A culture of violence

AS A MATTER OF FACT
By Sara Soliven De Guzman
The Philippine Star

There is too much anger in this world. Many people pray but they don’t seem to pray hard enough to internalize peace in their minds and spirits. How can one continue to pray and kneel in penance for his sins, go to church and pray the rosary everyday and then after a while, shout in rage or even kill the innocent? This is a Jekyll and Hyde syndrome our world has become – but why?

In one of the pastoral messages of the US Catholic bishops on Confronting a Culture of Violence, it said that: “Violence in our culture is fed by multiple forces – the disintegration of family life, media influences, growing substance abuse, the availability of so many weapons, and the rise of gangs and increasing youth violence. Fear of violence is paralyzing and polarizing our communities.

But beyond the violence in our streets is the violence in our hearts. Hostility, hatred, despair and indifference are at the heart of a growing culture of violence. What is worse is that our society seems to be growing numb to human loss and suffering.”

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Last week, a series of crimes and killings plagued our nation. Several were personal battles involving families and friends. The major one, however, was the death of the 19 military troopers in a fight against the MILF in Al Barka, Basilan.

How can a nation who claims to be predominantly Christian and Catholic get into such rage? A former policeman in Tondo shot his mother dead before turning the gun on himself. A father in Cebu shot himself dead after shooting his wife, his three children and his neighbor. A Grade 5 student accidentally shot his classmate in the neck with a caliber .22 pistol. Sanamagan! Our morality is full of darkness.

I hope the Church (all religions), the schools, the media (a very influential tool) and most specially, the parents can empower themselves to combat these evils. We must make a change of tide to build a more peaceful and non-violent society.

We definitely need to take more action for social change.

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I would like to give the President a chance to solve this Mindanao problem in his own way. But he should also review our history and the struggles that the past Administrations have experienced and encountered with the Mindanao rebels. “Peace” is a very beautiful word for everyone. But in this case, is it really the solution? I am quite excited to see what will happen next to P-Noy’s war tactics even if we know in our hearts that his way seems to be quite a ‘naïve’ path to take.

By the way, Malacañang released P1.8 billion to fund projects for poverty reduction in areas affected by armed conflict. Secretary Abad said, “We are committed to bring all armed conflicts to a permanent and peaceful end. One track is through the negotiating table, and the other is to implement targeted interventions to address the root cause and exacerbating factor of conflict: poverty.” Yes there is poverty in that area but there is poverty around the country as well. I don’t think that is the real cause of conflict. Wake up and smell the coffee. They want ‘autonomy’ and many Muslim groups are funding them to win this fight!

The MILF and other Muslim guerrillas through the centuries have always demanded independence. They want to establish an Islamic State in Mindanao. In other words, they want to own Mindanao. Just like the early American Indian settlers. The American federal government forcefully pushed out these settlers thru war or thru voluntary exchanges of treaties. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (1894), “The Indian wars under the government of the United States have been more than 40 in number. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives of about 30,000 Indians.”

The late President Ramon Magsaysay told the Communist rebels, the huks, that his policy for them was “All-Out Friendship or All-Out Force.” My late dad used to say, “The only way for our nation to win is to fight, fight, fight. Not hem and haw, compromise, dicker clumsily, giveaway concessions, and grants, even from the start, its mortal foes, the Communists, the NDF and the NPA (all one and the same cabal under different labels) the status of belligerency and of being “co-equals.” They are not. They are rebels out to overthrow the government and topple our democracy as we know it, so they can impose their own brand of totalitarian control. As long as there are armed men roaming around Mindanao, there can never be peace. Only the “peace” of double cross, and the peace of the grave.”

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Libya is in cloud nine these days after the capture and death of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi has been Africa’s and the Arab world’s longest-ruling, most erratic, most grimly fascinating leader, presiding for 42 years over this desert republic with vast oil reserves and just six million people.

His critics think of his leadership as a military dictatorship, accusing him of repressing civil society and ruthlessly crushing dissidents. He has imprisoned hundreds of people violating the law and sentenced some to death, according to the Human Rights Watch.

For years, he was an international pariah blamed for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people. After years of denial, Libya acknowledged responsibility, agreed to pay up to $10 million to relatives of each victim.

His death and the end to NATO’s bombing campaign would hasten the return of the OPEC country’s oil to world markets by improving road links and quelling security concerns. I hope this will be the beginning in improving the lives of people all over the world.

As I watched the news of his death and the life he lived unfold in my very eyes, I can’t help but feel pity more than anger towards him. Gaddafi is a perfect example of what power greed can do to a man. Who knows, he could have been a great leader. But he was never content of what he had. He had to have all even resorting to violence just to get what he wanted. He went wayward; treading the wrong path, almost like making a pact with the devil, and at the end became one himself.

I hope and pray that the new government will be able to rebuild the lives of the people and gain acceptance of the international community.