Views from the Sidelines

I've read enough to be convinced that a new Philipppine Revolution should be launched now.

Our country has so much promise. One, our economy is strong and holding itself up against globalization. Two, most of our people are beginning to realize their power. Despite the massive fraud last elections, the people showed how disgusted they were in the state of affairs that they voted for Trillianes. He stood for something, an ideal that the people shared. Three, people are slowly being organized. Unlike the tumultuous 60's where people join socialist groups, people are organizing their own groups. Fourth, young people are beginning to occupy sensitive posts in the government, bringing with them new, fresh ideas for reform and growth. And fifth, Filipinos from abroad are starting to participate in active people empowerment. These Filipino-Americans are bringing their knowledge, their skills and experience into the country, enriching the fertile soil of the Fatherland and contributing towards growth and development.

However, much have been done, few have changed--in the political scene.

We are still wracked by political dissension. We have an administration whom the people distrust. We have "pseudo-leaders" occupying sensitive executive posts, who ascended Olympus by merely having a political surname. Wars are exploding left and right, North to South, Congress to Senate, Provincial Capitol to Municipalities.

We have a weak state. Due to its weakness, it tries to flex its muscles by using legal weapons. Despite its legal arsenal, the people remain defiant. Thousands of our poor brothers and sisters prostitute themselves to their new slave masters--the Arabs and those with almond eyes. Thousands more desperate go to the mountains to fight for principles. Others go to the route less taken--turning into bandits and petty criminals. The State tries to implement the law with less success.

Counter-state forces remain weak and equally discredited. One reason why an EDSA remains a far-fetched idea is the inability of the opposition to lead. The "Genuine Opposition" is not an opposition at all. They are pseudo dissenters. These "oppositionists" oppose for convenience. They are not in power. They lust for more power, that's why they dissent. These old faces want a comeback. They had their own sweet time in government but wanted to revivew their political careers, sidelined by a new elite.

Obviously, both the administration and the opposition have negated themselves. This is the condition today that merits the entry of a 3rd force--a movement that has its own ideology, its own philosophy, its own concept of a true opposition and a more effective administration.

This is a movement that is a conglomeration of every Filipino ideal, every one's aspiration, every one's paradigm for the future. This is a movement of the enlightened Filipinos. This is a movement that does not distinguish between Left nor the Right, but a movement that encourages capitalist competition under a strong socialist-oriented government.

This is a movement of New Men, pursuing a New Revolution. And this blog is dedicated to them.