To keep silent when it's time to speak
To our mind, there is only one thing that can ever be considered worse than to speak when it is time to keep silent. And that is nothing else but to keep silent when it is time to speak. In the face of too many lies, and too many distortions of the truth, in the midst of a seeming conspiracy of silence among men and women who deemed themselves as honorable, and at times when good Filipinos and even exemplary Christians are opting to look the other way, and to bite their tongues, perhaps it is time for us "to kill a mockingbird," to swim against the current, and to refuse to "dance with the music" nor "to go with the flow." Perhaps, it is time to rather drink the "cup of hemlock poison" than to give up our core values and basic principles.
During the Martial Law years, we opted to be inside the stockade rather than dance the waltz with the dictator. We opted to point to the many contented cows that many things were not right, that many truths were cloaked in the cloths of government propaganda, that the devious slogans were opium that were insidiously aimed at making people dazed and confused. At those times when it was very risky to oppose the powers-that-be, we have chosen to follow the path of most resistance. At those times, when those who stood for the truth, for reason and for justice were arrested, jailed without charges and with no bail, there were few courageous Filipinos who have chosen to stand up against the most powerful.
Today, there are too many things that are not right. The opposition candidates are being pushed to the walls apparently so that they would succumb to the overpowering pressures of those who wield the powers. Many have fallen and have changed political colors. Many have taken their false oaths and join the administration because they perhaps have skeletons in their closets. They are fearful, and maybe, rightly so, that they could be persecuted and be subjected to intimidations, threats and undue influence. Thus their will are vitiated and they allow themselves to follow the "daang matuwid" because it is the safest, the most convenient and the most profitable option to take.
During the Martial Law years, almost all the political leaders in Cebu "danced" with the dictator. As one kingpin in north Cebu used to say, in hackneyed hyperbole, "Kun panahon sa unos, adto gyod kita pasilong sa naggunit sa dakong payong." No matter if the one who holds the umbrella does not play fairly, does not respect human dignity, does not have a basic recognition of human rights. It was all affiliation for opportunisms, political marriage for sheer convenience. Only a few good men like former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., Marcelo B. Fernan and many "small-time" folks who stood taller than the ilustrados, than the oligarchs, the aristocracy and the ruling class.
Our Lord Jesus Christ stood up against the Romans, the Jews, the scribes, the Pharisees and the teachers of law, the tax collectors, the high priests, and the self-righteous ruling classes of His times. Dr. Jose Rizal did it with his pen, and Andres Bonifacio did it with the sword. Heneral Antonio Luna did it with the pistol, as many centuries our great ancestor, Datu Lapu-Lapu did it with a spear and a bolo or a crude "alho." Ninoy Aquino dared to challenge his frat brod Ferdinand Marcos and declared before Marcos' kangaroo court, the Military Tribunal that "I would rather die on my feet than live on my bended knees." What then is happening to all of us? Why stand here idle, deaf, blind and mute?
Why am I being bashed for speaking my mind? What happens to our Bill of Rights? Why is everybody opting to remain silent? What are we afraid of? Are we afraid of the powerful tyrants who can harm the body but cannot tarnish our souls? Is peace so dear that we are willing to give up our self-respect, that we are willing to sacrifice our freedoms and our innermost yearnings "to build a just and humane society?" Why stand we here idle? What are we afraid of? Is life too valuable that we give up our sense of reason? Are we still fearful to pursue our impossible dreams and do remain hesitant "to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause?" Indeed, it is better for us to die standing up, yes, to lose our lives for a noble cause, than to die everytime we refused to speak the truth.
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