‘The good fight’
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
This is a well-known line by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to Timothy. The Greek “agonizomai,” translated as “fought,” literally means “to engage in conflict.” The word is customarily used in reference to athletic competitions and military dispute.
It has now been made apparent that our country is in constant conflict, especially with the prevalence of platforms for public debate such as social media. Fighting the good fight is not simply about doing what is right; it is about standing up for it even when everything seems to be against you. Some are just pugnacious, while some are grounded on pure reason, yet there are others who base their stand on truth. Who should we choose to be?
It has come to our nation’s awareness that the “war” being waged on drugs is turning out to be a killing spree—an inequitable one at that. However, there is a good side and a bad side to the matter, the good being the advocacy to quell this culture of unbecoming and uniting the faithful in this endeavor, and the bad being the obstinacy of the administration in dealing with the issue despite its negative effects to society. It is as if the President had become too obsessed with stamping out the problem of illegal drugs that he has not paid attention to what is really at stake.
People are admiring him for what they call his “integrity,” but in reality it is merely bullheadedness. Even the former president of Colombia, Cesar Gaviria, who was responsible for capturing one of the biggest drug lords, Pablo Escobar, admonished him in an opinion piece recently published in The New York Times on the disadvantages of employing violence to solve the drug problem. But the President, out of hubris and in his natural way of responding to criticism, called Gaviria an “idiot” and ignored the well-meaning advice.
Is it not being ridiculously myopic when one declares that one wants to attain peace in our land yet relentlessly wields weapons of defamation, ignorance, and indifference? Rise we must from this state of utter inability to perceive the truths in seemingly complex issues and situations.
How do we account for such destructive behavior? The Church urges us to reject these vile acts against humanity and pray that they be stopped, yet we act as if nothing has happened, as if blood has not been spattered in the streets. We have been taught that we are one in Christ; therefore, we must not think of anybody, no matter how wretched, as excluded from our community.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines recently made an official stand concerning the issue of extrajudicial killings through a pastoral letter that was read in every parish nationwide one weekend early this month (it can be found in the CBCP website). In the pastoral letter, the bishops discussed the sanctity of human life in the moral, national and social contexts. Because of the widespread killings, most of which are unjustified, the Church continues to raise public awareness despite denigration from critics. It is in the spirit of truth that the bishops’ advocacy is grounded. We must not take their statements for granted for in these lies our good fate. The Church should be commended instead of criticized because it is fighting for what is truly right. It has trained light upon the darkness of this campaign against prohibited drugs.
While it is true that the Church urges all Filipinos to be wary and unwavering in battling the brutalities unleashed by the so-called war on drugs, it is entirely supportive of it save for the manner in which it is being waged. The killings defy not only Church doctrine but also the law itself. Human rights are being violated and due process is being disregarded. Is it so desirable to kill these men (and women) who we think are inferior because of their perceived crime? Alas, it was never a case of whether we should get rid of these men (and women); rather, it is about what things we should get rid of in ourselves. What is it that we see in others that we do not see in ourselves? Perhaps a deeper understanding of ourselves would do us some good for the moment.
This war can only be won when pride has been swallowed and when genuine collaboration occurs. As far as this society is concerned, it seems to be a one-man show—a man playing God, doing the work of the evil one, instigating our contemporary plight.
Truly admirable are the bishops for their courage despite flak from many, including the President. They continue to stand for what is right in spite of their flaws, because they know that this is the truth.
Nothing, no matter the enormity, should stop us from spreading the truth. In reality we are all fallible and flawed, but it is what we do about it that matters. Either we let these frailties drag us down, or we rise from them. May we always be able to fight the good fight.
Jose Martin V. Singh, 18, is a second year history student at the University of Santo Tomas.
