My column, “It is not us, just them,” published last November 25 found a wider audience when it was shared by Mr. Lito Monico C. Lorenzana in his Manila Times column last December 4.
When Mr. Lorenzana sent me an email to let me know I wrote an “excellent article” and asking if he could quote my column in his own column, it took me a while to reply. I was not sure how to handle such high praise from a respected civil society leader and opinion maker. Of course, he could quote my column.
But I was not prepared for what actually happened. Mr. Lorenzana did not just lift a few quotes from my column, he shared his precious column space to quote my entire article! I am deeply honored and a bit overwhelmed that a real influencer shared his platform to amplify voices of lesser known columnists like me.
My feminist fairy godmother, Irene Morada Santiago, would often say: “An empowered woman lifts up other women.” What Mr. Lorenzana did was lifting other voices. And that, I believe, is what real power looks like.
My Mindanao Times editors were teasing me that I was “going viral” but then that Maris Racal thing blew up around the same time so my “15 minutes of fame” did not even reach 15 minutes. I am glad, though, that my article sparked meaningful conversations and gave others a different perspective on current events. So, thank you, Mr. Lorenzana, for that power move.
Speaking of power moves, as my article got shared and reached many more people online, I am getting messages asking me what I thought of what former President Rodrigo R. Duterte said during his November 25 press conference: “There is a fracture in government and only the military can see the solution.”
My first reaction when I heard that was: “If the military is the solution, what then is the problem?”
Although, technically, he did not say “military solution,” but why else would the military get involved then? Is he suggesting a withdrawal of support and breaking the chain of command?
The Philippines, of course, is familiar with this “military solution” supported by “people power” approach. This strategy installed our two female presidents — Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Is this how we plan to install a third female president?
A military solution refers to the use of armed forces or military strategies to address a problem or conflict, often involving coercion, force, or threat of force to achieve a desired outcome. This approach is usually applied to problems like insurgencies, terrorism, territorial disputes and sometimes internal issues like corruption, political instability or civil unrest.
Calling for a military solution as a quick fix to our current problems may bring short-term success (change in leadership) but it will be unsustainable in the long run. Part of why we are still in this political mess is because our military solutions in the past have obviously not resulted in any meaningful structural changes.
The military solution is a lazy and ineffective solution to our problem. It does not even address the root causes, just the symptoms. Asking the military to save us from political choices we regret must be very insulting and demoralizing to our armed forces. We are treating them like a mafia clean-up crew that comes in when something did not go as planned.
This keeps happening to us because we keep using quick fixes. Nation-building in a democracy involves a lot of work and takes a lot of time.
Sustainable social change is brought about by collective action of a grassroots movement. And any meaningful change needs at least three things: conceptual, technical, and political.
Conceptual shift involves change in mindset and narrative. It all starts in our head, the way we think about how the world works. If we cannot even properly identify what the problem is, we cannot come up with the appropriate solution.
Building a nation requires a diverse set of skills. So, of course, we need to develop our technical skills. In practicing a profession or a vocation, we need to learn and train for many years before the actual practice. Then we become better with years of experience but we never stop learning and training and evolving. Yes, we cannot just “wing it.” Nation-building is serious business that needs mad skills.
Social change needs solid political organizing to mobilize for collective action. Sustainable change can only happen when people work together to restructure society and change unequal relationships to make them equal and just.
We need to think critically and creatively, develop our skills to be effective change-makers, work collaboratively, strategically, and persistently. Change often starts small but builds over time with consistent effort.
There are powerful examples of successful social changes throughout history that we can learn from: the Civil Rights Movement in the United States; the Indian Independence Movement; the Women’s Suffrage Movement; the Abolition of Apartheid in South Africa; the Environmental Movement; the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement.
They did not use “military solution.” In fact, these movements advocated for nonviolence. Research shows that nonviolent resistance is twice as likely to succeed as violent uprisings. And the changes these movements brought about are still felt to this day and being driven and sustained by grassroots movements, courageous leaders, and collective action. They all required perseverance and collaboration over many years.
Our country is a mess because we leave it all up to our political leaders to do the work and when they fail, we outsource the cleaning up to our armed forces. We must learn the lesson by now.
If we are serious about social change in this country, we must first stop framing everything as “Marcos-Romualdez versus Duterte.” The Philippines is about us, the Filipino people. It is not about them. So the solution also lies with us — working together to bring about the changes we want. We have the real power. No military intervention needed.
