Don’t get me wrong, though. There’s nothing wrong with news per se. The problem lies in its packaging, in the excess of fragmented, irrelevant and insignificant information (in the case of “showbiz” infos). Aside from the witholding of news and information (which is what totalitarian states are good at), another way of keeping people dumb and ignorant is to bombard them with fragmented, irrelevant and insignificant information. That’s what our mainstream media is doing.

There’s a very fascinating exposition of the idea of news as entertainment in this book called Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. I recommend everyone to read it.

And those few, brave, uncorrupted and concerned individuals and journalists who try to inform the citizenry are harassed, intimidated and murdered as in Ms.Esperat case and many others. Not to forget the countless activists: peasants and farm workers, laborers, and supportive priests (Aglipayan) victimized by military/paramilitary forces. If priests are being murdered, then no one is truly safe in the presently worsening Arroyo government (as it was from all post-Marcos administrations).

We all know how essential it is for the people in a true democracy to have as much knowledge, of different opinions and/or dissensions as possible so that they can think, decide and act to preserve their freedom and to ensure that their government performs its main function, i.e. to serve the “common good”, that is, to at least satisfy the basic human needs and human dignity of the majority.

We can only hope that despite all the unsolved assassinations and murders, we will continue to have more of the same uncorrupted and courageous “people informers”. I hope the Catholic Church -through its hierarchy, priests and laymen- being the last influential institution in our homeland will involve itself more in strongly supporting these brave but endangered species and do its part in actively implementing its social encyclicals/teachings: “love your neighbors” = looking out, teaching and fighting for the impoverished majority; and awakening the consciences of the presumably christian politicians or businessmen and their henchmen, military or civilian.

“To oppose the policies of a government does not mean you are against the country or the people that the government supposedly represents. Such opposition should be called what it really is: democracy, or democratic dissent, or having a critical perspective about what your leaders are doing. Either we have the right to democratic dissent and criticism of these policies or we all lie down and let the leader, the Fuhrer, do what is best, while we follow uncritically, and obey whatever he commands. That’s just what the Germans did with Hitler, and look where it got them.” - Michael Parenti

“In all institutions from which the cold wind of open criticism is excluded, an innocent corruption begins to grow like a mushroom - for example, in senates and learned societies.” - Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900

True, that the world has a lot of resources that are both unused and exploited. There is no equality in the divisions of labor and richness. We work so hard to provide the basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing. We work hard to have money to gain good education. We study hard to get a decent job. It is just a cycle. Yet these are not enough. We tend to be beaten by those who are unscrupulous.

Yet I still have not lost hope, despite all the pessimism that is around me which is visible every minute of my life. I try to do things right. I try to excel in them. I believe that me, my family, and my country, deserves something better, and this is what I have been aspiring for. This is what I am living for.