True unity, I have said as early as 2022, is not people sharing a single political belief massing together. It is when people of various political beliefs set aside their differences, find common ground, and work together for that goal.
Maraming nagsasabing "dilawan" ang EDSA 1986, na iisang grupo lamang umano ang kumilos para pabagsakin ang diktador. Pero mas masalimuot ang katotohanan.
In reality, EDSA was the climax of a little-before heard phenomenon in our history: of people from all walks of life, from various stages in our political spectrum, converging together with a united cry: "Tama na, sobra na, palitan na!"
Consider this: Catholics and progressives are ideologically opposed during that time. Ni hindi nga ineendorso ng Simbahan ang "liberation theology" na ine-espouse ng ilang mga progresibong kasapi nito, even though proponents argue that "liberation theology" was borne not from Marx but from Jesus Christ's teachings.
Salvador "Doy" Laurel was a hardline anti-Communist – he broke early on from the Cory Aquino administration due to his belief that Aquino was coddling, rather than suppressing, what he sees is the Communist infiltration of the government.
Former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos were cut out from the same military cloth, seeing Communism as a clear danger to national stability.
Heck, even the leftists later accused Cory of breaking away from them and siding with the oligarchs and the right-wingers, holding as an example the infamous 1987 Mendiola Massacre.
But in those critical days of February 1986, nobody in the anti-Marcos clique ever thought about their ideological differences. Walang nagpakita ng “high moral ground,” walang nagsabi na sila lamang ang dapat manguna sa pagpapabagsak sa diktadurya.
Kung may mga “irreconcilable differences,” tila nagpasya ang lahat ng kontra kay Marcos na saka na muna ito pagtalunan, saka na muna ito pag-awayan, kapag muli nang nanumbalik ang mga kalayaang sinupil sa panahon ng Batas Militar.
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Para sa akin, may isa pang masakit na aral ang EDSA sa bawat Pilipino: na hindi dapat magtapos sa pag-aalsa sa kalsada ang paniniguro na talagang ang taumbayan ang mananaig.
Democracy takes work. Ensuring our freedoms and our rights as a citizen in a truly participative society does not end in the polls, or in an uprising. Sa isang demokrasya, hindi tayo pwedeng maging “complacent” o patay-malisya o sobrang confident na walang masamang mangyayari.
Actually, sa palagay ko, iyan ang dahilan kung bakit unti-unti nang nilalamon ng pasismo ang Estados Unidos ngayon.
Americans, I believe, have taken democracy for granted, never understanding active participation in civic affairs is the only way they can ensure that tyrants will never have the chance to use our freedoms to impose their will on us.
Gayon din ang dahilan kung bakit hanggang ngayon, 40 taon matapos ang EDSA, tila mas nakulong pa tayo sa pang-aabuso ng oligarkiya sa atin.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: para tayong mga cancer patient na nang matanggal na ang tumor e hindi na ulit nagpa-check up pa sa doktor. We may have removed the dictator, but the systems and the injustices that enabled his power are still very prevalent in our society today.
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