AS MY high school batch mates will attest, one of the more unforgettable characters we had during that era was a then-substitute teacher and lawyer-to-be whom we fondly nicknamed Success.
The reason for this, on his very first-day, he launched into an impassioned rhetoric on how to achieve success in life.
Throughout the rest of our final year, no matter what the subject, he would inject it seamlessly into the discussion.
He must have said the word success more than a thousand times. At first, we didn’t take notice, but later on, all of us awaited the very moment when he would insert the word and we’d all start laughing.
In case generations today could not relate, he’s what one could call the forerunner of inspirational speakers we often see today on IG or FB.
Better still, because of his fiery deliveries, he might as well be one of those bible-swearing street preachers we see daily who screech more than preach.
Anyway, the one other thing he taught us, which was perhaps the most important, was about the Latin term Dura Lex Sed Lex, which means, “The law is hard but it is still the law.”
As a side-joke, we thought this was why it was later adopted by a branded glassware as that was also supposedly unbreakable.
Come to think of it, with the way things are, how does Dura lex, sed lex fare against the people nowadays?
During socials with some friends, we agreed the law may be hard but people have mutated so well we’ve actually made so much progress in breaking it.
In fact, people in the government, lawmakers themselves seem to have made it an art in itself.
Read through news reports starting from a decade ago, and count the number of unconstitutional violations in that time.
At street level, on a day to day, how many jeepney drivers do you think have invoked the eleventh commandment: Don’t get caught.
Same number as the above. And both parties have done so, with unashamed impunity.
We might as well blanket-bomb everyone too; the rich, poor, farmer, doctor, politician, pedo laymen and every other Tarpulano.
Surely, they can relate. At this, who cannot help but be reminded of that guy who hit the proverbial bull’s-eye when he said, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” Or of a pop show host who once ended his show with the quip: don’t lie because liars go to hell. All turn a deaf ear and that’s it.
But what of the others who indeed got caught, served sentences? As truthful to the maxim “only in the Philippines,” almost all were still able to cast their votes, many returned to politics and got elected into office, all the way up to senators.
Surely, all must think some among our people are indeed above Dura lex, sed lex. In sharp contrast, all remain silent as the common man bears the full weight of the law.
There is the argument that what is truly needed here is strict enforcement, as being the perfect follow-up if the law were to be hard.
However, a troll in our discussion group threw the perfect counterpunch. She sneered, the law may be hard, enforcement may be there, but what can you do if the head is harder. Touché.
