OUR PRIVATE char, este chat room had suddenly become alive. It’s just been mostly filled with years and years of collection of ‘happy birthday’ greetings and thank-you notes. But now, just like bugs out of the woodwork, old friends from grey havens and long-absent acquaintances had suddenly chipped in their centavos worth on the subject of the plight of us.
The day before, I reposted a thread that hinted trust in government could only be gained once again if it initiated the jailing of corrupt government officials. Not in it for the likes, mind you. Just something to stir the already-steaming pot with, the instigador in me thought, another carry-over impish trait from the high school days. The reactions varied (but of course), though not as rabid as those that came from trolls, sneaky lot. Despite this, I wasn’t in the least disappointed, because, truth be told, friends are definitely more colorful than those grey mountain trolls whose only talent is that they have internet.
A lola batch mate chirped, History has already proven: we have jailed officials and actors in the past, but upon their release ran again for office…so it’s back to emptying the government coffers once again. Legit. Another old-timer contributed that, if it were only possible, a clean sweep of all positions and a snap election to boot might do the trick. (he’s actually just seconding one senator’s opinion, but valid nonetheless). Meanwhile, out of all the other comments, an émigré’s wife enthused a bit resignedly, I’m holding my breath. So there.
In as much as I would’ve liked to include other friends’ inputs, as well as those from unwelcome trolls, I’m keeping it short as it is, at the expense of not being able to prove how lively it was, if but for a day. However, the more important thing in this stone-in-the-pond poke that I’ve posted has been merely to show, however minutely, the depth of how we have become as fragmented as our thousand islands because of the course of politics in the country. Enough of looking at what’s happening with the rest of the world, it’s gone to the dogs out there, we know, but where we are at the moment is all that counts, especially now.
I remember a resource person and inspirational speaker who offered the audience a trick mantra for being in the moment through all of life’s trials: “I am exactly where I want to be”. Thinking about that now, I am prone to raise a hand and ask, just where in this hell is he coming from? He’s not Pinoy, is he? Or if he was, is he someone who has already migrated to wherever and is just safely typing away from the comforts of a cozy home in some foreign land? Definitely, he’s not from where I am standing at the moment.
