Fortunately, Wikipedia tells us that the rat is associated with aggression, wealth, charm and order. For us Filipinos, the rat and its association with aggresion, wealth, charm and order gives us a hint of hope in the coming months, not the least a surge of something good to look forward to. And as the year of the rat signals the beginning of yet another cycle of animals which give an oriental definition to what is at stake for us, I beg to disagree with the anarchists who incessantly argue with every breath of their own that the end of the world is nigh. Not for us, average Filipinos. And certainly not for the instigators of change for this country.
Unfortunately for the demons in the government who continue to vilify this nation, the year of the rat is also associated with "death, war, the occult, pestilence and atrocities". It is this year, I reckon, which will draw the line between actors and politicians. Or if not, it is the rat which will cast a pandemic news of hatred and vigilance to the gates of Malacañang which we've learned for so long to associate with hell and to condemn to hell. It is the rat which has become the harbinger of the Black Plague, the anxiety of the rich and the companion of the poor. The pestilence of memory and the unforgotten woes of EDSA continue to knock on the doorsteps of the palace.
It does not take a giant mind to unscrew the mysteries of Malacañang. On the contrary, an inquisitive mind will do just fine. And while some of the best questions and lessons in the world remain in the history books of mankind, the trickiest questions ought to be awarded to the palace officials who never fail to defend the rodent in their deity. These people are just some of the finest actors the world has ever known, and they continue to be the living testaments to the animal instincts. Hollywood actors and actresses might have met their match.
The rat is cunning and small, I tell you, and the rat people, according to Wikipedia, are "highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agenda, which often include money and power". I leave the thinking to your imagination, dear readers.
But of course, Wikipedia is a far territory for us to reconcilate experience with thought. The large and sizeable chunk of the Philippine experience in terms of politics (and showbusiness, for politics is as grand and equally horrendous as the entertainment industry itself) can be found nowhere else than in our own backyard. The countless EDSA revolutions (assuming we have more than one) that have risen and fallen have staged a wonderful play---and most of the time detestable for their many disappointments---before the country. Actors and politicians alike have spent memorable roles in these poetic displays of humor and pretense in that little avenue we call EDSA. Not surprisingly, the rarity of a true revolution is as exceedingly rare as an honorable rat.
What EDSA lacks in its goal to realize its long-sought dreams it makes up for its refusal to wither and die with the forgetfulness of human memory. This is the year of the rat and this year the political stage looks promising than ever, aside from the fact that the nation's political situation is nothing more than promises left to bask and dry in the sun. We hear faint echoes of EDSA in the miniscule voices of rats nosing their way around the titans of the palace, and boy do we smell the scent of change mingling with the odors of graft and the fumes of corruption.
It takes one to know one. And as far as the saying goes, no stretch of the imagination cannot deny the fact that rats know their own kind. Which is why the government is so incredulous at the thought that a number of their own kind continues to rattle the government's existence. Lozada, Neri and the younger de Venecia may be rats, but they are rats with a cause unlike the bigger rodents in the palace who frown upon the thought of unseating them for a noble purpose.
In this year of the rat, we are to redefine the meaning of "pests". Pests do no good, to our country or for any other individual for that matter. Not all rats are pests, yet the sum of all our worst fears is that some rats are the worst pests this country has ever known. And some of these rats continue their business of fine acting in the attics of Malacañang and even outside of it.
The Chinese community has just celebrated their new year, and Jun Lozada, he of Chinese origins, is just about to begin his own share in Philippine history. I'd like to end with a quote of Wolfgang's lyrics from their song "Ratz".
"Take one step forward in reverse, a mad mammal dash to the end of the earth. I wonder now can anything get worse. Let's start the race and see who gets their first...So take one step forward in reverse. When the step ship goes down, what will it all be worth? Like rats we hide when things turn worse. Must we be underground for us to quench our thirst?"
It does not take a giant mind to unscrew the mysteries of Malacañang. On the contrary, an inquisitive mind will do just fine. And while some of the best questions and lessons in the world remain in the history books of mankind, the trickiest questions ought to be awarded to the palace officials who never fail to defend the rodent in their deity. These people are just some of the finest actors the world has ever known, and they continue to be the living testaments to the animal instincts. Hollywood actors and actresses might have met their match.
The rat is cunning and small, I tell you, and the rat people, according to Wikipedia, are "highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agenda, which often include money and power". I leave the thinking to your imagination, dear readers.But of course, Wikipedia is a far territory for us to reconcilate experience with thought. The large and sizeable chunk of the Philippine experience in terms of politics (and showbusiness, for politics is as grand and equally horrendous as the entertainment industry itself) can be found nowhere else than in our own backyard. The countless EDSA revolutions (assuming we have more than one) that have risen and fallen have staged a wonderful play---and most of the time detestable for their many disappointments---before the country. Actors and politicians alike have spent memorable roles in these poetic displays of humor and pretense in that little avenue we call EDSA. Not surprisingly, the rarity of a true revolution is as exceedingly rare as an honorable rat.
What EDSA lacks in its goal to realize its long-sought dreams it makes up for its refusal to wither and die with the forgetfulness of human memory. This is the year of the rat and this year the political stage looks promising than ever, aside from the fact that the nation's political situation is nothing more than promises left to bask and dry in the sun. We hear faint echoes of EDSA in the miniscule voices of rats nosing their way around the titans of the palace, and boy do we smell the scent of change mingling with the odors of graft and the fumes of corruption.
It takes one to know one. And as far as the saying goes, no stretch of the imagination cannot deny the fact that rats know their own kind. Which is why the government is so incredulous at the thought that a number of their own kind continues to rattle the government's existence. Lozada, Neri and the younger de Venecia may be rats, but they are rats with a cause unlike the bigger rodents in the palace who frown upon the thought of unseating them for a noble purpose.
In this year of the rat, we are to redefine the meaning of "pests". Pests do no good, to our country or for any other individual for that matter. Not all rats are pests, yet the sum of all our worst fears is that some rats are the worst pests this country has ever known. And some of these rats continue their business of fine acting in the attics of Malacañang and even outside of it.
The Chinese community has just celebrated their new year, and Jun Lozada, he of Chinese origins, is just about to begin his own share in Philippine history. I'd like to end with a quote of Wolfgang's lyrics from their song "Ratz".
"Take one step forward in reverse, a mad mammal dash to the end of the earth. I wonder now can anything get worse. Let's start the race and see who gets their first...So take one step forward in reverse. When the step ship goes down, what will it all be worth? Like rats we hide when things turn worse. Must we be underground for us to quench our thirst?"
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