CONTINUING DISCUSSIONS ON PHILIPPINE UNITY

Sept 17, 2009

Unity is good if attainable, but if not, let us just move on and skirt it.


ON THE PART OF OUR LEADERS

The DESTINY of a nation depends upon the will of its LEADERS, who are the ones endowed with the God-given OPPORTUNITY and POWER for CHANGE that can propel the nation to greatness.

UNITY is not an absolute necessity for leaders to do good. President Marcos did not have anybody to contradict him while he was in power during martial law, yet, from the second most progressive economy in the region, he transformed the nation's economy into the basket case of Asia, a stark contrast to the rapid growth and progress attained during that period by the economies of our Asian neighbors--a situation staring in the face of all of us but cannot be seen by some of us who still pay homage to President Marcos.

JUST AS LACK OF UNITY WAS NOT A HINDRANCE TO OUR LEADERS IN COMMITTING WRONGDOING AND ACCUMULATING ILL-GOTTEN WEALTH WHILE IN OFFICE, UNITY WAS ALSO NOT NEEDED HAD THEY OPTED INSTEAD TO DO GOOD AND FIGHT CORRUPTION, INSTEAD OF BECOMING GFRAFTERS THEMSELVES.

In short, if our leaders who can make things happen do not need unity to do evil, they also do not need unity to do good.



ON THE PART OF THE PEOPLE

Even in the US, the Americans have always been divided--into REPUBLICANS and DEMOCRATS--but they are able to achieve what many nations have not achieved despite their lack of unity. In fact, their division provides the needed check and balance against abuses and corruption by whoever among them are in power.

However, the Americans automatically become generally united whenever there is a common threat or issue that they have to address, as was eloquently shown after the US declared war against Japan in WW II.

Thus, just as war can unite the people of a nation against their common enemies, common internal GRAVE ISSUES can unite--though to a lesser degree--the people as and when circumstances warrant, for as long as there are leaders from the people who can inspire collective action--as was seen in EDSA I--but not all the time.


Mar Tecson