Honour and shame in Manila
to pressure Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales? One can be forgiven for thinking that maybe the reason the administration has been gentler on her than the other ladies above is that the president’s son-in-law is her nephew.
How about the various acts of the House of Representatives not only in support of the executive, but that are also, on their own, downright illegal? I refer, for instance, to that extravagant birthday celebration of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and the flaunting of his mistress in front of the nation and his wife.
In between all these are the various encounters with the European Union, the United Nations, the UN Commission on Human Rights, and the International Criminal Court, where foul-mouthed language not worthy of any official of the Philippines, much less the president, was more the rule rather than the exception.
All these point to violations of human rights, the rule of law, and simple good manners and right conduct, not to mention possible pandering to other dictators.
So why not call for a National Day, or even a National Year, of Shame? Because, Reader, I realise that while we may feel shame for the country and ourselves for what is happening, the perpetrators of these acts, the leaders of our country, appear shameless.
And why is this? Because to feel shame for dishonorable acts, one must first have a sense of honour. Honour is that moral compass, that personal GPS; as Walter Lippmann once said, it’s that ideal of conduct to which we hold ourselves even though it may be inconvenient, or unprofitable, or dangerous to do so. It is when we fail to follow that compass that shame is felt.
Honour and shame, it is said, are the yin and yang of life. No sense of honour, no sense of shame.
We need more honorable men and women. Men like Justice Antonio Carpio. Women like Maria Lourdes Sereno, Leila de Lima, Patricia Licuanan, Pat Fox and Conchita Carpio Morales. May their tribe increase.