Do morals and politics mix in Philippine perspective?
ABS-CBN broadcaster Ted Failon always start his morning show “ Failon at Sanchez” with a prayer. He does it every single day. Yet, the more he prays and with him, millions who listen to his show, the more serious and things get worse than before. And not that I don’t believe in prayers, I do. Yet, based on scientific reports, prayers only work inside intensive care units.
The Washington Post said that” prayer is the most common complement to mainstream medicine, far outpacing acupuncture, herbs, vitamins and other alternative remedies. ” As early as 1872, scientists had conducted numerous research and observations specifically on the efficacy of prayers. Wikipedia noted that several studies on prayer research yielded positive results:
A number of studies have claimed that patients who are being prayed for recover more quickly or more frequently. One such study, with a double-blind design and about 500 subjects per group, suggested that intercessory prayer by born again Christians had a statistically significant positive effect on a coronary care unit population.[20] Another such study was reported by Harris et al..[21] Critics claim Byrd’s 1988 study was not fully double-blinded, and that in the Harris study, patients actually had a longer hospital stay in the prayer group, if one discounts the patients in both groups who left before prayers began,[22] although the Harris study did demonstrate the prayed for patients on average received lower course scores (indicating better recovery). One of the largest randomized, blind clinical trials was a remote retroactive intercessory prayer study conducted in Israel by Leibovici. This study used 3393 patient records from 1990-96, and blindly assigned some of these to an intercessory prayer group. The prayer group had shorter hospital stays and duration of fever.
While the Mayo Clinic, a reputable medical institution in the United States noted no clear link between a patient’s recovery and interlocutory prayers. Christian prayers have no effect on the recovery of heart patients.
Yet, 96 percent of the world’s population, believe in the power of prayer.
Prayer, as what most commonly believe, is part of one’s moral responsibility—it is, in fact, a component of one’s moral code. You pray because you believe. No atheist prays.
However, the more we pray, the more sinister, gruesome, unresponsive and inhumane our government and our politicians become. The question really is—are our prayers really works?
I think it is not the fallacy or the potency of prayers that we should question–it is probably a mis-application of the right method against political corruption. And this, I think, is basically in the realm of language.
The language of prayer or we now say, formally, the language of morality does not apply to politics simply because, in the Philippines, morality and politics do not mix. They are antipathetic to each other.
In politics, the more we pray, the lesser chances we get what we desire politically to happen. Since 2002, we have been praying for Gloria to take a firm step back and re-assess her politics. When she committed a faux pas last 2004, everyone prayed that she apologize to us. When she did apologize, do we expect her to just step out of the palace and hand over power to FPJ? If she did that, we would probably call her “nuts” or a dim wit.
US philosopher Michael Sander says that the language of morality should be used in politics. The US political philosopher Michael Sandel, who delivered this year’s Reith Lectures, argues the language of morals should be used in politics more than it has been: it is not just “what works”, it is “what’s right”.
Fairness, however, to put it in the Western perspective is different from what we perceive as “fair”. In modern Philippine politics, fair means having an equal opportunity to engage oneself in the political arena. Fairness is perceived to be more of “legal fairness”, than what this term genetically means.
Example was when Mrs. Arroyo issued an executive order preventing her Cabinet members from attending Senate inquiries. Most perceive that E.O. as “unfair”, but on the part of the palace (the “Powers-that-be”), it was not an unfair measure. In fact, it was “fair” since the government is just protecting itself from predatory and uncomfortable political inquiry.
When Mrs. Arroyo “cheated” in the 2004 elections and refused to step down, most felt she was unfair. Yet, in the minds of Mrs. Arroyo and her victors, it was “fair” for her to keep her seat since she got the most votes.
The more recent one–the issuance of Proclamation 1959. For Cong. Mikey Arroyo, the presidential son, it was a “fair measure” since his mother just responded to what she thought then was an explosive situation. Most thought that it was unfair since there was no basis for the declaration. What is “fair” is when Mrs. Arroyo availed of the extraordinary powers she still wields under the 1987 Constitution.
Fairness, in Philippine political speak, is what is legal and Constitutional, not what is moral. The problem lies when true students of the Law says that the Law, by itself, is moral. That is always not the case in the Philippines–what is legal might not be moral.
Same goes with the news that the palace knew that the Ampatuans are killing their political enemies in wanton fashion. It is convenient for us to say that government condemns these “chain-saw killings“; but politics is essentially a “dirty game” and expediency is more directed at “leniency” instead of “justice”. Fact is, politics is never synonymous to “justice”. There is no justice in politics.
Politics is power play–plain and simple. Its language is uncomplicated. As those who read Machiavelli already and always know for a fact—politics is simply a game played by animals or a-moralists. That’s why priests don’t go there, since, the Keepers of the Book already knew what becomes of them should they again, dabble in the “evil arts”.
So, when we say that it is “unfair” for the Arroyo administration to cut down its political opponents ahead of the 2010 elections or that it is “unfair” for Arroyo to even use martial law as a ruse for her to keep herself in power, that is being stupid. Of course, Arroyo will cut her enemies down and surely, martial law will be used by her to perpetuate herself in power. These are realities and languages that we should understand and use against her instead of just sitting in one corner and pray that the world change in an instant.
We are not God and we should not pretend to be one.
Use the language of Power to defeat those who practise its arts.
December 10th, 2009 @ Ricky Rivera
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