Dem okr as ya?

W. A . G a r c i a

Three roads to democracy. A hundred blocks away, two steps forward, a dozen back.
Ninoy Aquino did it once, and so the Aquinos did it twice, now, history knocks to Noynoy,
t h e i r s o n , t o d r a w d é j à v u a l l o v e r a g a i n. E v e r y F i l i p i n o h e a r t k n o w s t h e l i n e , “ T h e F i l i p i n o s
are worth dying for”, and Cory’s Laban, and Noynoy, as history has etched the living legacy
to the rope untied…

Ninoy, Cory and Democracy. Once the nigh fell in the arms of martial law, none of us
were Filipinos – none were men. As history as it, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Sr., went back to
Philippine soil to help Filipinos after searching cure in America. But within a single step, only to
the stairs, he was shot; he wasn’t able to touch Philippine soil, instead, the Philippine soil touched
his grace. Through his wife and People Power Revolution, we are, we are…. Filipinos.
Democracy, democracy indeed awoke in the mourning from the vast shallow nigh. Those were
two, but no, they are three, in fact four events that merely changed and affected who and what we
are today.
Aren’t we Filipinos, living in Philippine soil? Aren’t we people who write history? For
today, this land seeks its men – men of democracy, for democracy; we who live, we who speak,
we who learn, and we who fight. What the world needs today are men that are not wood nor
stone, people who breathe not for the sake of his own convenience, and a nation who may stand
as a whole.
Everything happens for a reason, and so the saying goes. Tomorrow can be déjà vu, all
over again, or a foggy mist, not knowing where to go. Whatever the puzzle is, history still has it;
men spells it. Living in a world of oppression, injustice, and corruption, sure hope seeks his
consort. Not just faith, but men. And not just the men nor their deeds, but merit as if force, force
as if dignity. For whoever remains mystified will be controlled: Those who are governed by law
used to break the law, and power that deceives himself.
Fair enough one’s conceit, the government is no government. And its people are not
theirs. What’s worse is that we may not exist. We may not be men. We may not be people. We
may be puppets. Chained and locked in masquerades and swords; the consequence is clear, it
drives character – requires strength. History proclaims no one, hence, it calls good judgment and
candid acts. Noynoy may not be the answer, nor his family. We are! We are – the Filipinos.