The Heart and the Spirit of a Nation (Part 4)

We should now inspect the palpable, gaping holes in the fabric of our society that weaken it. Often, we easily attribute this condition to the political mismanagement of our country. Wrong! As we have been saying, the problem is much deeper and goes right into the core of our hearts and of our spirits.

The root of our present multifarious problems goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when Satan led our first parents to follow his ways through subtle and devious ways. Much of what we see then in government, politics, religion, business and media are shot full of holes -- holes of empty lies. That is another way of saying this world is controlled by the forces of darkness led by the “Father of All Lies”. For the best and most effective tool used to keep and control unwary people under one’s power is that age-old trick called LIES or FALSEHOOD.

Who among the present candidates tell the truth? Who speak blatant lies and half-truths? Who took bribes and deny it? Who used their positions to favour their family’s businesses? Who served as public servants and were not true to their vow to serve the masses? Who makes promises now with the silent intention to break them or go beyond their lawful duties?

If we could only answer these correctly, we would all be voting for the most truthful or genuinely servant-hearted of all candidates, if there is one. But precisely, the reason we are all in a big mess is because we cannot differentiate between lies and truth and even lie to ourselves and to others very often. Election campaign period, no doubt, is that time when lies flood our lives with the vengeance of ten Ondoy floods.

Lies come from our evil minds. Traditional politics is basically that which utilizes deception of the masses as the main tool for acquiring power. Hitler was a master of this technique. It makes it difficult then for majority of people to make an objective decision when lies and accusations of lying are thrown around during election campaign periods. We end up choosing whom we perceive to be the least evil or the least liar among the possible choices.

But is it the case in the present electoral contest? Are we up against a gallery of evil-minded manipulators who hold no punches in trying to put down their opponents through dirty tactics? We obviously see this happening as we come close to Election Day and will probably see more dirt flying. Is this the only way we can conduct a campaign or is there something we, individually and as a nation, can do to address the real issues at hand?

I submit that our country – like any sick person -- is basically ill as it has not achieved its full potential and status as a free nation. By what particular standards do I say that this is a fact? By social, economic, political and moral standards which would take so much space to discuss. Even if we assumed we were completely healthy in the first two (although in reality, we are socially and economically challenged), we would still be only half healthy when we take into account the political and moral malaise that besets our nation.

This pervading illness is a result of the basic immoral or evil administration of our nation by people under the control of dark spiritual forces. Psychologist M. Scott Peck defines “evil” as “the exercise of political power – that is, the imposition of one’s will upon others by overt or covert coercion – in order to avoid...spiritual growth.”* Politics then can be seen as a mere extension of the cosmic battle waged by evil forces against God’s sovereignty in order to subvert His will on Earth. That is, people – by their prideful use of their free will – commit acts that violate the laws of God and of society. Nowhere is this more true than in governance. In the face of such a chaotic reality, choosing a worthy leader would help jumpstart our journey to genuine recovery.

In the previous articles, we emphasized the idea that our country has a higher spiritual role to play than what most of our candidates would want us to be aware of. True, our many domestic problems demand immediate attention – health, education, infrastructure, transparency, corruption, etc. What we might be missing in our desire to solve these real problems is the question of why we must attain national development at all. Why deal with these problems in order to attain social, political and economic stability at all? Is it simply so we can say we are a bona fide member of the elite club of progressive nations? That we have what it takes to be at par with the community of world-class states?

It seems to be a given desire among many of us that in choosing a leader, we want one who will uplift us from our economic troubles and to represent us effectively in the global community. But is our country a mere part of Asia or of Asia-Pacific? Are we but a nation among hundreds which make up this Earth? Or do we have a greater role to play in the continuing historic and cosmic plan made by our Creator from the beginning?

But are giving too much importance to this plain and simple electoral exercise? Do we really care who will win as long as we have a government that will continue to allow us to live and work in peace and quiet? Are we then satisfied to live the way we have for the past decade or so? No, the essential question is: Will we allow our conscience to bequeath to our children a nation that has remained unproductive and undisciplined and just leave it up to them to unravel the whole mess for themselves?

If politicians, in general, cannot be honest with us, we must, at least, be honest with ourselves. We have a chance to begin rebuilding our nation and our lives. The heart and the spirit of the people of this nation desire a better government established according to God’s plan and run by people who submit to His laws.

We cannot possibly go through all the things that God requires from a “poor and mismanaged” country like ours. Common sense simply tells us that we remain bound by the chains of darkness, ignorance and corruption, no matter how much progress or development we might have attained so far. In the end, moral or spiritual health determines the real condition of an individual or of a nation.

What is happening in Thailand, for instance, speaks volumes of the real condition of the heart and spirit of that nation. Civil strife and violence that arise from a divided nation tell us that evil reigns in the hearts of many of its citizens and manifests itself as hatred, criminality, greed, murder and rage. An election conducted under a military junta (reminiscent of our pre-EDSA snap election under Marcos’ regime), tends to encourage people to commit evil or immoral deeds in the name of nationalism, self-preservation, military discipline and even political righteousness. We thank God that in 1986, all those things found a way to be resolved peacefully. But what if they arise again and come to a fiery clash this time? Would that be the time we realize that God has departed from us and will finally forsake us to do our worst?

God forbid!

As it is, we – a nation of faithful believers, albeit so religiously and politically divided -- have been given the road map through the “valley of death”. God speaks to us more clearly now through those who declare His eternal plan. King David trusted in his Shepherd’s mighty staff to drive away the many enemies that surrounded him. The mighty hand of God stretches toward us now, waiting for us to willingly reach out so He can lift us up from the swirling currents that seek to drown us into oblivion. We can be as direct, plain and obvious as we want to be in declaring God’s plan for our nation today. But our hearts and our spirits – humbled before the Spirit of God -- can discern clearly what He wants us to do for ourselves, for our families and for our nation.

In May, vote for God’s rule of righteousness.


* M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie (Simon and Shuster, NY, 1983).

(Photo above: Sculpture in Baguio City depicts an Ibaloi traditional dance which for thousands of years expressed our joy in the bounties of Nature up in the Cordillera mountains. Today, however, many of our youth wiggle to the tune and rhythm of decadent and immoral songs in many villages.)