Tuesday, February 28

The Greatest Love of All feat. Whitney vs. Ka Andy

Earlier, Prof. Edru Abraham urged people to share their thoughts through music. So in the hours between three and six, there were speeches, there were poems, there were songs about the greatest love of all--and it's definitely not by Whitney Houston.

Prof. Abraham reminded us that whoever is in power will want to use the arts to legitimize their agenda, and not a few people fell for that tactic before. This is why Teo T. Antonio insists that poetry still matters: "May makatang sa mata'y may muta; May makata na may tabak ang dila."

Prof. Abraham then read out Mrs. Carmen Diokno's statement which discourages us from "choosing the lesser evil" as it leads to further suffering: "Out of 80 million Filipinos, Mrs. Arroyo is not the best we can produce. She does not even come close to the best. But Mrs. Arroyo’s display of arrogance is not what disturbs us, though I must admit it is irksome. It is, rather, the implicit assertion that we deserve her kind of leadership — for our people do not — and that there is no alternative to her, when there are."

In order to avoid falling into this trap, we must be able to discern what was actually meant by what was not said. The subtleties we ignore or fail to notice will eventually trap us in.

Carol Bello of the Pinikpikan got the crowd to chant with her and share their prayers for the nation.

National Artist Virgilio S. Almario urged people to use their texting powers for a good cause.

Finally, fellow DECL instructor and UP Press Deputy Butch Guerrero also suggests that in case you cannot be physically present in gatherings (for reasons of safety and otherwise), you may still express your solidarity by using the information highway. If for some reason you don't fancy staging a retro revolution, then maybe you can engage in a virtual one.

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