Don't take democracy for granted
This column is dedicated to the youth of today — they who, though I’m not making a sweeping generalization, seem to know the definition of democracy yet take it for granted.
The young ones woke up free in this country. The young once fought for their freedom. It was an oppressive, painful, dangerous and deadly fight yet they still marched on. And won. And we are not only talking about victory as propelled by Ninoy Aquino, then by his wife Cory Aquino, but also by the doings of thousands of other people who risked their lives in the line to win democracy back in this country. Ninoy, a freedom fighter and numero
uno nemesis of the dictator, was jailed for seven years and seven months for fighting for the country’s democracy. After three years of exile in the US, he returned to the country on Aug. 21, 1983. He never got to step on Philippine soil because on his way down to the tarmac he was assassinated.
His assassination was the spark plug for the youth of that time and their elders to continue his fight, their fight for freedom. They shouted “Sobra na! Tama na! Palitan
na!” The late strongman, to quell the mounting dissidence of the people, declared the holding of snap elections on Feb. 7, 1986. In the front line of the opposition was Cory, the widow of Ninoy.
The results of the election were widely believed to have been rigged. The strongman, though already weak, wanted to lounge in power. Again, people’s dignity was trampled upon — well, what was new? Ever since the declaration of martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, their freedom was curtailed. And those opposing Batas Militar were hauled, incarcerated, tortured, killed. Blessed are those who were able to bury their loved ones who were killed opposing the dictator because many have remained desaparecidos.
With the rigging of the election results came the most solid stand of the Filipino people. Not again. Never again. People from all walks of life, from all over the Philippines trooped to EDSA beginning Feb. 22, 1986. They came in jeeps, trucks, buses. They risked their lives again — well, what was new? Theirs is a generation who knew how to risk their lives and was willing to lose them because they were fighting for freedom, their birthright that was stolen from them by the dictator.
Then Feb. 25 came, the culmination of the People Power on EDSA. And what a finale it was for the Marcoses who fled the country on that day. It was a new beginning for the Filipino people — with newly installed President Corazon Aquino, the country’s icon of democracy. The People Power Revolution was a bloodless revolt mounted by people for the people. It was the old generation’s gift to themselves. More than that, it was a gift to the youths of today. There will be no other precious gift today’s generation and the generations to come will receive more than the gift of freedom.
Yes, today’s set woke up free. Free to use the Internet and log on social media sites. Say the Internet connection in the whole country is shut down by the government, I’m sure the techie generation will rise up in arms; they will realize what democracy is all about. They will guard it with their life. But that is far from happening. Unless, we allow the claws of dictatorship to clip our wings again. Never again.
Once, I told my nephews and nieces, all millennials, when they were trying to wrestle over the TV remote control: “Swerte kayo. Pwede kayong manood ng cartoons, ng kahit anong palabas. Noong bata ako, yung paborito kong Voltes V, ipinatigil sa pag- ere.” Yes, Voltes V, the popular Japanese cartoon of my childhood, was booted out of the boob tube because, according to my elders, its values were “anti- establishment.” And the regime did not favor dissidence.
Freedom of assembly was unheard of, especially in Manila, the hotbed for freedom fighting. In my barrio, we went to bed early because of the state-imposed curfew. In other places, those who broke the curfew rules were apprehended and jailed.
Freedom of the press was unheard of. But there were those very few who broke the rule. And they paid the prize.
Freedom of speech was curtailed. Now, you criticize the government on your Facebook wall and you can still get in and out of your house or workplace safe. No men in uniform to arrest you. During martial law, you voice out your discontent of the government and you will land in jail. Many youth activists were tortured — and according to many reports and accounts of the victims of martial law, there was a menu of how the torture would be done. Electrocution, Russian roulette, beating using rifle butts, genitalia mutilation, rape. Death was a sweet surrender to many. But, still, to many, death after torture was not an option. They continued the fight. Until freedom was won.
Thirty years ago, Filipinos achieved what used to be an impossible dream of bringing down a dictatorship. For more than 20 years before People Power, the country was in a tight grip of the late strongman. We have to consciously remember that all the time. People flocked the streets of Jaro, Iloilo upon hearing the news that the Marcoses fled Malacañang.
But how do we combat the greatest problem of the Filipino morale — the tendency to have a short- term memory of the oppression? I suggest an extensive and intensive education of the students in grade school and high school about the perils of martial law. Or, if may I jump the gun, pardon the pun, why not a subject solely devoted on martial law and People Power. I was told by some teachers of history in grade school that martial law and People Power are discussed only in a chapter in the textbook. If we want the future generation to always, always remember the oppression of the many generations before them and how they won the country’s democracy, they should be educated well on the topic of freedom. The yearly discussion of EDSA — either on print and in broadcast — once a year, every time its anniversary is seen approaching, is not enough to ensure # NeverAgain for dictatorship and oppression. The love for democracy — and the gratitude to living a life of freedom — should be injected in the hear t and mind of the you ng one s in school. Children should k now about how fr e e d om wa s fought. They should k now about how it was won. They should know that democracy is not a piece of candy they can get from a store — for free. Freedom has its cost — lives. And the best way to show gratitude to these lives that were offered in the name of freedom is to make sure that the generation of today and the next understand well that the freedom they enjoy now was not present before. Don’t take democracy for granted. # NeverAgain.