[image: No photo]Our better selves EMOTIONAL WEATHER REPORT By Jessica Zafra<http://www.philstar.com/ArticleListByAuthorName.aspx?AuthorName=Jessica+Zafra> (The Philippine Star) Updated August 07, 2009 12:00 AM [image: Photo is loading...] *Heart of light:* President Cory C. Aquino, our Tita Cory, was the symbol of the world we wanted: a world where leaders were honest, just, selfless, intelligent and dignified.*Photo By Val Rodriguez* | Zoom <http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/808/ystar1hires.jpg>
Most of you are probably too young to understand why Filipinos aged 35 and above are disconsolate at losing *Tita *Cory. To you, the EDSA Revolution is a distant historical event, an item on an exam. To old people like me who were in college at the time, it was the greatest thing that had ever happened, and the best part was that we were in it. To you, Cory Aquino was Kris Aquino’s mom, the nice old lady who kept trying to stage People Power with smaller and smaller crowds. To us she was the symbol of the world we wanted: a world where people could speak their minds without disappearing, where public servants actually served, where leaders were honest, just, selfless, intelligent and dignified. You don’t have to be 35 and up to know that that was not the world we got. These days when we speak of politics at all it is with indifference, anger, or “Please, could we talk about something that doesn’t make us nauseous?” But there was a time when we could discuss government with hope, pride and trust in our leaders, and that was when Corazon Aquino was president. It did not last. We were cruelly disillusioned: “*Pare-pareho lang naman pala kayong lahat*.” The revolution had failed us, if it was a revolution at all. Later, whenever *Tita *Cory urged us to join mass protests against official corruption we still went, but many of us wondered what for. Massing on the streets would cause traffic jams, disrupt business, generate bad press for the country. We should be mature, let the democratic process take its course. In other words we had resolved to suck it up. Grownups do it all the time. So we did what was deemed pragmatic. We made compromises and dug in. We didn’t want any trouble. We got by; some would argue that we did pretty well under the circumstances. But something rankled. If we were doing the right thing, why were we beginning to loathe ourselves? We heard ourselves speaking with fond nostalgia about how orderly the city was during the Marcos years, how at least there was support for the arts. More and more we found ourselves throwing our hands up and saying, “Whatever.” Is that what being an adult is like, saying “There’s nothing I can do”? No more applying your imagination, just sheep-like acceptance? Because if that’s maturity, it is not a good thing. When I heard the news of President Cory Aquino’s death I was surprised at how upset I was. I found myself getting teary-eyed when talking about her. Most times I will gouge your eyes out before I let you see me cry, but in this instance it’s all right — my friends are getting soppy, too. On TV, hardcore former coup plotters are weeping because *Tita *Cory is dead. Thousands of people with nothing to gain lined up for hours at La Salle and at Manila Cathedral to pay their last respects to our president. They had nothing to gain but their self-respect and the feeling that they had a country. Politicians promise us everything, but sometimes all we really want is to feel that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. On Monday morning on EDSA I thought it was 1986 all over again. Why this massive outpouring of grief and affection for a symbol we thought we had outgrown? I think *Tita *Cory reminds us of our other, better selves — the ones who were prepared to make sacrifices for a noble cause. Politicians and governments have sorely disappointed us, but we never lost faith in *Tita *Cory the human being. She never mocked our aspirations or knowingly insulted our intelligence. She defended the Constitution from those who would bend it to their own ends; she rejected the idea of perpetuating herself in power. Say what you will about the missed opportunities and lost chances, Cory Aquino was decent to us. She was a good person. And after all our “growing up,” “learning to face harsh reality” and losing our illusions, it turns out that character does matter. Being good does make a difference. You will not receive praise or payment for it, and other people will mistake your goodness for weakness, but it resonates among people you won’t even meet. We have no control over fate and history, but we can control how we conduct ourselves in this life. That’s what we learned from *Tita *Cory. Even in death, she reminds us of what we could be. * * * *E-mail your comments and questions to emotionalweatherreport@ gmail.com<emotionalweatherrep...@%20gmail.com> .* -- spanx' blog: http://spankyenriquez.blogspot.com/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gimik" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/gimik?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
