New Breed of Freedom Fighters
In a world afflicted by the principal disease of our time called the power of money, how to be freed from that principal disease that has buried humanity deeply in the mundane of unbridled materialism and consumerism is the urgent call of the times. Blinded by egotism, humanity is just focusing on bodily needs in utter disregard to their true nature as spiritual beings, more spirit than body, having been created in the image and likeness of the Creator, the I AM. Let us therefore tune-in to who truly we are to debunk the mundane and leap-up to the Sublime. It is in this context that religion should not be limited just to prayers and rituals. Ethical action is more important than prayers. This means, maximizing inner values focusing on consciousness should be the priority rather than maximizing material values, short-term profit and consumer goods.
Foremost of these inner values is FREEDOM from Satanic ego. As Filipinos, we are freedom-loving people as our forefather fought for in protracted armed struggle two centuries or so ago, when a few brave men and women had organized resistance against colonial rule, firmly believing that the people united can never be defeated. Nothing could be sweeter in the history of a nation than unfettering the people from external forces who would dare impose their will as masters subjugating their peons, stripping a nation of its dignity, making a mockery of the people’s ability to govern themselves and craft their own destiny. No way could such subjugation continue. Such arrogance of colonial masters dominating a people violated the very essence of us human beings, whom God created endowed with intelligence and free-will. It would only be a matter of time when such cruel societal order would be dismantled by freedom loving people.
Thus, Dr. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini, among others, became heroes because they dared to respond to the urgent call of the times by inspiring the people to hit the very core of the problem – colonialism. These nationalistic men had organized the people to wage resistance, trusting in the inherent capability of the people to craft their own destiny for self-determination. It is indeed great to be unfettered from the tentacles of direct oppression to savor FREEDOM, freedom of self-determination as a sovereign nation to direct our own destiny, of seeking redress to grievances, of exercising right of suffrage, of expression, of privacy, of mobility, of religion and what have you.
While we may have achieved our independence from colonial rule, let us serve notice to one and all that there are conditions which are very limiting and oppressive and depriving a nation of its liberty such as NEO-COLONIALISM. We now must ask: IN A HIGHLY SKEWED SOCIETAL ORDER, WHO CONTROLS? WHO DECIDES, WHO PROFITS? WHO BENEFITS? FROM OUR RICH NATURAL RESOURCES? NOT THE FILIPINO PEOPLE BUT A FEW OLIGARCHS, CARTELS, MONOPOLIES AND FOREIGN INVESTORS/CORPORATIONS. Because of this painful truism a country which was once described as a paradise have been transformed into hell. We have lost our ecological integrity and security, in fact, the Philippines has been described by the United Nations-Food Agricultural Organization (UN-FAO) as the “4th worse hit country in world by climate change.” Such truism is res ipsa loquitor (the thing speaks for itself.) Worse, poverty has become “second skin” to majority of our people. Indeed, poverty does not only strip a person of his humanity; it imprisons him to a life of hunger, apathy and ignorance. As former US Secretary of State Henry Kissenger would aptly put it, “You deprive one of his rights to food and you control his mind.” We may not be concerned so much with our freedom OF; it is our freedom FROM that we are struggling for during these most challenging times, i.e., freedom from hunger, from gross social inequity, from social injustices.
In a country where only 200 oligarchical families control the economy as they are pocketing 70% of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) annually, social change has been so elusive all these years despite 14 years of Martial Law and two people-powered revolutions. The systems and structures breeding poverty are still as formidable as ever. Worse, economic power begets political power. Not even the constitutional declaration prohibiting political dynasties has been followed. Social injustices go on with-out let-up in utter disregard to the constitutional provision that “The State shall promote social justice in all phases on national development.” Such is very glaring here in Mindanao where hundreds of thousands of hectares of the ancestral domain of the Indigenous Peoples have been land-grabbed in favor of the oligarchs and foreign investor/corporations. Indeed, the enrichment of these corporations and oligarchs means the impoverishment of the indigenous peoples, now living in hunger and extreme poverty. Every time they would resist to stand for their right, they are being killed as some 101 Chieftains and lady chieftains have already been the subject of Extra-Judicial Killings since 2016. Until now, no justice has been done.
While the Filipinos may have been liberated from colonialism, the modern-day neo-colonialists are subjugating our people, making a mockery of our freedom of self-determination. Look at Mindanao, the country’s second biggest island, oozing before with ecological resources and the beauty of nature but now transformed into hell. Its hundreds of thousands if not millions of blessed lands have been transformed into massive plantations of high value fruits to supply the consumerist needs of the obese people in advanced countries for the oligarchs and foreign corporations to earn billions of dollars. Don’t you know the Philippines is the biggest rice importer country in the world? It is so painful to note that while our blessed land is producing high value fruits yet it cannot even produce enough basic staples, i.e. rich and milk, for its hungry people. Don’t you know that based on the data of the Food and Nutrition Institute, 85% of the Filipino children are malnourished?
The culprit is Corporate Globalization in pursuance of the modern-day American Imperialism that now controls more than one half of the world in terms of area and resources. While such imperial dominion over the earth has been the focus now of massive protest as it has sacrificed the people and the environment to the altar of greed and profit as what tens of millions are now doing worldwide, it is so outrageous to note that our country is so excited to welcome foreign investors while displacing thousands if not millions of Indigenous Peoples. Even the mainstream media is brandishing its full support in cahoots with political leaders. Soon some 46,000 hectares of the ancestral domain in Bukidnon will be converted into military reservation and after that, be offered to these foreign investors as categorically exemplified by the Sitio Kibaritan, Malinao, Bukidnon experience.
Unless, a countervailing force looms to rectify the massive transformation of the blessed land of Mindanao into massive plantations which have already wrought so much havoc ecologically, socially and culturally, poverty worsened by gross inequity and social injustices will be the order of the day in the land of the brave and the free (Mindanao). Like what our heroes have done before, it is time that a new breed of freedom fighters stand-up for the people and the environment, as what the people in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica are now doing. As you know, many of these foreign investors/corporations have tried entering these two-named countries but they were met with massive protest because the people were protecting their environment as these plantations are heavily using toxic chemicals causing cancer, protect their food security as well and the livelihood of the people. So where did these foreign investors/corporations go? To the Philippines. This truism can be googled in U-Tube. When these gallant and protesting people heard that these investors were warmly welcomed in the Philippines, they laughed and called the Philippines, “A country of coward people!”
When the Filipino people have finally awakened from the fallacies of life whose concern is how to satisfy their basic needs and how to earn a living as those in control economically and politically have consigned them on survival mode, it is only then that a new breed of freedom fighters will loom. This is what is happening now in the United States when the awakened Americans led by the number one intellectual in the world, an activist named Dr. Noam Chomsky has organized The Occupy Movement and are conducting mobilization against Modern-Day American Imperialism which have caused so much anguish worldwide whose economic paradigm is the root cause of climate crisis. As tens of millions are protesting in several countries against corporate globalization, emphasizing that the root cause of the problems is the principal disease of our time called the power of money, it has finally dawned to them that there should now be spiritual awakening. It is their contention that religions should not be just limited to rituals and prayers. For them, ethical actions are more important than prayers for how can prayers stop the blindness of egotism of powerful corporations called the “Masters of Mankind,” stop sacrificing sacred nature to the altar of greed? The Lord Jesus, or be Buddha or Mohammad, will not allow the killing of Mother Earth! Indeed, the urgent call of the time is to save Mother Earth by launching a compassionate revolution to correct humanity’s flawed lifestyle so engrossed in material values at the expense of sacred nature.
Like what our forefathers did to fight colonialism, we need now a new breed of freedom fighters to save our people and the environment from these “Masters of Mankind” and their supporters in media and government, apparently grossly afflicted by the principal disease of our time, the power of money. We now must stand for People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace! – all for God’s glory!
