Some people view political events not as acts of individuals but by collectives. So they are more prone to praise parties, organizations, and render minuscule the participation and leadership of individuals. This is a very marxist viewpoint, wherein Marx himself declared that embracing communism alone will determine the prosperous development of a society or country. Lenin added to his ideas and declared that the building of the Communist Party will help realize Marxist objectives, Actually, that is a very dangerous statement because, a party can readily turn dictatorial and impose its principles and discipline on the members, and should it capture power, on the nation.
Let us look at the Peoples' Republic of China. It is run by the Chinese Communist Party, but how do they treat the people of the world -- just as markets. Plain markets where they can make a fast buck. Filipino inventions are being pirated without proper compensation. Their products are flooding the country but look how easily destroyed they are. A ballpen will stop working after only a few days whereas there is still ink in it. The handle of a kitchen pair of scissors readily breaks. An umbrella has easily-breakable ribs. And where can we get replacements? Nowhere. Not even the Department of Trade and Industry is helpful in our getting consumer protection from their poor products. Of course there are exceptions like those blankets that are really cheap, only P120 per piece, complete with pillowcases. But they are quite rare.
How about PRC treatment of critics? They incarcerate them and even support military regimes like that one in Burma which has incarcerated Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s democracy leader. Despite its claims of being for women's freedom, it has turned a blind eye on violations of political rights of individuals to campaign for democratic governance. Also, their treatment of Tibetans is appalling. Instead of appreciating the way the people have preserved their culture, and instead of persuading the Tibetans to assume more democratic ways of living, especially in the treatment of women, they impose their own on them. I once watched a film about Tibetans, and saw a Red Guard pass by in the background. Shocking how a military soldier in green uniform and the Mao hat could be "guarding" those who were being interviewed.
But what makes communism a difficult path for nations is that it upholds and strengthens the rule of faceless rulers, who could be desensitized by their rigid forms of discipline on members. These rulers do not have to feel sentiments for those who suffer because they would always attribute problems to structural not individual causes, which then renders all kinds of educational individual development useless.
Because of its adherence to collective decision-making, communist-leaning writers have that tendency to put down individuals who participate politically and render meaningful contributions to the development of a country. I have just read an article in a UP student newspaper and I was appalled by the putting down of Cory as an icon of democracy not only for our country but for the whole world. The person who wrote that does not know the great difficulties we suffered under martial rule; he even credits the underground movement, led by the Communist Party of the Philippines as having been quite widespread already when Cory came. That is not totally accurate. Actually, Marcos used the underground movement as a menace to be eradicated and hence perpetuated himself as the only power that could perform that function. Worse, the CPP boycotted the snap elections, thereby committing the greatest historical blunder of not being part of the great Filipino people in ousting an anti-democratic ruler of 14 years.
What the writer is ignorant of, or chooses to be ignorant about is that Cory hastened the demise of Marcos and military rule in the country. She became a rallying point for the people to unite and stand up against this political gang which has managed to resurrect itself under the current uninvited guest-ruler in Malacanang. I wish the Marxists and other communist leaders in our country, the older ones would correct their wrong theories and interpret political events in our country more humanely for the sake of younger theoreticians. We need to set their minds aright because they could turn dictatorial once in power like one of the speakers then in the 60's rallies, before the declaration of martial law and who could really fire up demonstrators but is now the great apologist of that unwanted guest.
Hence, as we gather and unite for a new type of governance in 2010, let us be discerning of future leaders and shun those who would look at their ideological Bibles as the answer to the nation's problems. We value diversity of political views, but keep an alert eye on those who would later on reveal an anti-democratic stance once in power. And let us not forget to pray for Divine guidance so that we can have bloodless and peaceful elections.
-- Wilhelmina S. Orozco
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