I remember having to write down my New Year's resolutions way back my school days. I was still required to write resolutions in my English 101 class during my undergraduate years. Every year was always an ordeal having to write and make yourself bare before the teachers and classmates of what you intended to become, given that the portrait of oneself in his mind has always been the most kept secret in life; once you reveal it, you not only only open your present but also your future.
I was appalled when Saddam Hussein's hanging was flashed on tv, courtesy of the cellphone digital capability. At the last hour, Saddam put up a brave face, and even requested that his face be not covered at the time of hanging. Our national hero, Jose Rizal, at the time of his execution on December 30, 1898, requested that he be shot facing the executioners. Both men faced death with uneasy calmness of nerves, although our hero, it may be said, died for a nobler cause. ( So we naturally assume as if just causes are monopolies of proclaimed heroes, and not of the historical villains)
You might wonder why I mention Saddam when this write-up is about resolutions, dreams, and religions. As I ponder on the subjects, I realize that these three are woven by the same fabric, manifesting only in variegated colors and shapes.
When we commit to a resolution, we always examine what we intend to become for a given year, and perhaps beyond. If one wants a healthy lifestyle, he may commit to a regimen of diet and exercise. I recall that when I was first year high school at Xavier University, I resolved to read the books that my classmates read in the elementary years, considering that language was my handicap then.
Resolutions are dreams for a shorter period of time. A lifelong dream on the other hand is what we intend to become as a person. I had opportunities before that had I accepted, I would have veered away from my incessant dream to become a lawyer. There was this chance to study in the US for further studies in sociology; another was a chance to go to India to hone further my knowledge on Eastern philosophy, if not Hinduism itself. In fact, when I just graduated in college, I was offered to work as a press relation officer for a governor of a province. I did forego these chances due to my dream to become a lawyer. As William Wordsworth said:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and I could not travel both,
I took the one less travelled by
and it made the difference"
I am not sure now if I quoted Wordsworth verbatim, but I am so sure of the metaphor. The roads are about life. Spread before us are many possibilities, and we can only take one, and that choice would make a difference in one's life. Had I not forego the possibility of studying abroad, my life, and the people who I know now may not have been there in the other possibility.
Which brings us to again the unanswered question, what's the connection of Saddam to this article?
Saddam, during his heydays, committed genocide, torture, plunder, and even parricide. Name the atrocity, and in the most likelihood, he did it, perhaps in emulation of his idol Joseph Stalin, the butcher of Moscow. Yet, Saddam, in his last open letter, surrendered himself to his Supreme Being, and never showed any sign of remorse, as if what he did during his lifetime was for Allah. Why be remorseful indeed if you believe that what you do is for your God?
Take the jihadists , and yes, the crusaders during the dark era of christianity. They kill innocent people, young or old, in the name of their Supreme Being. Even if these "Holy Warriors" were beheaded, they would even proclaim joy because they have served their God, whatever name He may have. There was no remorse because afterall they did not die in vain, so went their belief which they keep even in their graves.
Saints and martyrs too died for a cause much higher than their physical existence. And they took the cruelties inflicted in them in anticipation of the promise of paradise.
Of course, one may complain, there is no comparison between a jihadist and a saint. If we argue on this matter, it may never end. But one thing is so certain: what drive these men to do the greatest deed and the worst misdeed,fame or infamy, as the case may be, is the burning passion to fulfill their self-projections. These men have a lucid clarity of what they would want to be in the present and eternal life. In fact, the degree of the missionary zeal by which they try to achieve their chosen missions depend largely on the clarity of their self-portraits.
The wave of terrorism in our contemporary history has been ascribed as the "clash of civilization", or simply put, cultural divide. Culture, as sociologists define it, is the sum total of the history of the people, including their collective beliefs, aspirations and outlook of the future. As a nation, people have their collective projection of themselves which we may call, and let me coin the word, a supra-persona. People rally to this supra-persona as if their individual selves are subsumed by the former.
That is why this "clash of civilization" has been recorded in the battle between David and Goliath, during the spread of Islam, the Inquisition period, up to now, and even in the future. You can kill the individual persona but you cannot kill this supra-persona because it is a personality that exists only in the consciousness of the people. You can kill a holy warrior but you cannot kill the mission. You may exterminate a race, but the idea remains.
Western civilization may have this supra-persona, but borne out of liberal ideology, its collective personality is glossed-over by many super ideas that people find a hard time keeping an abinding faith on one idea. Unlike the rigid and inflexible culture of the muslims, their supra-person has been molded by one central idea, that one coming from the Quoran, the Bible for the present and afterlife, for the spiritual and secular guidance.
Pope Benedict XVI may be correct. You can only end the "clash of civilization", not by killing each other, but by discussing about the bases of our faith, as muslims or as christians. The pope in his discourse was trying to hit the jugular issue, that is, the rationale for our schism with muslims. Unless we go back to the philosophical root of discord, there is no basis for dialogue. A debate, a dialogue, and a re-examination of our respective collective personality is the only way to peace.
Resolutions, dreams, and religions, and the success by which men achieve their pursuits depend on the clarity of what they want in the future: in case of a resolution, for a year; for dreams, for a lifetime; and for religions, for the life beyond the grave. If it were not clear to me what I wanted for my life, I would have wavered along the way, and may now possibly be in a different field. If a jihadist or a saint has still doubts of what his religion calls for him to do, he would not have sacrificed his temporal life in exhange for a heaven he does not have a vivid mental picture.
People who are left in the wayside are those who have so many self-portraits but none appear so vivid to them. That is why they try to take the different roads of life and yet reaching no particular destination. They try to swim in the sea of possibilities but drown on it.
As the bell tolls for a New Year, we draw our resolutions. Whether we can keep them at the end of the year depend on how vivid the goal to you at the end of the year.
I do have my resolution for the year, but since I am no longer in English 101, let me alone hear it as a murmur in my heart everytime I am tempted to break it.
I was appalled when Saddam Hussein's hanging was flashed on tv, courtesy of the cellphone digital capability. At the last hour, Saddam put up a brave face, and even requested that his face be not covered at the time of hanging. Our national hero, Jose Rizal, at the time of his execution on December 30, 1898, requested that he be shot facing the executioners. Both men faced death with uneasy calmness of nerves, although our hero, it may be said, died for a nobler cause. ( So we naturally assume as if just causes are monopolies of proclaimed heroes, and not of the historical villains)
You might wonder why I mention Saddam when this write-up is about resolutions, dreams, and religions. As I ponder on the subjects, I realize that these three are woven by the same fabric, manifesting only in variegated colors and shapes.
When we commit to a resolution, we always examine what we intend to become for a given year, and perhaps beyond. If one wants a healthy lifestyle, he may commit to a regimen of diet and exercise. I recall that when I was first year high school at Xavier University, I resolved to read the books that my classmates read in the elementary years, considering that language was my handicap then.
Resolutions are dreams for a shorter period of time. A lifelong dream on the other hand is what we intend to become as a person. I had opportunities before that had I accepted, I would have veered away from my incessant dream to become a lawyer. There was this chance to study in the US for further studies in sociology; another was a chance to go to India to hone further my knowledge on Eastern philosophy, if not Hinduism itself. In fact, when I just graduated in college, I was offered to work as a press relation officer for a governor of a province. I did forego these chances due to my dream to become a lawyer. As William Wordsworth said:
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and I could not travel both,
I took the one less travelled by
and it made the difference"
I am not sure now if I quoted Wordsworth verbatim, but I am so sure of the metaphor. The roads are about life. Spread before us are many possibilities, and we can only take one, and that choice would make a difference in one's life. Had I not forego the possibility of studying abroad, my life, and the people who I know now may not have been there in the other possibility.
Which brings us to again the unanswered question, what's the connection of Saddam to this article?
Saddam, during his heydays, committed genocide, torture, plunder, and even parricide. Name the atrocity, and in the most likelihood, he did it, perhaps in emulation of his idol Joseph Stalin, the butcher of Moscow. Yet, Saddam, in his last open letter, surrendered himself to his Supreme Being, and never showed any sign of remorse, as if what he did during his lifetime was for Allah. Why be remorseful indeed if you believe that what you do is for your God?
Take the jihadists , and yes, the crusaders during the dark era of christianity. They kill innocent people, young or old, in the name of their Supreme Being. Even if these "Holy Warriors" were beheaded, they would even proclaim joy because they have served their God, whatever name He may have. There was no remorse because afterall they did not die in vain, so went their belief which they keep even in their graves.
Saints and martyrs too died for a cause much higher than their physical existence. And they took the cruelties inflicted in them in anticipation of the promise of paradise.
Of course, one may complain, there is no comparison between a jihadist and a saint. If we argue on this matter, it may never end. But one thing is so certain: what drive these men to do the greatest deed and the worst misdeed,fame or infamy, as the case may be, is the burning passion to fulfill their self-projections. These men have a lucid clarity of what they would want to be in the present and eternal life. In fact, the degree of the missionary zeal by which they try to achieve their chosen missions depend largely on the clarity of their self-portraits.
The wave of terrorism in our contemporary history has been ascribed as the "clash of civilization", or simply put, cultural divide. Culture, as sociologists define it, is the sum total of the history of the people, including their collective beliefs, aspirations and outlook of the future. As a nation, people have their collective projection of themselves which we may call, and let me coin the word, a supra-persona. People rally to this supra-persona as if their individual selves are subsumed by the former.
That is why this "clash of civilization" has been recorded in the battle between David and Goliath, during the spread of Islam, the Inquisition period, up to now, and even in the future. You can kill the individual persona but you cannot kill this supra-persona because it is a personality that exists only in the consciousness of the people. You can kill a holy warrior but you cannot kill the mission. You may exterminate a race, but the idea remains.
Western civilization may have this supra-persona, but borne out of liberal ideology, its collective personality is glossed-over by many super ideas that people find a hard time keeping an abinding faith on one idea. Unlike the rigid and inflexible culture of the muslims, their supra-person has been molded by one central idea, that one coming from the Quoran, the Bible for the present and afterlife, for the spiritual and secular guidance.
Pope Benedict XVI may be correct. You can only end the "clash of civilization", not by killing each other, but by discussing about the bases of our faith, as muslims or as christians. The pope in his discourse was trying to hit the jugular issue, that is, the rationale for our schism with muslims. Unless we go back to the philosophical root of discord, there is no basis for dialogue. A debate, a dialogue, and a re-examination of our respective collective personality is the only way to peace.
Resolutions, dreams, and religions, and the success by which men achieve their pursuits depend on the clarity of what they want in the future: in case of a resolution, for a year; for dreams, for a lifetime; and for religions, for the life beyond the grave. If it were not clear to me what I wanted for my life, I would have wavered along the way, and may now possibly be in a different field. If a jihadist or a saint has still doubts of what his religion calls for him to do, he would not have sacrificed his temporal life in exhange for a heaven he does not have a vivid mental picture.
People who are left in the wayside are those who have so many self-portraits but none appear so vivid to them. That is why they try to take the different roads of life and yet reaching no particular destination. They try to swim in the sea of possibilities but drown on it.
As the bell tolls for a New Year, we draw our resolutions. Whether we can keep them at the end of the year depend on how vivid the goal to you at the end of the year.
I do have my resolution for the year, but since I am no longer in English 101, let me alone hear it as a murmur in my heart everytime I am tempted to break it.
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