A dream of an equal Christmas for all

I have a dream (with apologies to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) that someday, on the eve of Christmas, the sons and daughters of the Gaisanos, the Lhuilliers and the Osmeñas shall come down from their mansions and play with the boys and girls from the squatter areas.

I dream that they shall share a ride in their limousines and expensive vans with the poor boys from the mountains, children of the farmers and tenants. I dream that in the future, Christmas shall be shared equally among all, poor and rich alike, for they are children of the same God, after all.

I dream that the landlords in Negros, the hacienderos, the Locsins and the Montelibanos, the Teveses and the Lacsons, the landed “buena familias” and modern illustrados shall share the Noche Buena table with their tenants, their sacada workers, and their obreros, even for a day, even for an hour. I dream that there is a perfect moment where the strong and the weak stand shoulder-to-shoulder worshipping the same god, and praying and hoping for equal opportunities for all. I dream that money and wealth shall unite people instead of putting a chasm between and among the capitalist class and the working class.

I have a dream that the owners of giant malls like SM, Robinsons and Gaisano, even for one Christmas meal, shall break the bread with their janitors, with their salesgirls, with their causals and contractuals so that, for one moment in time, these poor workers would feel that, indeed, they are the most important assets of the business organizations. Yes, I have a dream that the owners of big companies, big universities, big shipping lines and airlines shall for once, come out of their exclusive enclaves and shake the hands, pat the shoulders and have some words of inspiration for their rank-and-file workers. Even just for Christmas.

I dream that the political leaders of the land, the Dutertes, the Davides, the Osmeñas shall come out of their comfort zones, even only on Christmas Day, to rub elbows with the “hoi polloi”, to meet the vendors in the streets, to talk to the drivers, the conductors, the messengers and the clerks, the BPO and call center agents, the office workers and the teachers, the policemen and the firefighters.

I dream that the Congressmen, the Camineros, the Calderons, the Garcias, the Salimbanguns, the Quisumbings, the Radazas and the Del Mars, shall, for one moment in time, become human beings once again. Yes, even just for Christmas I dream that the powerful, the famous, and the wealthy, will not be too busy and or afraid to meet the people that they serve. After all, it is Christmas.