Once upon a time … as a student

 

 

Reeling from a devastating loss in our much ballyhooed debut in student politics, it was indeed a very welcomed development to be selected as one of two representatives from Xavier University to a weekend seminar in fabled Tagaytay.  A grand event financed and sponsored by the dollar-rich US Embassy.  And in hindsight, one could consider that inauspicious event as consequential and providential in some respects. The year was 1965.

 Though not showing much strain and sorrow, we unexpectedly had just been handed a tragic blow, when our entire election slate from President to PRO came in a poor third in our very first, and luckily only, outing in campus politics.  And worse, we had such great prospects and expectations of winning.  But it was not to be.

 A quick airplane trip out of the scene of the carnage was an apt remedy prescription, except that the other party with me came in the person of the winner in our star-crossed contest, Max Paderanga.  But I soon shunted that thought aside, buoyed by cheery expectations of the event.  The Embassy had invited us for a weekend seminar with some specific agenda, about 50 student leaders from all over the country.  They came from prestigious schools all over the country, but we Ateneans were particularly anointed because of the greater number of participants in our ranks, coming from Ateneos from different parts of the country. 

 We were billeted in small groups at different nice hotels and lodging places in cool and foggy Tagaytay.  But the mass gatherings and functions were held in one particular venue, inside an imposing monastery and convent for nuns, the main building perched high on rolling topography within very expansive grounds.  And it had the commanding view of the famed volcano inside a lake.  The nuns not only provided the elaborate venue, but also catered to our gastronomic needs with very impressive menu, many items unfamiliar to provincial palates like ours.

 To summarize it was a coming together of a lot of important persons with their different roles.  Top and foremost was US Ambassador Edward Mattos who spoke in general about his country’s devotion and promise of assistance to the local student population with regard to its critical role in governance. And he also regaled us with his piano playing, completing a picture of a consummate diplomat representing a powerful nation.  The Philippines then had close ties with the US AID as integral partners in the myriad of development projects planned for the region.

 He also gathered with him some very notable Filipino student leaders like Raul Roco from Naga, who later on become senator, and a Jose Conrado “Jolly” Benitez, who also was appointed a favored cabinet member during the infamous Marcos administration.  The affair was also graced with the presence of an appealing lady student leader named Sonia Malazarte, who had earlier won the title as student of the year, coming from a Manila all-girls school. Roco and Malazarte eventually got married but this was supposedly their first encounter.

 We had the fortune also of having several representatives from the Israeli Embassy gracing the affair, and which country’s noteworthy doings were a major topic in the seminar, starting from the consul to a couple of attaches.  And rounding off the roster of participants, we had about 50 vocal student leaders, many bursting full with outsized egos.  Though in fairness, there were also many who sat at the opposite end, very quiet and introverted.

 It was I believe the first time that student leaders from all over the country were purposely gathered together to discuss topics then relevant to their times and circumstances.  And I have no recollections as to whether succeeding or similar gatherings were held during that time.

When all was said and done, many of us came away from it with some notable memories.

Personally, I was amazed to learn that one of the nuns who by happenstance read the student roster recognized a name and had asked for me to see her.  She was a daughter of the late Chief Justice Mariano H. de Joya, who once had been assigned in CDO as provincial judge. He and his family were close to my father’s family.  And may even had shared the house of my grandparents for some time.  Thus, when my father spent time in Manila for his schooling, he also spent some time with the de Joya family, having been very close to one of the brothers of the nun, and I recall at a later time that his name was Boring.  It was a very blissful meeting and I had promised to relay this incident to my father who was in CDO.

 At the end of the seminar, we were each advised to write our impressions about the seminar, but more importantly, to write about the political conditions in the home country as seen by the younger generation.  Though I was not inclined to dismiss the parting instruction, writing about the subject just did not appeal to my interests then.  But I did submit an entry.

Months later, I received from the Embassy a copy of a bound pamphlet with collated selected entries from different participants.  And was glad Xavier U did not disappoint because one of the selected entries was that of Max Paderanga, and I still recall he wrote about the “dog-eat-dog” climate developing in Philippine society.  A curt analysis of a nascent country in the mid-60’s trying to develop its sea legs.  Was Max prophetic with his observation?

 Another memorable event that transpired within that seminar and has stayed on in memory, was the segment about Israel and what it had done then.  The consul spoke seriously and determinedly about their kibbutz system and its initial successes.  He gave out books and pamphlets, which I still have in my possession to this day.  Talk about a determined country, though small and surrounded by eternal foes. And notice how it considers itself as part of Asia.

 

The Coronavirus Pandemic Vs The Global Economy

 

 

The crucial fight for life is not centered between the disease and civilization.  For no doubt it is a shoo-in, and the outcome is assured.  History has shown civilization always wins.  History pages are replete with virulent diseases that threatened to wipe out humanity, and they have never been successful.

 But on another front, the eventual outcome may not be that assured.  What about the fight against the global economy?

 First an irony, the case of the managed and government-controlled economy on one hand, and on the other hand, the mostly free capitalistic economies of the rest of the world.  We know the threat originated from the former, but the devastation and havoc have spilled over to all economies.  We do not like to think the worst that there was malfeasance involved in the spread of the threat.  But it lingers in the mind.

 The global economy froze for a few seconds, before it started plunging on its downward trends.  Then comes wholesale business stoppage and laying off of entire workforces.  Before long, the crunched numbers show the unprecedented collapse of gains slowly and painfully garnered through the years.   And nobody even knows what the end game will be.

 Then some quick and calm reckoning appears on the fore.

 While not much thoughtful studies were expended on the business closures, what escaped in the equation was whether those businesses could even restart once the bigger problems are resolved or mitigated. 

 The answer could be short and straightforward, many of those businesses could never hope to reopen especially if stoppage is substantial or protracted enough.  These are the small business operations which account for the vast majorities in practically all economies.  They could never hope to be able to sustain such short-term losses.

 And worse, because of what we have learned about the kind of capitalist model the entire world is now embroiled in.  Not the traditional concepts of capitalism studied in school but the one unwittingly exposed during the last global financial crisis that saw many big financial companies tumble into the dust of ignominy and oblivion.  Companies like too-big-to-fail Lehman Brothers.

 In a simplified and uncomplicated way, what we learned is that most if not all economic activities are “securitized” and distributed to all parts of the globe via the financial intermediaries.  The case of the sub-prime loans was the most visible and catastrophic.  But was not the dilemma’s entirety.

 What were “securitized” were not just familiar assets, but included even the profit expectations of all businesses, big and small.

 The current strains the global economy is now laboring under may be too onerous for it to hold for long before it is projected to collapse.  There is no security blanket to speak about acting as the roof to protect, when the walls are the ones tumbling down.

 

 

 

Some references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securitization

https://enlightngo.org/language/en/post/8500

 

 

 

 

 

Turning the Tide: Man Against Humanity

 

 

 

In the midst of this global pestilence indiscriminately unleashed to all corners of the world, one that is wreaking so much unprecedented anxieties and deaths, do we still doubt the vaunted ferocity of man?

 I have no abiding answer, except to imagine an applicable scenario that could apply here.

Man breaks into a pristine place blest by nature with bounty and beauty. It had hills and valleys, meandering waterways, flora and fauna of almost infinitely diverse variety, balmy and hospitable weather in many places. Etc. All perfect for all human living designed in convergence and congruence with nature.

 Yet, nature being what it is did provide some cautionary caveats. There will be rains, tides, and fires, all sorts of tribulation and trial, to provide risks and anxiety for human living, but man is expected to adapt and learn to live side by side with them.

 But man is never contented, nor is he a prudent and diligent steward of nature. He did what he could to degrade and “alter” nature’s provisions. To a point that nature has lost its equilibrium and became instead a hostile force to man. And thus freakish acts of nature have become the new normal.

 Wars and pestilences. Flooding in places where man had chosen to live, harsh typhoons and torrential rains that damage altered topography obliterating humans in the process, deadly diseases in places where humans live in despicably congested conditions, etc.  Worse, diseases marked by the handiwork of humans brought into existence and released to raise havoc to humanity itself.

 Given that, can we humans then lay blame on anybody else but ourselves? Like blaming nature for what is happening?  For the virulence and ferocity that has been unleashed.

 Man must go back to the basics.  To the basic differences between nature and grace. To the basic purpose of human existence.  To the basic creed of God and personal responsibility.

Man then must turn inward rather than outward for this is where his salvation is heading.

 AND BECAUSE DIRE SITUATIONS BRING OUT THE BEST OF HUMANITY, LET THIS ONE BE THE TURNING POINT.  FOR ALL.  AND FOR GOOD.

Truth Subverted

Many well-intentioned people are still confused and maybe even frustrated, why others cannot see the “wisdom” of their choices.

Choices that have been phrased and echoed by most mainstream media with almost lock-step cadence, enunciated by the supposedly staid and august academia and punditry, and by the media-covered protestations of most vocal politicians.  Soundly repeated by those many in critical levels in the Deep State or the administrative state ensconced in their life-long careers by their leftist patrons. And yes, even in very popular Hollywood and sport and entertainment media who have the almost uncontested ears and minds of many of the populace.

Did we leave anybody else?  Maybe so, since this eerie unanimity covers practically all corridors of power and influence in society, the enthroned and established elites of all flavors.

Seeing and understanding this, it is easy to realize how truth if the desire is to suborn it has a very difficult time in seeing light.

It is also easy to understand why and how continued discussions of the issues are skewed against those who seek and honor truth and justice.   Like the obviously two-tiered justice system in the US?  Piled on and stacked against so much, the truth has a very challenging time and will require Herculean efforts to be released.

But truth at times in obtuse ways is let out, sometimes unwittingly.  Exposed in events and results that cannot be easily managed or manipulated, like stats, polls, political and economic realities, or results of democratic elections, etc.   Things that suggest or point to the opposite of those promoted by an entire generation of committed advocates blinded by rage and loathing. 

Knotty things like if things are so bad in the current regime, why are those out of power so determined to take credit for what is happening?

Why do allegedly iron-clad cases brought against the current regime, cases conducted and executed in most unfair and partisan ways, end up exonerating the accused?

Why do claims of injustice and criminality alleged by the current regime do not end up in exculpatory rebuttals, but usually end up with at least lame apologies and sliding affirmation, though so far no criminal accountability has yet been lodged?

Or why do the numbers in free gatherings of people undisputedly suggest that the current regime is a lot more popular and followed than those oppose to it?

If truth is not vigorously pursued then, the slow pace of historical reckoning will have to be waited upon.

Will well-intentioned minds become inquiring minds?

An Unlikely Instrument

Donald J. Trump created the perfect storm for both the US and the rest of the world.

He literally upended most everything of note in the world that had become staid and part of its encrusted landscape.  Turned them all upside down and exposed their unpleasant underbellies.

And this he did with his brash and unrefined personality and rhetoric, lighting aflame the minds and hearts of those who had accepted as realities the mossy standards that the world had been covered with.

Sadly, a good part of the world continues on its merry ways, many unable to accept this change and fighting tooth and nail to try and maintain their status quo.  With many still continuing to do with willful intent.

But what is more pitiful are the many who refuse to use their minds to see the rectitude and goodness done by Trump, simply because they could not imagine him being an instrument of good and peace.  They continue to depict him as the Trump of a lamented pre-era, egotistical and trivial, and so enamored with his outsized ego.  So they allow their vengeful hearts to continue to abhor and loathe every move he makes, and continue to cast their lots to the side that in reality has had its foot on their throats, and thus, not allowing them to prosper.  And release them from the servitude of ignorance and ill will.

Doubly sad that many of these latter people count as those who are near and dear, and thus, ought to know better.  That when somebody tolls for what is right and that that somebody only has their better interests in mind, that they should at the very least take notice and heed where necessary their admonition.

That hopeful consummation continues to be devoutly wished for.  For we continue to be convinced that ……..

Veritas Liberavit Vos.

And as slowly being unveiled, the Trump reality is inching its way to the fore.  And if the prophesy completes then this truly is a masterful stroke of that Being who engineered all this.

The expected acquittal on Wednesday from the impeachment charges leveled at Trump will only be one bead in a string of victory gems he has been able to garner.  It started with his most unlikely win in 2016.  The almost 3 years spent by a partisan special counsel convened to try to prove collusion with Russia, that came up empty-handed. And sunniest of them all are the ones shown in the economy and the world stage.  With historic trade deals with China, Mexico, and Canada; more financial participation of other European countries in NATO, etc.  The world has suddenly become fairer and more equitable.  And government has suddenly minded the forgotten men – the disappearing middle class, the hapless veterans, the lowly but many minorities, etc.

Using such an iconoclastic figure.  One so diametrically opposite to the hardy model etched with sweat and blood by that lowly carpenter thousands of years ago.