Literature, Religion & Society, Philosophy | Comments (1)

Freedom

By MAJOR TOM | June 30, 2009

(An edited version of an article I wrote some years ago, a discussion on 'freedom'.) 

A slab is a piece of slab. You run your hands through it and you would know very well that it is a piece of slab. You would feel the contour, the roughness or the smoothness of the surfaces.

And then you smell it and to be certain it would have the same wooden aroma of any piece of slab you have ever hold.

But freedom to us is freedom without the sense of sight or the sense of touch. Freedom is never always freedom when it is not susceptible to a very particular sense or meaning, but always floating in the air. You would never smell it nor touch it. You would not be able to see it also.

It is invisible to the eye and what is invisible is always a mystery. It is aside from the forces of our senses, even outside the power of our wills.

Freedom has gained its own masters and its own set of philosophers-to be defined and classified in so many words and terms-- and yet it remains that men kill and die for their own kind of freedom as against another man’s freedom for the freedom of one may not be the freedom of another. For at times the freedom of one man means the detainment of another.

There is that kind of freedom that is harbored by men of ardent philosophies-adventurous and complicated-to reason out that man should be left alone to determine his or her own fate, to be responsible for its own action, to be independent of thought and will, to the extent that they defy not only the norms of man but even the dictates of our God Almighty. Free will had become their sole reason for being and being for them is merely to lavish themselves with the dictates of their instincts-to the most mundane and to the basest. And further on, they trample upon every reason in order to free themselves of natural inhibitions and lavish themselves in improper pleasures of the mind and of the flesh, for they say they should be left alone; for they say man is born free. They are blind to the nature of things.

They are the ones who would travel the ends of the world just in order to unearth every loophole in any man’s law and that of the laws of God. They would scream and shout invectives if they are caught upon for they deify freedom like a religion and their religion is merely their own will and that of no one else. They are like beast in the wilderness that, once caught in their own traps, would gnash with the most ferocity at their captors, frothing in the mouth, unyielding and defiant.

They do not overcome their own will, they let it flow unhindered and spoil their own souls. They open the floodgates of excesses that they do not only become merely excessive but they take pleasure in wicked things. They introduce themselves into conducts nearly bestial and diabolic. They wallow in the flood of lust and violence; truly they are wickedness reborn.


Indeed, man was born free, to be able to have volitions and independence of thought and action. Freedom is the greatest gift of God to man. He is born free so that he would savor with delight the beauty of life here on Earth and yet freedom was not given for man in order that man should defy Him. Freedom is for man to live an eventful sojourn in this temporary world.

Even as a child grows into adulthood, he realizes that he has the power of self-determination, to steer his mind and body towards the ends that he desires. And yet, he also realizes that despite the independence of his will, there are many things that he could not do. He realizes that he is susceptible to many limitations---both seen and unseen. He is hindered by the forces of nature just as when he could not stay dry when a storm pours down on him while he is walking on an open field. He is also hindered by other men, that he could not for example take anything in sight lest his possession be at risk of being taken.

Despite of freedom, he could not be underwater for long less his breathe is sucked out of his breast.

Despite of freedom, he could not lift himself above ground like birds do.

Despite of freedom, he could not spit on another man’s face lest he be at risk of danger.

He could not do violence less he be violated himself. He could not take lest his possession be taken also. He preserves his things. He could not as easily speak against anyone less he be spoken also in the darkest of manner. He could not kill for he would be at risk of death himself.

Man therefore has freedom but he is not free to do all things. There is no freedom absolute.

And yet many deify freedom like a religion. They cry freedom like they were in battle and their lives were on the line. In the name of freedom, they lavish their flesh in strange lust and in violence. It is false freedom that they speak of.

Let us see the man who simply walks the streets and then he meets another man walking towards his direction. For this man, it is freedom for him to just pass by and ignore completely the man he meets. It is freedom for him not to address him nor offer comfort to that other man even if that man would be dying of starvation. There would be no law or ordinance that he would violate. It is also freedom for that walking man to greet the other man, feigning a pleasant façade, to welcome him and give him comfort even if he is at the least of discomfort. There are just a lot of things that the walking man could do in such a situation, a lot of space for freedom.

And yet despite freedom, that walking man could not just spit into the face of the other man for he would invite havoc and mayhem possibly. He could not kick or trample him unless he be trampled himself and kicked towards the ground. It is not freedom for him to shout invectives and insults and accusations lest he be insulted himself.

Men may do many things but there are things they could not do.

Freedom is beauty to mankind and yet its unhindered use is dangerous. It is like upon salt that a pinch shall add taste to the viand but a horde of it shall suffocate the eater.

Would you be the one who is impatient and to wallow in the muck of wickedness and in temporary pleasures, only to lose everlasting peace and blissfulness in the Afterlife?

What would you gain if you gain all the treasures in the world and yet to lose your salvation when death comes calling?

Would you be the rabbit who sought pleasure first and let pass his destination for long?

Or would you be the turtle that labors with every step and be the one to reach destination first?

Do not be impatient and overcome your will against the temptation of wealth and of the flesh for the rewards of the righteous is enormous-an Eternal Life in Heaven-while the punishment for those who defy shall be the torment of the Unending Fire.

The beauty of freedom is for us to savor the beauty of life; to breathe the breezy air; to welcome the warmest of sunrises and sunsets; to bask in the most effervescent of daylight; to be enthralled by the flowers in the garden; to be endeared by the singing of robins in the summertime.

They say to love is freedom. That freedom is love and that love is freedom.

But a man loves the whole and not merely the superficial. To love is to give and not to ask. It is to love the wholeness of being and not merely the superficiality of things.

To love is to seek the person as a whole and not merely a part of him or her.

To love is never merely to seek the flesh for it is never to love when lust is the primary purpose of adoration--it is an abuse of person. For it is to love to seek the gain of the other and not merely the benefit of the self.

Many seek love in the name of freedom that they result into excesses of the flesh.

They say it is freedom for man to seek the flesh for man is free and so he is free to be blissful. They seek wickedness if they only know this, for man is created apart and above those beasts in the wilderness.

These are men and women who see another person as merely objects; as merely tools and weapons in order to pursue their selfish and improper intentions.

Let us seek the proper freedom so that we may be guided towards the Light, towards the goodness of things and not to wallow in wickedness.

Those who are excessive shall never sleep tight in the night for their own shadows shall bother them and they always realize these things too late.

Be free and yet be patient.

Literature | Comments (2)

Empire Unknown

By MAJOR TOM | June 25, 2009

( An old poem I've written in year 2000 )

This time, love may not give us the meanderings of hope
like that ocean we saw last night, fleeing fearfully;
In a whirling motion underneath a serenading sky.

You may trudge around me like a lone star,
But that would be as far as we can navigate,
for there is no parallel in the heavens that bind us --- right now.

This time, there may be no harpsichords and violins, like they do it once before,
By emperors and pretenders whenever the heart is aglow
for there are no symphonies that harks a longing --- like now.

You have sent your vicious army to surround my fortress
for you say I am an empire unconquered,
And now I shall remain a province unknown.

My walls lay strong and unfettered as it is tended
carefully by the last of the adventurer that had passed me by,
There are no more enemies that hound me after that.

Global Politics, Current Events | Comments (8)

A Monster Rearing It’s Head

By MAJOR TOM | June 21, 2009

I’ve been closely following the steeply radical event unfolding in Iran (unfolding right before our eyes) and as the days go by, the entire chaotic situation feels and looks like a monster finally rearing its head. And it might just turn out to be a good monster that’s coming out.

The fallout in Iran’s recently held presidential election has just become so seriously grave and explosive that today, news account of Tehran contains dead bodies on the streets and fiery burning all over the city.

The widespread protestations of the election results---where re-electionist and declared winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a nearly a landslide victory against political reformist Mir Hossein Musavi per official record---has gotten so reiterated that one could not help surmise that the motivations behind this public and often violent avowal of the Iranian people are deeply rooted and resolute, cloaked for years and years under a veil of forged orderliness and stability under Ahmajinehad, governing an administration that is so highly critical of the west and even unhindered loath of Israel.

Maybe, many Iranians are already tired of this antagonistic policies against the West and realized that this would be counter-productive for a country bursting with wealth and richness, mostly coming from their petroleum deposits, which among the biggest in the world.

It’s affirming to note that in the first place, Iran has gone to such extend as to practice democracy as elections are actually held there and the people has had enough voice in choosing their own leaders. But it seems that the people of Iran yearns more than the freedom of suffrage, maybe they need a government who does not battle almost every western country in the world, maybe they need a government that is more moderate and reasonable, much much more reasonable than Pres. Ahmajinehad who relishes and bask in every disparaging word he spew against the west and Israel, jeopardizing in every way efforts towards a more lasting peace in Palestine and the eventual creation of the Palestinian state.

Strong words often do not help the cause of peace.

Philippine Politics, Law & Society | Comments (14)

The Vicious Game Congress Is Playing Today

By MAJOR TOM | June 9, 2009

This new charter change hullabaloo is proving to be a fiercer attempt at amending our constitution and at creating such a political firestorm that now it's even seriously threatening the economy as local stocks tumbled down on jitters created by all these happenstances.

I was watching Cable TV several days ago when I chanced upon a live coverage of the Congress in session, and it was this very issue that they were so absorbed in, particularly about House Resolution No. 1109, a bill intending to amend or revised the 1987 Philippine Constitution through the formation of a constituent assembly, composed of the present members of the House of Congress.

What is being contemplated is the composition of a constituent assembly --- consisting of the very members of the Congress itself --- which should be approved by at least 2/3 of the members of the Congress, voting as a whole, where even when every senator would not concur to this particular proposal, enough number of votes may still allow such plan to amend the constitution coming from among the members of the Lower House.

Currently, there are 242 members of the Lower House and 23 members of the Senate, for a total of 265 individuals all in all. Under the proposed bill, all members of Congress ---- that is, all congressmen and senators --- would sit in session together one day (which is being planned just before the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would give her SONA on July 27) and vote on whether or not to proceed with the plan to form a constituent assembly for the purpose of amending or revising the constitution.

The magic number is 177, which is two-thirds of 265. It doesn’t matter if all senators would vote in the negative---as it is presumed that most of them would have their own presidential ambitions thus making them most inclined to thwart the bill as much as possible.

If enough votes are gathered, a constitutional assembly would be convened, and such body would compose the enumeration of proposed changes. After such procedure, it would be submitted for approval in a plebiscite. (Section 1 (2), Article XVII or the 1987 Philippine Constitution)

Or, there is a more direct manner by which Congress could amend or revise our charter, by directly enacting in a bill, for changes in the provision of the constitution, and the Congress as a whole would vote for its approval, with a minimum of 2/3 votes. Still, the proposals would still have to go through the litmus of a plebiscite. (Section 1 (2), Article XVII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution)

See the full constitutional portion on amendments and revisions:

ARTICLE XVII, AMENDMENTS OR REVISIONS

Section 1. Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by:

(1) The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members; or

(2) A constitutional convention.

Section 2. Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein.

No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter.

The Congress shall provide for the implementation of the exercise of this right.

Section 3. The Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of all its Members, call a constitutional convention, or by a majority vote of all its Members, submit to the electorate the question of calling such a convention.

Section 4. Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution under Section 1 hereof shall be valid when ratified by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite which shall be held not earlier than sixty days nor later than ninety days after the approval of such amendment or revision.

Any amendment under Section 2 hereof shall be valid when ratified by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite which shall be held not earlier than sixty days nor later than ninety days after the certification by the Commission on Elections of the sufficiency of the petition.

Imagine the circuitous process and imagine the whole economic cost. Its enormous and besides we are not even speaking about the social and political cost that it might entail, at this point, when the presidential elections is just around the corner, its unimaginable.

If these congressmen only realize what kind of toy they are toying with right now, with this so vicious game, they would even be thinking about it in the first place, the amount of time and its political and economic consequences may just tear this nation into ruins once again. They should stop their being fancy about the constitution. They should seek another more convenient time, like perhaps after the 2010 presidential elections.

And besides, the constitutional provisions intended for making changes in our constitution is so general and highly-unrefined, where implementing laws or even mere guidelines have not yet been instituted.

A 2006 attempt at people’s initiative was struck down by the Supreme Court due to the lack of implementing laws that the Congress should have been dutiful enough to enact so many years ago---but it didn’t.

Entertainment News, Music | Comments (10)

David Cook's Star Shines All The More With New Hit Single

By MAJOR TOM | June 3, 2009

When David Cook's new single came on FM radio, I thought "Come Back to Me" was such a catchy rock ditty that I wanted to play it over and over again. I was even thinking of calling the FM radio and talk to the DJ. But nah, that was something we don't do anymore, making song request over the phone --- or do we still do that?

In fact, I liked the song first before I knew it was a David Cook song. Maybe it's true that David's voice is not so unique after all.

So, "Come Back to Me" is a number with a very strong come-on, and to be sure it would further reinforced David Cook’s stranglehold on his new-found fame, making his star shine all the more.

Maybe I won’t talk about this very catchy song anymore, maybe you just have to hear it playing.

Philippine Politics | Comments (8)

Caveman Revisited

By MAJOR TOM | May 26, 2009

[Note: I am kinda busy at present and at the same time, I was thinking that I might just post some of my personal favorites (in terms of blog post that is) and most I can think of is this one, "Caveman 2007", first published on July 13, 2007 ]

By tomorrow or a day after that, as I am estimating in my mind, I might be packing my bags and bundle some important things as I would be heading for some place else, somewhere that I have been to before but somewhere not many have seen yet or have known previously.

I have decided to leave the city for good. This plan had been in my mind for sometime now and I must assure you that this very drastic move on my part is far from being hasty---in fact it is to be done with very deep contemplation and scheming that I have etched in my mind for so long now.

I have learned before how to drive nails effectively into wood and I reckon now that I have learned such task fairly well. My grandfather used to do some carpentry work and I used to have observed him so closely doing woodwork when I was so little, putting in mind every phase of the activity, from handling so tightly the wood to be nailed and towards the part when finally the nail is about to be hammered with reasonable precision, or else the hands would be greatly harmed.

Some of my uncles are pretty good too at this kind of work that I would have no doubt that I could do it by myself, hammering nails into wood. By that, I can safely assume that I’d be able to put up a small wooden shelter all by my lonesome when I get to the place that I am planning to go as of this moment. I’ll have thatches as roofs because many have opined how it would help ensure a cooler indoor environement, especially in rural environment. Having thatches as roofs is also one situation that I have been in before, right about the time while I was so young and our family could not then afford a better place to live in, as my father then was just earning his take as a humble mailman. My mother used to tell us stories how my father---who is a native of the far away Province of Tawi-Tawi---couldn’t articulate so effectively the local chavacano (a broken Spanish) dialect being spoken here that in some days, while he was still learning the tricks of delivering somebody else’s letter to somebody else’s house, my mother would come along with him for she was far more proficient in the tongue spoken here and therefore could communicate more easily with the mail recipients and also was more familiar with streets names and baranggay locations here.

Now let us go back to this plan I am presently having in my mind---no reminiscing for now. I really do have a particular place in my mind, one that is far from the honky-tonky noise of the city streets. It is a place near or at the heel of a very prominent mountain known here as the Pulongbato, a stony mountain whose façade is so majestic that it could be seen from any point in the city, from east coast and west coast, from south side and perhaps in some part of north side. It is so strong and mighty like an honorable beast that have decided to sleep for a thousand years and still sleeping as I write now.

Below this mountain is a gushing river and a forest so lush that when years ago I was trekking this area with a number of friends from college, I have almost stepped over a striped multi-colored snake, climbed two small waterfalls, fell from a low cave wall and fell into cool river water, trotted into knee deep gushing water to reach a giant stone in the middle of the river and smoked to my heart’s delight as twilight had enveloped the forest, while the trees slept hummingly like old warriors, and had even eaten eels we caught from a calmer area of the river. Nature is so varied there, and so abundant too.

I reckoned that while I am there, I would ensconce myself in the warm embrace of Nature as Nature would show me a beauty that I have seen before but still looking for since then. I won’t go thirst there for the river that runs through it is so crystalline like diamonds in our hands. And I won’t go hungry either for even sweet bananas---as I remember all too well now---grow so wildly and I bet the rich riverways contains fishes that becomes so scrumptious as roasted on a brimming campfire, and the smell coming from it would just be gorgeously sublime. Out there, there’d be no time to keep up and catch up with. Industrial fumes are of no issue and the crazy sound of rushing vehicles won’t bother me no more. Could this plan of mind work? What do you think?

I had wondered deeply if ever my family would follow me there even if things wouldn't be as easy in a sense that there’d be no school there, no fastfood to drive-by and order hamburgers and fried chickens. There’d be no education to attain there, and then no occupation to profess. And there’d be no roads to where we could drive our humble car. So perhaps, that small car would have to stay undriven for so long, or for eternity most possibly.

Could I say to them that we could have our own education there? That we can be teachers and students by ourselves? Nature is by itself an education and I can sense that it’d be an education that is similarly worthwhile, if not more propound. But I don’t think I could explain this to them efficiently and sell them the wisdom hidden beneath this idea.

And the air, yes the air there is so fresh that once I had thought of putting them in a bottle and sell it as pure purified mountain air, just like what they do to water nowadays. I have read once or had seen in a television show how in some part of Japan, air or the purified version of it had been contained by some enterprising souls there and had raked in some money for it.

The noise there could be so minimal that often, the chirpings of birds and the momentary shrieks of monkeys coming from tall shrubberies far beyond becomes calming to the senses and it is certainly the best anti-dote for stress and worry that most urban dwellers suffer and that for sure, it is a situation so ideal for those who long for peace of mind so desperately and to those who seek ultimate freedom from anxiety. Long walks in the mountain side would be a luxuriant activity and sipping hot coffee beside a cool rushing water, while the sun is just about to set into the horizon, is not a far-off idea anymore.

Ooops, I just heard City Hall’s siren wailing and it’s about time for me to go and bring my third son Yuri to school. And by the way, I was just daydreaming a while ago and none of the plans narrated here is to be carried out any time soon.

Philippine Politics, Law & Society | Comments (9)

Chief Justice Puno and Oligarchy

By MAJOR TOM | May 17, 2009

Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno speaks his mind today without any let-up or anything to hold back, concise, clear and direct.

In fact, he hits directly to the bone of our national sickness by pointing at the oligarchy in our midst as the main, if not the primary culprit, as he launched today the upstart Moral Force Movement.

“The Philippines remain in the control of the oligarchs because the government is beholden to them”, Chief Justice Puno says, headlining the country’s most read newspaper.

Nothing should be truer than this. You could say, it is like seeing the sun in broad daylight, and Justice Puno has just to point that out clearly.

Puno enumerates the main problems of our nation today as “the lack of morality, the weakness of our ethics, the problem of inequitable distribution of wealth, the problem of poverty and the problem of peace and order.” And that the wealth of the nation is merely held by the rich few while the multitudes suffer.

The honorable Chief Justice shows why he is so incredibly different from his predecessor, and that is such a good thing for us. He becomes concern with morality and social imbalance and that could provide as a guiding post within the judiciary, becoming a role model to a very critical sector of our country, the men of laws.

I must agree to all his concerns and to supplement his views, I all see how vital is his role now, where the judiciary and the legal people could be imbibe to take a more participative role in nation-building, becoming agent of change and progress themselves. For all we know, lawyers and judges are certainly a congregation of sharp-minded and highly-capable individuals and our nation needs them, the people could look upto to them to keep in touch with the nation’s ails and fallings. A strong and responsible judiciary could eventually initiate a change that could spread easily towards other sectors of our society, for a nation to be strong and progressive; its laws should be strong and forceful, not lain within the hands of mischief and dire intentions, such as self-interest and nonchalance to the well-being of the public.

I am a bit concern if Chief Justice Puno should be a step beyond the realms of his public duty, for being so patently political despite being the highest ranking official of the judiciary, yet that could become lesser of our concern for a time that the Chief Justice shows extreme concern for the suffering of the people is so rare, and may not come again.

There are many talks that he might be running for the highest position of the land, and nothing should be improper in that. He is described in his Supreme Court official website profile as a man of prose and religion. I also think he is also a man of great concern to the plight of the Filipino people.