A Godless and loveless Race

I was really disturbed by the recent massacre in Maguindanao. After reading the articles about it and doing some research online, I found out that the killers brutally mutilated the bodies of the victims before they killed them. The wife of the Vice-Mayor was even slashed and shot at her private parts, speared in the eyes, and then finally killed. I cannot imagine the horror she had the endure while being held and tortured by her captors.

After learning all I could, the first thing I did was to look at my hands. I asked myself how can a human being, with the same hands that I have, do something as evil as this? Where does man get the fuel to channel so much hate and anger into doing such vile and repulsive acts? Where does one draw strength to take up a pistol, point it at a pregnant woman, and fire?

I’ve been a working young professional here in Makati for the past few years. I enjoy a decent salary. I go home to a rented unit in San Juan. I’m paying the amortization of my car and I recently just proposed to my girlfriend of 9 years. I can just shrug this incident off as another “Mindanao Terrorism” incident, but I can’t.

This incident could have been avoided if the government clamped down on private armies, especially the ones down south. It’s common knowledge that the Ampatuans have their own armed militia (which is approved by the Philippine government). This would have not happened if the AFP or the local police would have agreed to the request of the Mangudadatus to provide them with security when they field their certificates of candidacy because they were openly threatened. Maybe if Vice Mayor Mangudadatu realized that he would be using his family and friends as shields and that there was really a serious threat to their lives, he might have just went himself or he might have decided not to run anymore.

There are so many “what ifs” in this scenario… however the problem is not that.

Politics and the government cannot solve all of our problems. They cannot take away the hate in a person’s heart. This is just one insane cycle of violence that will just beget even more vengeance and death. It’s just like the medieval days… mobs are now storming the streets shouting out “crucify” at the top of their lungs. The main difference now is that instead of Jerusalem, we’re doing it on Facebook.

My friends, I have one favor to ask. If you’ve gained anything from this blog, be it knowledge, entertainment, or whatever, then please grant me this one request. If you’re a friend, someone that I met in passing, or if you’ve listened to my talks, hear me out.

With all sincerity, humility, and shame in my heart, I humbly ask all of you to stop whatever it is your doing. Close your eyes for one minute and genuinely pray to God.

Let’s pray for the souls of those that we’ve lost. But more importantly, let’s pray for God’s grace for humanity. We live in a time of war, terrorism, immorality, and death. We live in a time where violence, sex, drugs, hate, lust, and greed are but normal fanfare. Wrong is the new cool.

What I find troubling is that it seems like everyone is pinning their hopes for a brighter future in the upcoming elections. However, salvation will not come in the form of the one single person winning the Presidency – yes, even if it is Noynoy Aquino.

In fact, in the wake of this massacre, what have our “politicians” done so far? They filed resolutions condemning the act, some even visited the family and said that they were his allies. THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR POLITICS.

If there is one thing that will move this country forward, it is the collective effort of every single one of us. We all need to look into the mirror, and like what Michael Jackson said in his famous song Man in the Mirror, “make that change”. You cannot change if you don’t know what it is you need to change into. All we know is that we have to be “good”, but do we even know what that means?

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?

“The most important one,” Jesus answered, “is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 28-31

This post is not meant to be a religious call-to-arms for another crusade or for mass conversion. It’s just a call for us to look ourselves in the mirror.

I never knew Burt Bacharach had so much wisdom when he made this song.

What the world needs now, is love, sweet love.

And that’s my prayer for the Filipino nation, that we have more of God and love in our lives. I pray that we feel pain, shame, and get convicted when we see and do sin. I ask that we all have a conscience once again, a spirit that will whisper to us what’s right and what’s wrong – and for us to ACT on it. For us to care about our fellow man and to stop living in our “me box”. We don’t even have to go far. How’s your relationship with your wife? How’s are your kids? Your brothers or sisters? When was the last time you gave your parents a hug?

The solution to the massacre in Maguindanao, whatever it is, will just be temporary. We will put someone behind jail, or maybe even kill someone. But that won’t really solve it. It will happen again. If not in the Philippines, in some other part of the world. Stop dreaming of changing 90,000,000 Filipinos in this nation if we can’t even change ourselves.

I know that this may seem like ramblings and not that coherent or logical, but I just felt the need to write this. Thank you for taking time in reading this post.

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