be sure that if the key leaders in different movements for government reforms die, it will not be an accident. So pray for their protection. Pray as well that those who are watching and listening will not forget the lessons of history—the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand precipitated World War I in the same way that the assassination of Ninoy Aquino toppled the Marcos regime. Let us hope that they do not overestimate the importance of any one man and underestimate the boiling rage in the Mindanaoan’s hearts.