QUOTES ON GREATNESS

Man is only truly great when he acts from his passions." Benjamin Disreali 

"In our society those who are in reality superior in intelligence can be accepted by their fellows only if they pretend they are not." Marya Mannes 

"Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude." Arthur Schopenhauer 

"Well, I wouldn't say that I was in the great class, but I had a great time while I was trying to be great." Harry S. Truman 

"The price of greatness is responsibility." Winston Churchill 

"I can't believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary." Lou Holtz 

Man is only truly great when he acts from his passions." Benjamin Disreali 
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” 
― Albert Einstein

There are no great men, only great challenges that ordinary men are forced by circumstances to meet." William F. Halsey 

Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." William Shakespeare 


The reader could be inspired by these quotes but they sound generic. What is greatness of character? For whom is greatness? Why aspire to be great? Who judges who is great and what bases? 

Could gangsters be great because they have amassed great wealth at the expense of others?

Could cheaters be great because they were able to assume very high positions through dubious machinations?

Could leaders be great because  they stay on top, unbeatable because they could strike fear in the hearts of their constituents?

Who is great nowadays?

Ponder these with me as we welcome the new year! A happy and peaceful new year to all

WHAT OUTCOME?

[G]reat progress was evident in the last Congress of the American 'Labour Union' in that among other things, it treated working women with complete equality. While in this respect the English, and still more the gallant French, are burdened with a spirit of narrow-mindedness. Anybody who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without the feminine ferment. Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex....” 
― Karl Marx


This is the first time I have come across a non-sexist quotation from Marx. I wonder if Putin has read this. But then he must be very busy trying to pacify that area in Syria, after having led many military attacks within it.

Folks, you know, the contending candidates in the US elections, were mainly a man and a woman. Then the man won through the machinations of an outside power. Now that outside power denies the hacking to favor the so-called President-elect (PE) (mind you, elected by a handful of voters, only 304 electoral college members, but in terms of popularity vote, less than the 3M who voted for the woman.) 



However, the intelligence services of the US have declared that the hacking was concrete in order to favor the election of the current PE.

Different sectors are reacting to it: Pres. O has already expelled Russian diplomats. The alternative groups are creating a march to be held during and after the inaugural day. 

Question: how do we know if our movement is successful or not?
1. It is successful if it moves people to act to the right positive outcome that we want;

2. It is successful if it unearths the very causes for the creation of the movement; and 

3. It is successful if it overturns the results in favor of the one who should be the real beneficiary -- in this case, the fake beneficiary should step down in favor of the real one. 

I think it will be disastrous for the writing of the history of the United States if it only ends in unearthing the confusion brought about by the hacking, if it only pinpoints who the hackers have been, if it only peripherally attacks the problem by rounding up the perpetrators of the hacking. 

The outcome should be a vindication of the right of the 3 M people to be led by the candidate that they voted for. 

BANISH INJUSTICE!

WHEN someone trips in front of us, we usually say, oh I'm sorry. Or when someone calls out a person not by his or her name, we say "sorry."

You see, Folks, there are many ways we say, "Sorry." We apologize when we hurt someone, physically, emotionally, psychologically without our meaning to. Actually, the Filipino people apologize a lot -- we apologize when we cannot offer greater food at home to visitors. We do when we are not dressed properly at an event. We text sorry when we cannot come to an event. 

It is one of those things that make us connect with other people, making them feel that we could also feel what they feel.

IN the bigger scheme of things though, we can drown in the matter of procedures that happen and forget to whom we should apologize for the big failure to secure a clean elections.

When Miriam lost in the 1992 presidential elections, we were not able to apologize to her that we failed to secure the elections, to make it clean and safe from miscounting. 

Now, we are seeing the same in the US. The woman candidate who lost because of Russian hacking is being sidelined from all the discussions, as if she does not exist. All talks now revolve around the inauguration, the guests to the event, the downplaying of the hacking. I think that Putin is laughing behind their backs because he was able to pull the rug from under the Democrats, catching them by surprise. 

I think that we are in this world because we prefer goodness to evil. We prefer being humane rather than devilish. We prefer a chaste life, than one that smacks of crude opportunism. 

We should not rest on the many tricks being employed to make empty all the ideals that we have built through our lifetime and the many centuries when our ancestors fought for all kinds of liberation. 

We should not stop at the sleek ways and be trapped into the web of deceit that is being thrown around in order to legitimize what is otherwise a very illegitimate act of assuming a highly coveted position that is looked up to worldwide. 

Soiling the act of assuming a position is surrendering one's value systems honored by humanity and sinning in the eyes of God. 

Yes, we can invoke the name of God already because every day that steps are made to concretize the assumption of the position spells doom to all talks about democracy, about people's rights, about women's rights. 

Let the truth come out. Banish injustice. Stamp out evil acts. 

ON NURTURING THE PEOPLE

What are the things that a country has to nurture in order to have highly literate citizens?

We need to ask that question in order for us to know if we are progressing or not. I developed this question after talking to a handmaiden who serves in a posh house somewhere in MetroManila. I was egging her to improve her mind by saying that she could take advantage of the internet and search for ways to learn a business skill.

She demurred. She just stared at me as if asking, am I really capable of running a business? You see she was a drop-out of college and I pitied her that she would serve her whole lifetime as a server. Then her aunt even has plans for her to go to Saudi Arabia again to be a domestic helper.

But I saw that she is quite intelligent for a provincial girl as she knows how to manage her home tasks very well. Of course she has a highly intelligent landlady and so can handle her very well, teaching her how to follow her routine together with all the numbered tasks she has to do for a month.

Another time, I asked a young man for street directions. He had a hard time telling me how to reach my destination although I knew that he was a resident of the area.

So my dear Kababayan, I think that among so many other things, the two that our country must nurture and our citizens must value are: Number one, the ability to plan their lives and not be contented with their lot, as well as number two, the ability to give directions.

The first is highly coveted for everyone because not only is it a sign of ability to know what is being progressive, but because it is the only way for our country to survive and improve in terms of development. If our country is full of people who are just satisfied with their lot, then that would be the end of things. 

We must figure out what it is that we want in life, really, and how do we reach that?

I told the young girl that with a good business, you could send more funds to your relatives abroad, and that was how her face lit up. You see, her improvement has to latch on to something that has to do with her family, her younger brothers and sisters whom she would like to finish college. She is denying herself the chance to go back to college, as I had told her that tuition fees are now free, just so she could help her family.

I think martyrdom is good but if it would mean retrogression, then it is half good.

The second ability that I mentioned is knowing how to give and follow directions.

I think that this requires a bit of intelligence already. The first requires value formation. The second is cognitive in nature, from the word, cognition meaning mental processes– and I think that is lacking in our country. Just see the road and street signs – they are blah!

They are here and there - two posts with two street signs, a post tilting to the ground, missing posts, street sign pointing to the wrong direction, post with a political flyer of a candidate, post beside a planter and worst, post with a wrong street name.

So do you see how the government trivializes the street signs? These are vandalized no end by kids who know no better daily and nightly at that.

So how do we expect to negotiate streets and roads if we do not have proper street signs? How do we expect to go forward in our life, when in our surroundings we are blinded by poor streetsigns? 

Maybe we can follow the method of London – the streetsigns are tacked on the buildings and homes at the corners of streets. In this manner, the vandals would not be able to reach them. And should there be an demolition of the building, then the next owner, or the public works people would put them up again on the next edifice.

You see, the Londoners are very conscious of maps because the city is full of small streets and big circles. Since they are quite conscious of money also, they ride bicycles to their offices and back to their homes. By negotiating the streets, they must have maps and every bicycle driver that I had known had that A to Zed map, where even the smallest streets could be found. Even car drivers have that A to Zed. One time, I was going to London from Kentish Town in my bicycle and I was asking for directions from my housemates. Marcus and Peter advised me to buy an A to Zed. What is that, I asked. Well it was the Bible of every driver in the city. 

And so, for our Kababayan to really excel in their lifetimes, we must give them the proper tools to live —good values and good thoughts to think about like how to be familiar with your surroundings.

Happy New Year, Folks! 

PANGINOON NAMIN...

 

MAGDASAL TAYO SA LAHAT NG MGA PANGINOON NA ATING TINITINGALA AT SINASAMBA: 

NAWA'Y tumigil na ang  pananalanta ng ng mga bagyo at 

lahat ng mga natural na sakuna sa ating mga kababayan

at sa kapaligiran . 

Nawa'y maigpawan ng ating mga kababayan ang 

mga salot, sakit at lahat ng pahirap na dinala ng 

bagyong Nina. 

Nawa'y maging malakas at puno sila ng pag-asa para 

mabuhay at malutas ang kanilang mga suliranin sa 

pabahay at pagkain.  

Nawa'y maging matatag ang mga taga gubyerno sa tapat  

na pagtulong sa kanila at maging malikhain sa lahat ng 

mga problema ng ating mga kababayan. 

Nawa'y umigting sa ating mga puso ang pagtulong sa ating 

mga kapwa. 

Siya nawa.  Amen. 

Painting ni George Combs

ON AUTHENTICITY

We need to find the courage to say NO to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity. - Barbara de Angelis

Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.  - Coco Chanel

That inner voice has both gentleness and clarity. So to get to authenticity, you really keep going down to the bone, to the honesty, and the inevitability of something. - Meredith Monk

The closer you stay to emotional authenticity and people, character authenticity, the less you can go wrong. That's how I feel now, no matter what you're doing. - David O. Russell

There is a certain kind of respect for authenticity today that there wasn't back in the days when they did 'Cleopatra,' where everything looked like a giant motel. People want to have it be authentic in the look, and authentic in the way people behave. - John Milius

This above all:
To thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

 - Hamlet, Shakespeare

Just be what you are and speak from your guts and heart - it's all a man has. - Hubert Humphrey

Best keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you see the world.
- George Bernard Shaw

The authentic self is soul made visible. - Sarah Ban Breathnach

Everything will line up perfectly when knowing and living the truth becomes more important than looking good. - Alan Cohen

To be nobody but myself-in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me somebody else-means to fight the hardest battle any human can fight, and never stop fighting. - e.e. cummings

The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are. - C.G. Jung

Only the truth of who you are, if realized, will set you free. - Eckhart Tolle

No one man can, for any considerable time, wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which is the true one. - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Sometimes to be authentic, we need to risk our popularity. Orozco

Authentic people never run out of creative ideas to live otherwise than the present. Orozco

Authentic people know how to disguise their hatred but never their happiness when the situation warrants it.

Some people refuse to be authentically happy about other people's luck or fortune; they disguise their feelings because they feel so competitive with them. How sad. Orozco

To be authentic does not mean one should be a braggart, a disrespectful fellow, or a curse-spitting fool. One never stops being a gentle lady or a gentleman under any circumstance except when provoked by harassers. Orozco

To be authentic is to perform the duties one has been tasked with by the people. Orozco

Not to be authentic is for the official to steal, to rob, to fool the people who have voted .them. Orozco

MALIGAYANG PASKO

Magdasal tayo ng matimtim para sa kapayapaan at pagpasok ng higit na malayang mundo sa darating na taon 2017.

Masyadong marami ang nakaupo sa makapangyarihang puwesto na nagbabadya ng isang pagsisikip ng ating makikilusang larangan para sa pagtulong sa higit na nakararami. 

Mag-aral tayong mag-drowing, gumawa ng papet, mag-cartoon, upang maiparating natin sa ating mga kababayan ang ating mga mithiin na hindi na sila kailangan pang mag-isip ng matagal dahil pagod na sila sa kakakayod para mabuhay. 

Humingi tayo ng lakas sa Panginoon at magdasal tayo para mas marami ang mga taong tutulong sa mahihirap ngayon kaysa sa mga nakaraang dantaon.  

Humiling din tayo na wala nang uusbong pang mga diktador at mararahas na lider ng mga bansa sa buong mundo. 

MALIGAYANG PASKO AT MANIGONG BAGONG TAON SA LAHAT. 

PLATO 2

“The heaviest penalty for declining to rule 

is to be ruled by someone inferior to 

yourself.” 


― Plato, The Republic

PLATO

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of 

the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men (and 

women) are afraid of the light.” 


― Plato

LOOKING FOR DEEPER MEANINGS IN POLITICS

We are learning a lot from the current electoral situation in the United States. We get a glimpse of what citizen's voting rights are, and the enforcement of the electoral college method of choosing the president. We also learn how an official who assumes a position could be made legitimate despite the lack of the majority of the people's votes.

This then makes us think as to what rights and freedoms could protect citizens' votes, and how much power they have to make legitimate a government and whether the usual way of considering votes – that of majority versus minority- is still worthwhile holding onto. When a candidate receives minority votes, meaning less votes, should he/she be considered the winner?

In the more transcendent scheme of things, we need to nitpick on this US elections issue because we need to develop a sound political philosophy that would be useful for all countries, that could be used by the United Nations as parameters for declaring what is a democratic versus an autocratic form of election governance.

The discourse on clear, pristine political philosophy is currently being dampened by the possibility of the use of cyberwarfare by Russia to influence the US elections and thereby put into position their choice for the presidency.

Of course there are usual factors that could prevent the development of any sound political philosophy by the wars going on from one country to another, as if any dialogue, any peaceful settlement of conflict is a child's play. But the hacking into the institutions of one country by another, the violation of the boundaries of sovereignties of countries is the most serious, as it happens under the guise of a peaceful, and not a violent attack but rather a hidden intrusion to create an artificially positive electoral process.

We develop political philosophies because we all want peace and happiness as the ultimate vision of all societies. We go through debates, researches, studies and investigations in order to safeguard such values and prevent their erosion.

Questions such as what is the highest good; what are human rights; and what are the moral duties of leaders, need to be asked again and again. Also, which is more paramount, individual or social rights? Traditional or practical application of laws?

But the greater question for us with regard to the US elections is what are the qualities of a law that should be upheld?

A law should be rational, logical and not discriminatory. When a law is rational, then it makes citizens humane, and unifies them to work for the common good. When a law is logical, then its premises result in the proper conclusions, or that the conclusions follow from the premises. When it is not then it is an imposition, and becomes discriminatory as it tilts in favor of one party instead of being applicable to everyone.

Now, is the law on the Electoral College a just, rational, logical non-discriminatory, humane and righteous law?

What should be called righteous, the vote of the people or of the electoral college members?

The main selling point of democracy is that there is just and fair opportunity for all to compete and flourish in a civil society.

Also there are equal opportunities for ascendancy into the social ladder. In the case of the US elections, there should be equal opportunities for everyone to ascend and exercise political power. Moreover, I think that when a citizen votes, he/she does not think of the particularity of their situation, that is the state they belong to, but rather the larger whole, the whole country and not just the state. More succinctly, they vote for a president, as an American, not as a Californian or a New Yorker, which would have been parochial, to say the least. 

So which political rights of the people are being invalidated or given up when the question of Russian intrusion is not given enough attention, analysis and just conclusions are not being developed so that justice may be served to the voting people?

Now that controversies surrounding the US elections have surfaced, which is the sovereign political body who should investigate, control and give a just assessment of the US elections in order to satisfy the cravings for justice of the vast majority of the American people who voted other than for the current candidate being given the imprimatur?

As that sovereign political body shall move for a just investigation, of course the conclusion should redound to a just conclusion and maintain the peace in the American society, ensuring that the vast majority shall be satisfied with its conclusions and prevent any aggressive solution to the problem. 

An impartial investigation has to ensue now following allegations of the untenability of the Electoral College representatives as the final decision-maker of the choice for the presidency. Impartiality means all people shall be treated equally, their votes rendered meaningfully redounding to what they would consider how the good life of the nation shall be shaped, directed and how it should progress.

We look for deeper meanings in politics in order to continue valuing it as a tool to unify the people towards values that enhance our humanity. 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

Where will our planet go from here? The United States is known to be one of the superpowers that can command the political directions of countries. But with Russia's insertion of her hands into American politics and the election of a man who did not even earn the majority of the people's votes, the fate of democracy hangs on a thin thread indeed. 

We will not be able to expect much progressive development of humane ideas from hereon; communication of alternative groups shall be very difficult and projects that advance and improve the status of the poor, the marginalized and the deprived will have low if not nil funding. 

The Electoral College has just sealed the fate of the majority of the people and has stamped its approval of a man whose idea of progress is to be surrounded by officials with anti-people political and economic backgrounds. 

That the Philippine president finds him likeable is a fearsome feeling that could linger through four years if he survives the attempts of the anti-Trump movement not to make him ascend the steps of the White House. 

On hindsight, we could ask what factors in society have brought about electors with such a mindset that votes for a man like him. Maybe, the effects of violent Hollywood fictional movies are finally being felt in the political field with the rise of a man who is prone to attacking democratic principles. Male movie heroes always battling criminals and winning in the end never had a democratic face, after all. They wore generic faces that could have been democrat or republican, espousing the need to help the helpless. 

That is the great problem of the fictional movies. They could be upholding certain values that show the goodness of people but because they were not explicit in their political discourse about what is democratic and what is not, then they have failed to shape the values of the audience. the total American audience, especially. Had they been successful then the presence of the movie celebrities in the campaigns could have swayed the voters (audience) especially the electoral college members to the side of the party that truly espouses democratic principles.

Or are there other hidden reasons why the EC members voted that way?

But I believe that innate goodness will arise and bring forth a positive outcome of all our efforts for a better planet. I have a strong feeling that events will shape up and things will turn out for the people. 

How could the United States hold two kinds of elections: one in November, and then only to be nullifed by the next in December?

Is it not an exercise in futility to be voting in November when another group, smaller,  will be able to overturn the people's choice? How could 538 electoral college members represent the 2.7 million people with regard to who should be the president? Is it not rather ironic? 

Lawmaking was bequeathed by the Americans in the Philippines and so we look up to what is happening in the United States with regard to political events. 

Alas, handling transitions democratically should be the prime agenda now.

CLEANSING AND POLITICAL UPHEAVALS

Recent events in the US  have raised the probabilityof a political upheaval caused by the Russian hacking of the servers of the Democratic National Committee and other agencies and cyber-meddling in the run-up to the US presidential election in a bid to bolster support for its preferred candidate, New York real estate mogul and President-elect Donald Trump.

All these require national and individual attention worldwide because the respect of democratic rules in elections should be paramount for all. Instead, the communist regime of Russia is subverting our very own definition and practice for their own ends instead of helping set up a world that is built on trust and respect. 

Hence, the probability of a political upheaval cannot be discounted. Some radical changes are needed in order to heal the wounds that have resulted from these acts; otherwise it would fester and cause greater illnesses to society. 

Actually political upheavals are necessary in order to make people reflect on themselves and their goals in life, in order to cleanse what needs to be cleansed. Some people just take on a goal and do not contribute to its improvement, nor to its achievement. Others just continue what they have been doing all along, refusing to "rock the cradle" so to speak. Still others are slow to act and when they do, the harm has been done already and curing it will take what is called a "political upheaval."

So what changes are necessary at this point? The traditionalist view that certain political processes matter and should be preserved is one. I think that clinging to a method that puts a premium to the decisions of a handful individuals instead of all of the people, is opening problems with regard to the validity of goals. It is important that there be a concrete view of how to reach a goal, an assessment of whether it is worth fighting for. The end goal is more important now than the process I think. 

Let me stop beating around the bush: are our principles worth fighting for? Hillary's great margin over her opponent is a glaring fact that she has won the hearts and minds of the majority of the people and yet there are still questions about the process. 
The United States has not had a woman president and here is a clear and very capable contender whose ascension into power has been truncated by a foreign power. What else is needed to convince the people that it is their turn to control the process of declaring the real winner in the US presidential election? What more facts do they need? Will they be happy to have a president whom they know has been handpicked by a foreign power? Will they be happy living in a society where a president has been falsely elected into office? Will that not be a big blot on the history of democracy in the United States? This is no longer a case of one belonging to the Democratic Party nor to the Republican Party. The essence that emanates from this country is the democratic spirit, party or no party. 

Lastly, allow me to ask: what should be the goal of a party, is it sheer power or is it power to uphold democratic principles? It is no longer any party who should be held accountable as to how to make the US elections as clean as possible: it is everybody's goal for the whole world to see. I do not think that the Republican Party would be against democratic principles. Here are excerpts from its Platform: 

We believe America is exceptional because of our historic role — first as refuge, then as defender, and now as exemplar of liberty for the world to see.

We affirm — as did the Declaration of Independence: that all are created equal, endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We believe political freedom and economic freedom are indivisible. 

As Americans and as Republicans we wish for peace — so we insist on strength. We will make America safe. We seek friendship with all peoples and all nations, but we recognize and are prepared to deal with evil in the world.

Let us reflect very hard and pray that the electors could give the much valuable response to the task that has been given them. 

The legacy of the heroes and heroines of American is based on the respect of the democratic principles -- of equality in terms of race, sex, creed and age. The pull for change is inevitable. 

CHANGE

How do political changes occur? They occur in many ways -- we have elections and so can choose our leaders. Two, we draft and pass bills and make sure that they are implemented once they become laws. Three, petition the government to relieve officials, to make a government unit act more speedily, etcetera. Four, we conduct signature campaigns for whatever issue we deem very important in our community and national life. But the most important is that we can conduct a people power movement. 

The last movement is almost a political upheaval, an overhauling of the system of our government. Here, we need the cooperation of everyone, and if not the majority at least. That is what happened when we booted out Marcos as the dictator and all his family and cohorts. We did away with him in order to restore our dignity as a people, in order to restore our democratic rights which covertly and overtly denied us for 14 years. 

However, there are some things that we need to do away when conducting the movement also:

we need to transcend traditional beliefs that block our minds to absorb and think new ideas as well as immobilizie us to act.

What were the belief that we overcame? One, Marcos liked to be called Apo, which is a title given an older person as a sign of respect. The Apo Hiking Society came into the picture and Marcos' Apo title became a laughing and entertaining stock. 

Two, Marcos as president was undressed as a charlatan. He won the presidency by cheating in the elections and manipulating our country to suit his and his family's vested interests. He controlled the media in order to give him a favorable presentation all the time, to the point of choosing which pictures of Imelda, etc. should appear. His Department of Information, which Tatad headed was a dreadful unit of his government. 

Three, we learned how to distinguish between genuine peaceful political activists and radical ones. The latter chose to boycott the snap elections and so the people had to turn to the yellow crowd of Cory. Unfortunately, the yellow crowd could only plausibly restore the rights but failed to reconstruct our society later on as they had a taste of power, so that the poor and marginalized would be integrated in our economic and political developoment. 

However, when do we find that there is really a need for change already?

I think we felt it when we came to know that our elections, our right to choose our own leaders had been manipulated so much so that it became a horrible daily experience having to deal with Marcos and his military regime. The harsh realities of suppression and murders of young people who wanted change became so glaring that we had to get the help of the international community to help us propagandize about them.  However, our movement remained ours, and ours alone, not tainted by foreign intervention.

Our movement is worthwhile reliving for whatever help it can give other folks; however, the history of our democratic struggle now is being eroded by the extra judicial killing which now gives us a bad image internationally. 

I think that all Tok Hang should be stopped. The PNP could use legal methods to bring out drug pushers, addicts and drug lords into the open. They know those methods and we need not reiterate them. Let us respect the home as the last haven of everyone. I squirm every time I hear a drug-related incident ending in murder right inside the family's home. 

No, there should be more gentlemen and gentlewomen in the PNP who have respect for human life and the sanctity of the home. 

ON KEEPING NATIONAL SOULS INTACT

       

When people find it difficult living within a certain situation, they could either ignore it, deny it, leave it altogether, or live with it, no matter the negativity of the situation. 

In all those situations, self-denial is involved. The individuals do not confront the issue but rather sidetrack it. 

Inevitably, people have to confront issues that make them uncomfortable. And when the national soul is involved, the stronger the case for them to confront the issue. 

Last Dec. 11, 2016, a NYT item appeared in a report thus:

"Last week, Central Intelligence Agency officials presented lawmakers with a stunning new judgment that upended the debate: Russia, they said, had intervened with the primary aim of helping make Donald J. Trump president.

The C.I.A.’s conclusion does not appear to be the product of specific new intelligence obtained since the election, several American officials, including some who had read the agency’s briefing, said on Sunday. Rather, it was an analysis of what many believe is overwhelming circumstantial evidence — evidence that others feel does not support firm judgments — that the Russians put a thumb on the scale for Mr. Trump, and got their desired outcome."

In other words, the US exercise of suffrage had been tainted by the acts of Russia making the election results highly questionable. 

Yet, majority of the news coming out is that the presidential aspirant, the recipient of the hacking is dominating the scene and his acts of appointing this and that person, here and there, appear to make his election valid. 

Is it not a case of national suicide to accept what is going on without much soul-searching?

It is quite surprising that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. Is it possible that by living with a lie, of sustaining the current electoral situation whereby Russia had penetrated their communication facilities and had drawn the country to allow the presidential aspirant to arise, though lacking in support of the people's votes,  the whole nation is slowly being pulled to committing suicide?
  
Now is the time for transcending partisanships and partyism where the national soul is involved. 

In 1987, I went to Moscow to attend the World Congress of Women, Gorbachev was still the head of the USSR then, as he was pushing for perestroika, a move to make peace a reality in the world. As soon as I arrived there with the members of the Forward Looking Women or FLOW, a cooperative assembly of women's groups composed of women from the rural sector, urban poor sector, radical groups, and middle class conservative women, my passport was kept by the Russian organizer. It was only when I was about to board the plane to depart and go home was it given back to me. 

The schedule was so tight and organized that I could hardly breathe from the flurry of activities going on. I decided to board a bus to see for myself alone, without the guarding of the organizer, how Moscow was. Then I wandered into the Patrick Lumumba University, and a bliss-type condominium. No, they looked as run-down as the old university we have and the tenement housing built by Imelda for the poor of Tondo. The people I saw did not look happy. A Filipino scholar I had met told me the conditions were worse inside the dormitory of the university. Even in Kiev, where I met the village people who suffered from the disaster caused by the Chernobyl accident, lacked that joie de vivre  which I had expected to see, since under a Communist system, I thought people's needs would be well-taken care of. 

Yes, maybe they could live, their physical lives were cared for, but how about their emotions, their souls?

By the way, I thought I was moving about freely but when I got off the bus, and looked back, I saw a man in green trenchcoat uniform, the last person to get off. After all, he had been there all along....

It is difficult to accept what is happening now in the world. Putin the head of Russia is considered the most powerful man by Forbes Magazine. Yet he is behind the bombings in Syria together with Assad, and now the infiltration of the elections of the United States. Under what criteria should power be held -- may I ask the Magazine people. Are they not perpetuating a truncated view of political power?

Political power must nurture caring and humane individual and national souls. It must nurture life itself so that people will care for other people. That is not only being Christian, that is being human.