For once, the words of Maximus Decimus Meridius, that fictional Roman gladiator ring true in my head like a deafening bell. “Are you not entertained?”
As most of the population watched transfixed at what unfurled before their eyes, the congress’ investigational fiasco had indeed truly become what it promised to be: a circus complete with all sort of clowns, freaks and an assortment of dull actors who pathetically stumbled through their sad routines.
Perhaps this where the irony penetrates at our hearts best. True, even as we might have wasted enough time and mostly a significant part of the day sweating it out inside its circus tent, we still find ourselves hopelessly in the dark as to who was it that cast these lousy players in the first place. It could also be we just refuse to acknowledge we’ve a hand in it.
Dieticians love to say, ‘you are what you eat’ and an overused proverb many wrongly-attribute to the bible declares with extreme authority, ‘you reap what you sow’. Yet by and large, it’s all of the same banana. Look homeward, angel. The outcome of any effort always points back to the way it originated from. Cause and effect, however Marxist, Machiavellian or whatever else, it’s as old as the universe itself, in the true sense.
Pointing back to the actors, there may likewise be some truth in the fact these dodgy crew could have cleanly tricked the population by camouflaging what their true nature really is, wolves in sheep’s clothing that they are.
Yet what is more saddening about it is this, in the Philippine setting, one only has to come up with a wicked brew, taking full advantage of a combination of both natural and man-made situations, and voila. Typhoons, floods plus other disasters, mixed well with the already pervading poverty plus inequality and other social diseases; these make up a perfect storm scenario where one could become groggily foolish enough to bite the bullet and vote a monkey into office.
In the broader sense, I take pride in one bro’s observation, if one looked hard enough, there’s but only one template for oppression and we’ve fallen deeply into its net. But take heart he says, when you fool an indian once, you bad. Fool an indian twice, indian bad
Only time will tell if really, a re-staging is in order. Unless a complete overturn of the power pyramid is effected, the circus will continue to thrive and the next generations might as well be the succeeding spectators long after we have gone.
