The
Challenges of Our Times
By the Artists for the Removal of Gloria (ARREST Gloria)
Posted by Bulatlat
The country
was at a standstill when Manny Pacquiao traded blows with Oscar Larios at
the Araneta Coliseum last July 2. More than half the country was glued to
TV sets, and even the churches admit that Mass attendance that Sunday was
unusually low. Such was the excitement over the Pacquiao-Larios bout that
media even reported two cases of viewers suffering heart attacks while
watching it.
Never before
in its history has the country seen such extent of adulation for a boxer.
Not even during the heyday of the legendary Gabriel “Flash” Elorde – who
put the Philippines on the world boxing map – did he enjoy such following.
By all
means, Pacquiao is indeed worthy of admiration and respect, not only for
his talent as a boxer but also for the determination he displayed in his
personal struggle from poverty and obscurity to fame and fortune. His
victories on the ring are hard-earned and he surely deserves praise for
these.
But there is
something telling in the kind of adulation he has been receiving, mostly
from those in the less fortunate sections of the populace.
It is
something way out of the ordinary: it is idolatry of the brand that
brought former actor Joseph Estrada to the presidency. We can be sure –
provided that elections are clean – that Pacquiao would win by a quick
knockout should he think of running for the highest office in the land.
This is
because we are now at a point where, for the most part, only the likes of
Pacquiao could give some cause for hope.
This is a
chapter in our history where it has become almost impossible to imagine a
worse fate for our country.
The economy
is in a shambles, the rule of law has been reduced to a terrible joke, and
the moral fabric is in tatters.
The growing
ranks of paupers in the streets bespeak the increasing impoverishment of
the masses, while those in the corridors of privilege and power flaunt
their stolen wealth like bandits boasting of their booty. We have a
fictitious president who runs the government in the Mafia manner, a regime
that bends the laws of the land in every possible way to justify the daily
infliction of the most unthinkable atrocities on the people.
All this is
cause for the kind of desperation that gives rise to Pacquiao’s cult
following. The country’s present leadership has failed, and failed
miserably, in its duty to make each coming day worth looking forward to
for the people. In their hopelessness our countrymen turn to the likes of
Pacquiao, whose every triumph in the ring is a spark in the darkness.
The culture
of despair being bred by the country’s rock-bottom state makes it more and
more necessary for us artists to step out of the ivory tower. We are being
challenged by the times to show through our works the power that resides
in the people, the great wellspring of our material, to alter the course
of history as they have done a number of times.
We in the
Artists for the Removal of Gloria (ARREST Gloria) are committed to take up
this challenge, and we enjoin our fellow artists to do the same.
July 25, 2006
Southern Tagalog Exposure + KASIBULAN Women Artists’ Collective
+ KUMASA (Kulturang Ugnayan ng Manggagawa at Uring Anakpawis sa Timog
Katagalugan) + ARTIST, Inc. (Arts Research and Training Institute
in Southern Tagalog) + Kilometer 64 Poetry Group + Tambisan
sa Sining + APLAYA (Artistang Pangkultura ng Mamamalakaya sa Timog
Katagalugan) + UPLB Umalohokan + Pokus Gitnang Luson +
Paolo Martinez + Andrea Muñoz + Gian Paolo Mayuga +
Jeffrey Ferrer + Onin Tagaro + Bobby Balingit +
Winnie Balingit + Lourd de Veyra + Dong Abay + Ninj
Abay + Con Cabrera + Roselle Pineda + Heidi Takama
+ Boom Dizon + Rommel Lozano + Mary Rose Abano +
Aba Dalena + Sari Dalena + Gari B + Adios GMA-NCR
+ Tudla Productions
Posted by Bulatlat
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© 2006 Bulatlat
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