Salutation #109

A scorpion can be rendered harmless BUT only without its sting.

In likewise manner, irreverent humor can be made to be funny BUT only when it is free of direful contempt.

BE MINDFUL of the comings and goings of thy heart!

(Noynoying)

NOYNOYING is nothing more

than a reflection of how harsh we can be

(meaning it is a choice made

and one which can be unmade)

toward each other.

Come alive to it and listen,

those of you with hearts to listen!

We elect a president

so that we can mock our own choice?

If the voice of the people

does not emanate from the heart of the people,

where are we?

Who is this people?

If the voice of the people

is not accepted by the same people

as an able representation

of the will of Divine Providence

in our Country - then -

Who defends our choices?

Instead of building up, we tear down.

Is this how we wish to utilize our hard-won freedoms?

Where is the spirit of our remembrance in all this?

So what if President Noy isn't doing a stellar job at the moment?

Is this entire Country run by just one man?

Does one man sow and reap, pasture and tend,

sew and rend, buy and sell, nurture and raise,

counsel and lead, labor and toil, craft and teach,

paint and color, love and serve, laugh and play -

here in this, our one Republic of the Philippines?

To each of us is entrusted the responsibility

to better govern ourselves as individuals - and -

as citizens to serve each other freely in the nation.

Are we not a nation of millions?

Are we a nation (among nations) truly fit

only for the cruel yoke of a dictatorship?

NO, my beloved people,

we should never again tempt fate!

The person of every President belongs

- to the one Office he or she represents -

do we judge the person with the Office

or do we judge without understanding?

To where or to whom

do we properly owe this irreverence?

Let us ever be aware of ourselves as ourselves!

- selah -

I think those people

who spend their time

crafting clever mischief

- like "Noynoying" -

are lot worse.

In a democracy, we all must pull together!

We must pull together

so that even the most lackadaisical soul

shall feel the fervor of our will of Country

- and feel it so strongly -

so as to be inescapably inclined

to bend to the building of the times!

And what of other nations?

In their eyes,

this "Noynoying" must appear to be

the very judgement we heap on our own selves.

And what of the eyes of heaven and God?

For the LORD requires

compassion and kindness,

and mercy tempering the truth.

Christ Himself spoke of it!

- selah -

Indeed, we have a long way to go.

(But we will get there,

my beloved brothers and sisters of the Promise,

we will reach that promised shore - together this time.)

Mabuhay, God bless the Philippines!

---<--@

Laughter Does Not Defeat

20101026

Of the aspects of Country, there are four: Political, Economic, Social, and Human.

These four aspects may only be clearly recognized as distinct from each other only from their most basic units or wholes i. e. the Barangay, the Philippine Peso, the Filipino Family, and the Filipino Citizen.

These four are the grounds upon which the four corners of our civilization are secured. The resilience of our Republic undertaking of Country against all forces alien and hostile, internal as well as external, depend much on how well these four grounds are secured.

And if any ground is to be held secure, it must first be held securely in the heart.
---<--@

The Barangay Elections 2010





Our recent barangay polls (for barangay and SK officials) is a measure of the will of our Republic to empower the liberty of its citizens (not excluding the youth of the nation and their tremendous potential for good). As such, in our national as well as in our local elections, it matters more how one votes than who.





Who one votes matters. But more than this, the principle behind the vote matters above all because suffrage exists to empower the citizenry and preserve the public peace.

Choice is not something we give away, it is something we always take back. For everything Man chooses in his heart becomes his life. In this way, the power of an authentic human freedom is derived from the power of our enabled choices.





In the vote, in principle, and in a process that is peaceful, we act to decisively take back from disorder and darkness by freely choosing order and light. We act to maintain the lineage of our leadership by the mandate that we entrust to those who we elect in quorum to represent us in our Republic government; entrusting our hopes together to those whom Providence has called to serve the Nation in the seats of the Responsible State: Vox Populi, Vox Dei.

It might seem easy to overlook all of this, my fellow Filipino compatriots, and surrender to the defeat that is destined for all that is evil; a defeat which has already been appointed in eternity. But our freedom does not exist for evil's sake but for our good and the good of all -

Service is a calling. Happiness is an ambition. Freedom is a guarantee. Love is a choice.

All in all, it was reported by the PNP that the polling yesterday was generally peaceful. 33 people have died and 14 others injured in election-related violence nationwide. 20 of the deaths were reported to have occurred in Mindanao, particularly in the ARMM. Some violence were reported in parts of Northern Luzon such as Abra and Masbate in Southern Luzon, while none were reported in the Visayas. In some barangays, elections that were postponed yesterday are being held today.

Congratulations to all our newly-elected and re-elected barangay and SK officials. May we all bear in mind and heart the labor of these times; the work of building a better Philippines for all Filipinos.

Mabuhay po kayong lahat!
---<--@

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! God bless us all.

The Four Aspects of Country