I read the latest collection of essays by National Artist Francisco “Frankie” Sionil Jose “Why we are Hungry, Rats in the kitchen, Carabaos in the garden” while on the deck of a research vessel sailing in the Visayas. As I wait for the squall to pass over us, the book seems apropro.
Sionil-Jose is the last of his generation of eminent writers at 84. My mom worked as a librarian and so knew Sionil-Jose quite well. In the 60th anniversary of Fulbright last year, my mother introduced me to the eminent novelist by saying “My son has read ALL OF YOUR BOOKS!”
To which Sionil-Jose retorted “My condolences”. Anyway, my mom wasn’t lying. I do have copies of all of Sionil-Jose’s works. There was a time when the books can be had in inexpensive newsprint editions and I did save up money whilst in college to buy them. I have the whole set of the Rosales novels, Ermita, Viajero, Sherds, Vibora etc.
Sionil-Jose was obviously influenced by the “lost generation” which included Steinbeck, Hemingway, Faulkner etc. The novels reflect the futility of the Pinoy’s search for social justice. The essays reflect Sionil-Jose’s developing revolutionary ideology. The last tome makes it more clear. Best of all it has a red cover which I believe is a comment against fellow Ilocano Jose Maria Sison and his imported Chinese commie ideology. Jose Maria Sison is a neocolonizing Maoist in Sionil Jose’s analysis.
I agree with Sionil-Jose that revolution is inevitable. Well it is and has come unbeknownst to the educated class. The series of EDSA’s especially 1 and 3 are manifestations of that unfortunately according to Sionil Jose, the promoters of revolution (Joma Sison and his Communist Party) and the beneficiaries of revolution (Corazon Aquino, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and their oligarchic class) failed to realize that EDSA was a revolution. And so we have an arrested revolution once more.
The “masa” was left in the lurch, hungry.
In Sionil-Jose’s Red Book, he proposes that the Army (being the only entity that has a working class membership) be the one to prosecute the nationalist revolution by recognizing that the neocolonizing oligarchy is the enemy (Sionil Jose’s rats in the kitchen). According to the writer, this is where the Party listers of the Party have their scotoma. The United States is not the enemy but the oligarchs are. The United States obviously has to dance with this class.
Obviously the heads of these people need to be lopped off (I hope not literally but at least figuratively!)
The question is how ideologically sophisticated is the Army?
I don’t think they have read their Lenin. Look at the Manila Pen tragicomedy!
And what do we make with the bloggers? Given what I have read online and if Sionil-Jose is right, then these people should have their heads lopped off.
But bloggers can contribute to the Revolution by making people read. And that is what La Soli tried to do.
Perhaps step one is to make people read. Rizal did it and had results.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Our head should be lopped off. Ha! Scary. Sionil Jose is saying that the Military should instigate the revolution?I am not sure about that since our Military is not that inclined to the masses so as to help them in their plight. In the current state of things, the generals will not start that revolutions since the current system keeps them satisfied.
The ball falls then to the Junior Officers, a group that is not well united and have conflicting stand. These are the people who see the true plight of soldiers and are more inclined to be pro-masa. But then again, kelan pa mangyari 'yun?
"military should instigate the revolution?" Is anyone blind? We've had "pekeng-revolutions", "accidental revolutions" "serial coup-de-ta'ters" ALL FAILURES!!! It's seasonal depending on the phase of the moon.
MILITARY SHOULD INSTIGATE THE REVOLUTION? HA!HA!HA!HA! PMAyers sent to Quantico to know the process and phases of invistigation and when they come back here they become oploks! gung-gong!
Our military are run by Flips who are not intelligently designed … MILITARY SHOULD INSTIGATE REVOLUTION? Hesus Maria Josef tabanga! ig-ampo mo kami!!!! HA!HA!HA!HA!
This goes to show Flips has Attention Deficit Disorder and long-term memory loss ….
I'm in favor of revolution but please not the military. Pleez not by Flips. Give it to blackwater ops and dogs of war. AFter they have won, outsource the government to Burma or Vietnam or Samoa. And then, to cleanse our society of gung-gongness, mow down all pekeng-peryodistas in Luneta and replaced them with American periodistas that can objectively report news and educate pipol.
The Military is not a solution to our country's ill. It is within ourselves, to change our mindsets from a
colonized people, to assertive and independent minded people. The colonial masters are gone.The
plundering Filipino Politicians and Leaders have taken the place of the colonial masters. We allow these
thing to happen, because we are trained to fear our colonial masters.
The plundering Filipino Politicians and Leaders "R" us!
I have yet to read this Red Book of Sionil-Jose, (I'm also a fan), but the military has always worked to uphold the status quo. History has shown that the military is amongst the last to give in to the revolution.
One thing is certainly right though, more and more people should read books. Question now is, what to read and in which medium?
But then again, I am reminded that Pinoys are more of the watcher/movie goer type rather than the reader type.
Of course, I wish I was wrong.
You are right there, Jhay. Filipinos are not book readers. When I was in Los Angeles in America, 5 libraries are within 3 miles of where I was in the thick of Filipinos. (Filipinos is the largest asian group in Los angeles, considering other minorities the 2nd next to hispanics) But if you go to these libraries, you cannot find Filipinos. I go to libraries frequently, almost daily, because I rip & burn movies and CDs check out interesting reading materials.
Ah public libraries, a dream I still long for here in the Philippines. Isn't there a law that mandates every municipality or province to maintain a public library?
Jhay:
Start one in your own town. If you will wait for the Philippine government or for Filipinos to get their acts together – PUPUTI NA LANG ANG UWAK, wala pa ring nangyayari.
Get your friends/relatives together, collect books, magazines, old text books, old newspapers, encyclopedias, DVDs, CDs, old PCs, old boomboxes, old TVs, old curriculum books, new ones are accepted, too.
Collect and consolidate the educational resources and give it to your LGU or local public school. <img src="http://moveonphil.org/v-web/gallery/albums/album14/IMGP1640.sized.jpg">
You have the power to make the dream a reality, one school or town at a time.
****
What am saying is, there comes a time when you just get tired of talking about the same old crap and decide to do something about it.
However, collecting books sounds so… laborious, blue-collar-like. Thus, only a few will rise to the challenge. Perhaps, F Sionil Jose was right on the money when he said
Libraries are part of Sionil's solution set for tackling poverty. The first solution was revolution. The second was education. In his essay "Why are we poor" he further writes
Libraries are an important component of education. But where are our libraries? And for those that already exist, Why are they empty? Why is education in the bottom of the totem pole, if as Sionil Jose says it is the alternative to revolution.
Because, an uneducated ignorant citizenry is a gullible, controllable, easily subdued lot?
Though what I liked most was when he said
So, are we thinking in newer ways? Or, are we doing the same o crap, and expecting different results.
The last time Blue Eagle and I met with Ulong Pare last month, he mentioned to us he had several crates of donated books from schools and libraries. Not one Filipino put money in to send it here. So he re-donated it in America.
I don't know but there ought to be. A library and computers with internet connection like the ones in America. What's also eye opener is that children of school age HANG-OUT in libraries. They meet there. They hang-out. They play on-line games. They may not be reading books or doing research but the thought that they go to library is good enough.
Yes, Jhay I so very much agree.. The Public Libraries in The United States are places of congregation in some places, repositories for audiobooks, DVDs, they have their own internet stations, kiddie playground, but indeed the most important thing that even The Philippines does not have yet.. are just plain good 'ol books for public use..
Tsk, tsk. I've read few of his essays but our opinions seem to match almost perfectly. Guess I'm not insane.
And of course the elite are afraid of revolutions, that's why you do not give the revolution to the rich, like we did on the first EDSA. Within Cory's time we were back to square one. Wala nga lang curfew and the middle class are allowed to be feeling rich. On the fundamental level, we have not progressed.
BrianB:
Prior to EDSA – the oligarchy (or the comprador big bourgeoisie) was in an alliance with the ND-led united front of workers, farmers, students, and professionals to oust Marcos. However, where the United Front was bent on consummating the unfinished national democratic revolution of 1896, the oligarchy was intent on ousting Marcos and divvying up the bounty – payback time.
The oligarchs pulled a bait-and-switch when the national democratic camp was split into pro and anti-boycott factions. The ND group was in disarray due to the divided response on the Snap Election. The progressives were stymied by paralysis due to over-analysis.
That was all the oligarchy needed to seize the momentum in the campaign to oust Marcos and stage a comeback via the EDSA mass mobilizations.
"In Sionil-Jose’s Red Book, he proposes that the Army (being the only entity that has a working class membership) be the one to prosecute the nationalist revolution by recognizing that the neocolonizing oligarchy is the enemy (Sionil Jose’s rats in the kitchen). According to the writer, this is where the Party listers of the Party have their scotoma. The United States is not the enemy but the oligarchs are. The United States obviously has to dance with this class."
Haven't I been saying this, too. Not because I'm super smart but because I refuse to leave the obvious untouched. Pa-intellectual, intellectual pa kasi ibang mga tao eh.
Our job to debunk all elite propaganda in all levels of government and in media. They own everything, you know, and they also own the hand that feeds our local money earners. But that hand can be "Cut Off" as Blackshama says. The military has the guns, and the OFWs can maintain our money supply. Agrarian reform was hijacked. My thinking is take all land from known hacienderos, no pay. Then deport all Spanish passport holders. Maski dual-citizen. No clan politicians. Even if we lose a couple of possible geniuses in politics, the pay off is immeasurable… Pride, Majority Rule, Rule of Law. Our people will gain confidence and become more self-reliant. Right now their mentality is little better than that of beggars. Guess who did the conditioning on this.
Who says the Military is not the solution? IN FACT a junta is the only possible and peacable revolution. The ruling class will protect themselves. If their propaganda machinery stop working, they'll turn to guns and do to us what they are doing to farm laborers. To prevent this from happening, the military has to go strong. No passive-aggressive revolution like the Magdalo tried before.
We've had a military junta backing up unpopular civilian administrations for some time now – Filipino style.
Things we would want to see the nationalist revolution do away with
1) kapuso,kapamilya and other like networks for dumbing and exploiting the masses
2) junketing politicos
3) utrecht keso de bola revolutionaries
4) the Congress
5) religious interference in matters of state
6) neoliberals in UP :-)
LOL !