“Gooooooood morning, Philippines!”
I’ll add this third song on the yellow theme. The US went through a social revolution during the 1960’s with a raising of her compassionate conscience. This song shows why, and how.
It could today be dedicated to Boracay.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Good Morning Joe America!
[Verse 1]
I’m just mad about Saffron
Saffron’s mad about me
I’m just mad about Saffron
She’s just mad about me
[Hook]
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
[Verse 2]
I’m just mad about Fourteen
Fourteen’s mad about me
I’m just mad about Fourteen
She’s just mad about me
[Hook]
[Verse 3]
Born high forever to fly
Wind velocity nil
Wanna high forever to fly
If you want your cup our fill
[Hook]
(So mellow, he’s so yellow)
[Verse 4]
Electrical banana
Is gonna be a sudden craze
Electrical banana
Is bound to be the very next phase
[Hook]
[Verse 5]
Saffron — yeah
I’m just mad about her
I’m just mad about Saffron
She’s just mad about me
[Hook]
(Oh so yellow, oh so mellow)
Good morning, Karl. Thanks for the lyrics. It’s a cloudy mellow day in the Visayas, rain with a chance of rain.
I am still amazed with some of our mayors blaming fake news for suspending classes a few days ago.
Why did’nt they blame the want who threw the weather forecasting system away?
Yes, still shaking my head.
This softdrink (soda) brand compted with Mountain Dew.
Mountain Dew has its back story too.
It was during the time when Moses was in a mountain called Mt. Sinai where he stayed there in anticipation of the ten commandments, while in the mountain, he was a mountain Jew.
*******
Goooooooooood Morning, Philippines!
From the Land Down Under, with love.
*****
Gdaye mate, we are global and lovable. 🙂
I’m going shopping later today, going to get me some pants like Donavan has.
Gooooooooooooooood morning everyone.
It’s Friday 13
I’m glad Ferdie is rotting in Limbingan
By the way, Irineo’s blog is up again.
He was told that the technical glitch was accidental.
They thpught his account was sending spam, or something to that effect.
Maybe he should shift to word press.
They told me you posted without a T-Shirt while drinking beer and scratching your belly. 😂
The anti-tambay has reached Germany huh?! 😭😭😭
Cayetano has staff who has contacts with Munich Police who is watching every breath you take like Sting. No I think, it was Calida who has contacts.
Migrate to….Wordpress. Now na.
In relation to PH, may I interpret verses 4 and 5 as the mass jubilation for the rising yellow tide. Filipinos are finally realizing that being disente, matino at mahusay is better than being rude, crude and brute.
As for the real meaning of the song, below is a YouTube with Donovan singing the song and explaining what it is all about. We are all adults here so I hope no one will be offended. It is all about learning, right?
Those below the age of innocence, kindly cover your ears, while your dad or mom reads this.
https://www.cleveland.com/music/index.ssf/2013/09/donovan_answers_age-old_questi.html
Donovan plays his hand-made guitar at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lecture Tuesday night.Michael Sangiacomo
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Donovan, the prototype flower child from the ’60s whose lyrics mystified millions, tore down the walls Tuesday night and explained what it was all about.
Well, what some of the songs were about anyway. There was not enough time at the Rock and Roll Fame of Fame Lecture Series for the artist to spill all his secrets, but one reply garnered the most laughter and smiles.
The question: “What was Mellow Yellow?”
When the song was released in 1966, everyone was convinced that it referred to a rumor that smoking banana peels would get a person high. (It doesn’t work.) Donovan said that was never the case.
“I was reading a newspaper and on the back there was an ad for a yellow dildo called the mellow yellow,” he said. “Really, you know the ‘electric banana’ was right in there and gave it away. And that’s what the song’s about.”
Donovan, whose newest “album,” “Shadows of Blue,” was released this week
and can be purchased online at Donovan’s website, was recorded in Nashville where he recorded his first single, 1965’s “Catch The Wind.”
Donovan talked about his life and charmed career for more than an hour before doing what everyone wanted him to do: perform.
He did a short set of his greatest hits: “Sunshine Superman;” “Catch The Wind;” “Hurdy Gurdy Man;” “First There is a Mountain” and “Mellow Yellow.” The versions were different, featuring a deeper-voiced Donovan, but were a huge hit.
Donovan said he originally planned to be a drummer and was practicing all the time until he heard people like The Everly Brothers and knew he had to switch to guitar.
He was also fascinated by poetry and quickly realized he could combine the two for a new kind of sound.
“When I was growing up, boys didn’t talk about poetry,” he said. “It was like, ‘that sounds a bit sissy to me,’ but my father was always reading me poems and ballads. I loved hearing it and I saw no reason why I could not bring that into music.”
He got a few amazing breaks early in his career and wound up performing for three weeks on the hot British television show, “Ready, Steady, Go,” where he was an immediate hit. He had it all, boyish good looks, the depth of Dylan and musical chops to back it all up.
His first single, “Catch The Wind,” was an immediate worldwide hit and was followed by many others. It was hit after hit and though his career slowed down in the ’80s and ’90s, he still performs to packed houses around the world.
Every endeavour has a purpose.
I wonder what’s up with Joe.
What is the message?
Is this a middle finger to the authoritative encroachments?
Has Joe gone bananas?
Or is he warning Philippines may be a banana republic?
Is this a suggestion for a yellow uprising?
Or is it a warning the streets are now full of banana skins, careful not to slip
Is he so pissed he hopes the bananas will elicit unrefined comments
Or is this a new form of blog in light of draconian laws?
No point cracking my brain. I rather go brush up “Catch the Wind” so I can sing to my wife. It’s my fab tune from Donovan.
Yellow is whatever you think it is, which I find amusing as opposite sides of the political divide here use different definitions and seem not to realize it or care. Because they don’t really want to talk to one another, they want to defend their position by offending. To one, yellow is goodness and democracy and human rights and civility, to the other, it represents the failure of the elite to take care of their needs, and so yellows are duplicitous assholes. Some guy on FB kept insisting that I admit I am dilawan, and I kept telling him to teach me something or say something meaningful. He persisted and said I must be ashamed to admit that I am yellow. I blocked him.
Then I posted ‘they call me mellow yellow’ because it was funny, to me. He was calling me yellow, as if that were some insult or pathway to perdition when it is really a tint ascribed to a particular refraction of light, or however we might agree to define it.
Unless we are willing to agree to define it, there is no point in talking because one party is talking about banana peels and the other dildos.
Good morning from Germany.
My musical comment must wait for the weekend.
Incidentally, 50 years ago (July 1968) there was a Beatles song issued as the soundtrack to the animated film of the same name “Yellow Submarine” which had a “Mellow” man helping out on lyrics.
Sensual folk singer Donovan had a huge hit with the song “Mellow Yellow” in 1967 (Thanks Joe Am for posting the song), and soon after, his good friend Paul McCartney came by his apartment for lyrical inspiration. It may seem as if there was some sort of obsession with the color yellow, but Paul already had the song’s name beforehand. Donovan’s contribution concerned a couple of other colors. His lyrics, according to numerous interviews, were: “sky of blue, sea of green, in our yellow submarine”
We all live in a yellow submarine. Do we?
Nice story, trebor. A pair of artists, indeed. I very much enjoyed the recent interview in McCartney’s drive-about with James Cordon, going to places McCartney lived or visited in his young days. The artist as a young man, I suppose, learning guitar in his bathroom for the acoustics. 🙂
I’ve added Yellow Submarine to the blog article, one yellow spawning another . . .
The Beatles was under contract to provide the musical background to their last movie, an animated one. According to Lenon or Paul, I can’t remember which one, he said they had no time and had only a few days left to do it. So they just clobby together what they can in a few short days. So now that Donovan explains it, they pull their sources out of papers or any thing on the street…makes sense to what happened.
As it turned out, the tune Yellow Submarine was catchy and happy humming kinda way. The cartoon movies of the same name was fun, and depicted the psychedelic LSD infused mood of the time.
Our stupid Singapore authorities (which had bone-headed Chinese-educated prudes running the ministry that overseas the social side of things) banned this song, together with others like Puff the Magic Dragon. That was the time of drug prevention – Long Hair Served Last notices displayed everywhere.
In late 602 we had English-educated vs Chinese-educated group tussling for positions in TV and the airwaves (state owned). Chinese won, and many English educated resigned en mass. Result — prudes control and creativity went down the drain. I stopped tuning in to many shows and programmes.
Oh my, Chemrock… Singapore authorities banned the happy children song “Yellow Submarine?”.
Just wondering, if we had a complete martial law, will the over zealot admin ban anything yellow and claims its the color that incites rebellion?
Yellow is the color of sunshine, hope, positivity, intellect, and happiness.
http://www.beatleswiki.com/wiki/index.php/Yellow_Submarine
‘Yellow Submarine’ is Paul’s baby. Donovan helped with the lyrics. I helped with the lyrics too. We virtually made the track come alive in the studio, but based on Paul’s inspiration. Paul’s idea. Paul’s title… written for Ringo. „
John Lennon, 1980
“What is going on?” by Marvin Gaye.
Diana Ross dedicated this song to him.
For the millenials and Gen Y and the Degeneration X
This made my day.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1009890/cha-cha-lacks-senate-support
Unless Alvarez is a the leader of the Budol-budol Crime syndicate, I do not see the senate cooperating on this.
Fascinating development. The House may claim to be able to claim it can vote alone, but imagine what an outraged senate will do for the people’s vote. Kill it. That may mean nationwide martial law is the next try. Then Sara for president if that doesn’t work.
This link is more suited here than the comment below.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/170776-senators-vote-martial-law-duterte
It is true the senate is out numbered, this is not like the old strong athletes motto of age is just a number.
It is not just a number, it is up to the people to go to the SC or Philippine Arena together with the Gilas team and beat up team Martial law.
No that would be a shame.
Why do that, here in TSH we have kuya Will who encourages people just to gather and pray together without placards next time.
Other religions and denominations can do that, as well.
I wonder how Gian does it, us non INCs think they vote by block even if Gian told us that that is not always the case.
He is one exception to the rule for sure.
Lacson is on a roll.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1009962/govt-decentralization-doable-under-1987-constitution-lacson
I wonder if he is leading a turn among legislators who read polls like tea leaves.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/07/12/1832871/despite-leading-surveys-poe-still-unsure-senate-run-2019-polls
Since Senator Trillanes might not support Poe, because Trillanes vowed to campaign against the admin slate, I think is regrouping for 2022.
Poe is playing coy, I’m sure. Her husband did not give up his US citizenship for her to bow out.
Yes Poe will test the waters, if BBM takes over as VP she will eagerly wait for the move of Robredo, she might or might not form an alliance with her. But that depends on the PET’s pacing or if rumors are true that she is the daughter of….never mind, Tobefair might do a followup blog.
Back to “What’s goin on?”
We will be affected, all US products that are made in China exported to the Philippines like your iphones and Macs will skyrocket.
All the soy bean meals (all soy based food soy sauce, soy milk)from the US to China to the Philippines will affect us together with our chickens and cows. Hey diddle diddle the cow jumped over the moon!
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/economic-consequences-of-trump-trade-war-by-barry-eichengreen-2018-07
BERKELEY – US President Donald Trump’s phony, blowhard’s trade war just got real.
Jul 12, 2018 Barry Eichengreen asks why the effect of escalating protectionism on investment and financial markets has been so limited.
Previous Next
The steel and aluminum tariffs that the Trump administration imposed at the beginning of June were important mainly for their symbolic value, not for their real economic impact. While the tariffs signified that the United States was no longer playing by the rules of the world trading system, they targeted just $45 billion of imports, less than 0.25% of GDP in an $18.5 trillion US economy.
On July 6, however, an additional 25% tariff on $34 billion of Chinese exports went into effect, and China retaliated against an equivalent volume of US exports. An angry Trump has ordered the US trade representative to draw up a list of additional Chinese goods, worth more than $400 billion, that could be taxed, and China again vowed to retaliate. Trump has also threatened to impose tariffs on $350 billion worth of imported motor vehicles and parts. If he does, the European Union and others could retaliate against an equal amount of US exports.
We are now talking about real money: nearly $1 trillion of US imports and an equivalent amount of US export sales and foreign investments.
The mystery is why the economic and financial fallout from this escalation has been so limited. The US economy is humming along. The Purchasing Managers’ Index was up again in June. Wall Street has wobbled, but there has been nothing resembling its sharp negative reaction to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930. Emerging markets have suffered capital outflows and currency weakness, but this is more a consequence of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes than of any announcements emanating from the White House.
There are three possible explanations. First, purchasing managers and stock market investors may be betting that sanity will yet prevail. They may be hoping that Trump’s threats are just bluster, or that the objections of the US Chamber of Commerce and other business groups will ultimately register.
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But this ignores the fact that Trump’s tariff talk is wildly popular with his base. One recent poll found that 66% of Republican voters backed Trump’s threatened tariffs against China. Trump ran in 2016 on a protectionist vow that he would no longer allow other countries to “take advantage” of the US. His voters expect him to deliver on that promise, and he knows it.
Second, the markets may be betting that Trump is right when he says that trade wars are easy to win. Other countries that depend on exports to the US may conclude that it is in their interest to back down. In early July, the European Commission was reportedly contemplating a tariff-cutting deal to address Trump’s complaint that the EU taxes American cars at four times the rate the US taxes European sedans.
But China shows no willingness to buckle under US pressure. Canada, that politest of countries, is similarly unwilling to be bullied; it has retaliated with 25% tariffs on $12 billion of US goods. And the EU would contemplate concessions only if the US offers some in return – such as eliminating its prohibitive tariffs on imported light pickup trucks and vans – and only if other exporters like Japan and South Korea go along.
Third, it could be that the macroeconomic effects of even the full panoply of US tariffs, together with foreign retaliation, are relatively small. Leading models of the US economy, in particular, imply that a 10% increase in the cost of imported goods will lead to a one-time increase in inflation of at most 0.7%.
This is simply the law of iterated fractions at work. Imports are 15% of US GDP. Multiply 0.15 by 0.10 (the hypothesized tariff rate), and you get 1.5%. Allow for some substitution away from more expensive imported goods, and the number drops below 1%. And if growth slows because of the higher cost of imported intermediate inputs, the Fed can offset this by raising interest rates more slowly. Foreign central banks can do likewise.
Still, one worries, because the standard economic models are notoriously bad at capturing the macroeconomic effects of uncertainty, which trade wars create with a vengeance. Investment plans are made in advance, so it may take, say, a year for the impact of that uncertainty to materialize – as was the case in the United Kingdom following the 2016 Brexit referendum. Taxing intermediate inputs will hurt efficiency, while shifting resources away from dynamic high-tech sectors in favor of old-line manufacturing will depress productivity growth, with further negative implications for investment. And these are outcomes that the Fed cannot easily offset.
So, for those who observe that the economic and financial fallout from Trump’s trade war has been surprisingly small, the best response is: just wait.
I wonder if the Philippines could gain from this by seeking American manufacturing likely to be suppressed in China. The pro China govt probably would not make such a bold move. Pity.
All it takes is a change in the reading of the tea leaves, like Lacson who said last year that the senate can’t out vote the house with regards to Martial law.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/170776-senators-vote-martial-law-duterte
We could lobby for apple to move here.All it needs is a pinoy former distributor partner who wants to manufacture.
San Miguel can lobby for US to partner with the soy feeds.
For Absorptive capacity that sticks we must have Minessota Mining and Manufacturing to Head Quarter here.
Just stick to the 60 40 rule, No to chacha.
Just keep the Duct and masking tapes away from EJK perps.
Re: Absorptive Capacity #2
If the sponge would not work (scotch brite) use 3M post-its, but don’t forget to write something on it.
“Gooooooood morning, TSH guys and gals!”
The blog and the postings here are generally right on the mark and make for nice reading and listening [referring to the posted songs]; hence makes for a good morning. But if one considers the political currents and consequences for the PH future, the morning does not bode well — surely an understatement — enough to say good morning. But I hope the noticeable undercurrent comes out strong in the coming weeks/ months to at least offer some not so insignificant balance. (Still dreaming here.)
COMPARISON OF PULSE ASIA AND SWS JUNE 2018 SURVEYS
Please see table below. Beyond the obvious — period of survey and use of different descriptions such as performance, trust, satisfaction, etc. — I make no further comment except in the following paragraph which is related to a previous blog where edgar used the word “unbinding.” There are of course commentaries in the traditional and social media which I will not belabor here.
It seems from just the face of the numbers that PA results make a case of “binding” holding; whereas SWS result makes a case of some “unbinding.” I cannot fully buy — considering the great disparity in the numbers — PA’s Tabunda reply in answer to a query from reporters that the one week period of survey wherein the President makes that uncalled for comment about God explains it all. (PA survey conducted the survey before, SWS after, the God statement.) In the PA result the net number, discarding the undecided is 85 for both Performance and Trust Rating; whereas the SWS result gives a number of 45 for Satisfaction Rating. In one we seem to be talking about Jupiter and in the other about the Earth. As one reporter often remarks on various subjects on TV — Dyos ko day.
*******
It just goes to show that statistics lie.
Leaders should not be ultimately assessed and judged by variable and fluctuating public opinion. They should be judged by principles. And one can start by using the principles embedded in the Constitution.
*****
*******
In the SWS poll, there is a progression (or deterioration or progressive deterioration) in Duterte’s numbers over the quarters or years. This pattern is consistent with past presidents.
Can this be said to be true of Pulse Asia?
*****
My take on those poll numbers are they are disturbingly high no matter how one cuts or spins it. It reminds me of Binay’s also astronomical trust ratings while VP and all his corruption scandals were being exposed publicly.
Its disturbing to me not so much in raising the possibility that the polls are mistaken or manufactured which i personally think is unlikely. What bothers me to no end is these polls if true reveals how alienated and different my values are from the rest of my countrymen and peers. Were it not for being an OFW, I would be a stranger in a strange land.
*******
WHAT ARE YOU READING?
1. I am reading Ken Follet’s “A Column of Fire.” It is the third novel in the “Kingsbridge Novels” series, after “The Pillars of the Earth” and “World Without End.”
2. The novel is 713 pages long. I am at page 588, or four-fifths of the way through.
3. The book covers half a century between 1558 and 1606. It was a tumultuous time, not so long ago, a little over 412 – 460 years ago.
o Elizabeth I, The Virgin Queen, reigned over England for 45 years.
o Mary I, Queen of Scots, ruled Scotland for 24 years but was forced to abdicate.
o Mary sought the protection of Elizabeth who was her first cousin once removed. But Elizabeth had her confined in various castles and, ultimately, executed for attempted regicide.
o It was a time of religious warfare between Catholics and Protestants. Mary was Catholic, Elizabeth protestant.
o In France, the Wars of Religion (1562 -1598) was taking place. France was predominantly Catholic. It is estimated that three million perished in this period.
o In 1572, there was a massacre known as the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Catholics raised violence against Protestants (Huguenots). The number of the dead vary widely, from 5,000 to 30,000.
4. The main theme of the book is religious tolerance. Elizabeth is viewed as a queen who sought to teach that no one should be persecuted, much less, killed, for their religious belief. Here are three notable quotes:
4.1. “When a man is certain that he knows God’s will, and is resolved to do it regardless of the cost, he is the most dangerous person in the world.”
4.2. “Might there come a time when people of different faiths did not kill one another?”
4.3. ”There are no saints in politics, but imperfect people can make the world a better place.”
5. As with any Follet book, “A Column of Fire” presents a very broad perspective. The narrative flows like a swift-moving river and the sex scenes are memorable. They momentarily stop the flow of the river.
6. There is a movie coming, “Mary Queen of Scots,” to be released in December. It stars the delectable Margot Robbie as Elizabeth and the delicious Saoirse Ronan as Mary. (Saoirse is pronounced “Sher-sha” like inertia.)
*****
Off with her head!
Wrong book.
*******
The quote applies. In fact, Mary’s beheading was grisly.
*****
Mary, Marie Antoinette and others beheaded, had a quicker death than William Wallace.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanged,_drawn_and_quartered
Keep up the good work! I need to do that.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1009892/banners-not-funny-to-some-but-satirical-to-others
Well Joe said it could be viewed as Satire.
Here is the most accurate poll there is on whether Filipinos get satire.
Go blames the opposition for the banners.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1010041/bong-go-blames-opposition-critics-for-ph-as-province-of-china-tag
Bong Go, he’s the guy plastering his name on tarps across the land, giving away merchandise, a snobby rich kid who thinks he is not bound by the same ethical rules as common people, rather the same way too many Chinese look down on Filipinos and other ‘lesser people’. He seems to me to be China’s agent, intended to be placed directly in the Senate. He’ll probably want the defense and security committee. If it seems that I don’t like or trust the guy, that is just your imagination working overtime. He is really a sweetie. 🙂
We have created a mindset in our society where everyone wants what they want when they want it. And if we don’t get what we want when we want it, we feel ripped off. To make matters worse, we intensify our problems by continuously rehashing our woe-is-me story to the entire world …
— Steve Rizzo
Correction: not everyone but the fellow is representative of that mindset.
Chino F of getreal tried to analyze the Filipino’s grasp of satire.
http://www.getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/03/satire/
I don’t read Get Real, but recollect that Chino seemed intelligent enough. I don’t know if he is still at Get Real, or how anyone with half a conscience could associate with Benigno and Ilda.
I remember Chino too, I think the writers are newbies or unfamiliar, I never heard of the people Irineo interacted with there like Grimwald or whomever.
But I clicked on an article about Cocoy Dayao and I see Hayden Toro(a familiar name) is still there commenting.
I saw a picture of a get together of getrealists maybe in Manila, I saw Ben Kritz there. I think it was taken two years ago more or less.
Senator Trillanes’ Security detail has been recalled.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1010244/trillanes-asks-afp-pnp-to-rethink-security-escorts-recall/amp
As the detective character in a novel says: No good deed remains unpunished.
Charles Booth Luce read Newton’s third law ofbmotion.
Clare Booth Luce
https://geopoliticalfutures.com/in-china-a-strategy-born-of-weakness/
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/13/asia/china-new-destroyers-intl/index.html
It says in the first link that one of the weaknesses of China is a weaker and inexperienced Navy as compared to the USA.
In the second link it says that China is building up her fleet and at alarming speed at that.
Methinks that compensates for her lack of experience in Naval warfare.
And they have read Sun Tzu.
Trump embarassed himself in the UK.
https://ph.news.yahoo.com/president-trump-made-major-missteps-meeting-queen-194626332.html
I hope Duterte never goes to London to visit the queen, to frighten the mouse under her chair.
He is crazy, according to those who work with him, or have in the past.
Trump or Duterte? (response is not necessary)
Trump.
He is crazy.
Heydarian reviews Duterte’s pro-Cina foreign policy.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/114621/dutertes-foreign-policy-leaning-toward-china-altering-regional-order
Heyarian is getting more explicit in his criticisms, while remaining free of any political bias, as far as I can tell.
I agree.
Sotto is just a newbie so Pimentel gave the senate’s accomplishment report.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1010335/pimentel-despite-controversies-we-delivered-duterte-promises
http://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/to-the-point-by-emil-jurado/193438/deteriorating-values.html
Three years has passed since the article, until now Situation Normal All Fouled Up! And that is putting it mildly.
I hope FilipinoFail read Edgar’s full spectrum analysis of the Filipino malaise.
Here is another one by Irineo.
http://filipinogerman.blogsport.eu/idols-villains-and-martyrs-the-endless-philippine-cycle/
https://www.rappler.com/nation/206857-text-cbcp-rejoice-be-glad-statement-plenary-assembly-2018
Below are some excerpts from the CBCP statement regarding the killings and other adversities the church is experiencing.
Peace: Our common vocation and mission
Our enemies in this world are not fellow human beings, not “flesh and blood” (Eph 6:12). We do not fight our battles with guns and bullets. We do not seek protection from those who might wish to harm us by wearing bulletproof vests, because the battles that we fight are spiritual. In these times of darkness, when there’s so much hatred and violence, when murder has become an almost daily occurrence, when people have gotten so used to exchanging insults and hurting words in social media, we admonish the faithful to remain steadfast in our common vocation and mission to actively work for peace.
But make no mistake about it; even the Master said, “Not as the world gives peace do I give you peace.” (Jn 14:27). His peace is never the peace of compromise or capitulation to evil; it is also not about the absence of conflict and turmoil. Was he not rejected by his own townsfolk in Nazareth? (Lk 4:16-30) Was he not called crazy by his own relatives? (Mk 3:20-22). Was he not called a “prince of demons”? (Mk 3:22-30). Was he not called a drunkard and a lover of tax collectors and sinners? (Mt 11:19)
Did he not show us how to deal with adversities when he slept in the boat, or walked on water even in the midst of a storm? (Mk 4:35-40; Mk 6:45-52) But like the apostles, we are often so easily overcome by fear and panic. Even when we’re already making baby steps on troubled waters like Saint Peter, we find ourselves sinking because of our “little faith” (Mt 14: 31). There is nothing that can calm us down in these turbulent times except the quiet recognition of him who assured us of his abiding presence — “Be not afraid; it is I!” (Mt 14:27)
The cost of witnessing to Christ
What is new about priests being murdered for witnessing to Christ? What is new about modern prophets being silenced by the treacherous bullets of assassins? What is new about servant leaders who are maligned because they have carried out their duties as shepherds configured to the person of their Chief Shepherd? Have you forgotten that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians”? (Tertullian) It is what has kept the Church alive after 2,000 years. Be not afraid! Did not our Master say, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul into Gehenna” (Mt 10:28)?
We are no strangers to ridicule and persecution. What we are going through is no different from what the Psalmist describes in Psalm 64: “They sharpen their tongues like swords; they aim bitter words like arrows to shoot at the innocent from ambush, shooting suddenly and recklessly.” But what does the Lord tell his disciples when they are persecuted or humiliated for his sake? He tells them to “rejoice and be glad” (Mt 5:12). These are the very words with which Pope Francis opens his apostolic exhortation “Gaudete et Exsultate.” They are the Lord’s words to those persecuted and humiliated for his sake.
With the intention of calling us all to strive for a life of holiness, Pope Francis says the Lord does not want us “to settle for a bland and mediocre existence” (GE 1). How have we been taught to deal with persecution? Listen to what the apostle, Saint Paul, says, “When we are insulted, we respond with a blessing; when we are persecuted, we bear it patiently; when slandered, we respond gently. We have become the world’s refuse, the scum of all; that is the present state of affairs” (1 Cor 4:12-13).
And how are we to deal with divisions among ourselves? How are we to deal with fellow “Christians” who see nothing wrong about the killings, who just laugh when our God is blasphemed, and who take part in passing on fake news? Did not the Lord himself warn us that part of the exigencies of working for peace is having to go through the crucible of conflicts? (Lk 12:51-53)
I don’t understand what the message is intended to accomplish. It contains religious meanings I think the common man would just stare unknowingly at, for I do. And there are no hard complaints and no hard steps to behave differently. It does nothing as far as I can tell.
Maybe the statement is to appeak to the Catholic people not just to watch murder, blasphemy and do nothing.
At least it is a first step of action, unlike before we say that the church is silent.
Still, the church leaders are questioning the apathy, the indifference and numbness of its flock.
Our sufferings as Church leaders are nothing compared to the sufferings of the poor in our country. Do we not hear the cry of poor slum-dwellers being jailed for “loitering”? Have they forgotten that for the homeless urban poor – the little alleys between their flimsy homes also serve as kitchens, bathrooms, recreation spaces, and playgrounds for their children? Have they forgotten that they live in tiny dwellings that are razed quickly to the ground when fire strikes, because they do not have proper roads?
Do we not feel the sufferings of drug addicts who are labeled as “non-humans,” and are stigmatized as criminals when their names end up in the dreaded “drug watch lists”? Yes, we are aware of the sufferings of those who have been victimized by substance abusers, but can we not see them also as sick people who are struggling with a disease? Should we not rather look at them also as victims who are crying out for help?
Are we to remain as bystanders when we hear of people being killed in cold blood by ruthless murderers who dispose of human lives like trash? Do we not realize that for every drug suspect killed, there is a widowed wife and there are orphaned children left behind – who could hardly even afford a decent burial for their loved ones? Do we not care when poor people’s homes are searched without warrants, or when drug suspects are arrested without warrants, or detained without charges?
Do we not care about the misery of people charged of drug-related offenses and packed like sardines in extremely congested jails? Can we even bear the thought of seeing most of them languishing in jail, knowing that rehabilitation is what many of them need?
Do we not hear of the sufferings of indigenous peoples who are displaced from their ancestral lands in order to give way to mining companies and dams? And how do we feel about communities that are forced to leave their homes for fear of being caught in the crossfire of conflicts between government troops and insurgents?
How are we affected when our own troops die because of unceasing hostilities that have not been adequately addressed through peaceful dialogue?
We have a saying in Tagalog, “Ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay ramdam ng buong katawan.” (The pain of one part of the body is felt by the whole body.) Alas, this is not always true! There is no way we can feel each other’s pains when some parts of the body are numbed by sheer indifference.
Ah, that is more specific and meaningful.
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Seems to me like “Grin and bear it.”
If not, martyrdom.
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Okay, Pac wins. Okay, gets media mileage. Okay, Chavit is on a roll again.
Ho-hum, and EDSA is still choked with traffic earlier today.