The lessons of August

The excitement surrounding gold and bronze medals, as well as the near-misses, has reached its peak. The first half of August has brought us more golden moments than ghostly ones, which I consider a true blessing. Now that we are in the second half of the month, the character of August is beginning to shift back to its traditional atmosphere.

The weather has been relatively mild, with no typhoons so far in August, thanks to July, which preemptively took the brunt of Typhoon Carina early on. We have experienced a few thunderstorms, but that is just typical for this time of year. This month, I’ve monitored two earthquakes so far: one in Surigao del Sur and the other off Northern Bohol. However, perhaps the more concerning issue is Taal Volcano, which has been emitting volcanic smog (or vog). Kanlaon Volcano remains restless but has been calmer since its disturbances two months ago.

What is turning increasingly sour is the political landscape, particularly the escalating feud between the Marcos and Duterte families. This conflict has sparked speculation that extends beyond mere politics, hinting at misgovernance and crime. I’ve read about congressmen pushing for the Commission on Audit (COA) to audit or disclose its findings regarding the hundreds of millions in confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education. Furthermore, there is tension surrounding the Vice President’s complaint about the reduction of her security detail, which has been cut from over 400 personnel to just over 300.

The more sensational news revolves around revelations from a former Customs Intelligence officer, who claims that after apprehending a large quantity of imported shabu, he was arrested and imprisoned. There is also a video from a press conference in which former President Duterte angrily and publicly orders the arrest of the Customs officer. Today, allegations suggest that the Duterte family has been involved in the importation of shabu along with controversial Chinese nationals.

Adding to the troubles of August, the Bureau of Immigration reported that former mayor Alice Guo, a suspected non-Filipino citizen who managed to run for and be elected, has left the country without passing through border controls. Even more troubling is the possibility that Alice Guo might have been entering and exiting the Philippines without the knowledge of immigration and border officials. Golden moments are quickly overshadowed by embarrassing incidents, all courtesy of the pervasive corruption eroding the foundations of our governance and noble culture.

As I write this, we are in that part of August 2024 when a super blue moon lights up the sky. A super blue moon occurs due to the combination of three astronomical events: a full moon, a supermoon, and a blue moon. According to NASA, this rare alignment happens when the different cycles of blue and supermoons coincide on the calendar.

What is technical or cosmic in nature is not only beautiful to behold but also sparks many other conversations, particularly in astrology. Special meanings are ascribed to unique astronomical coincidences, and I cannot fault those who believe there is something magical or spiritual about full moons in general, and super blue moons in particular. Nature has a way of reminding us, through its beauty or power, that there is much we still do not comprehend. We do know, however, that full moons are truly a sight to see and that the moon’s movement affects ocean tides.

In our ignorance of the full context and role of the moon in earthly life, we tend to dismiss its significance—unless one is connected to life around the ocean and seashores. Or, in that ignorance, we speculate about hidden meanings, both spiritual and occult, using our intuition or imagination.

Ignorance often drives people to act in ways that can be irrational or even foolish. When we lack understanding, we feel insecure, leading us to create configurations of life that ease that insecurity. Too often, we follow blindly, either a cult leader or a herd. One thing is certain: we cannot help but speculate, even gossip, simply to vent our fears. Many politicians or religious leaders have exploited this throughout history, profiting and gathering armies of followers by tapping into the fears of the uninformed.

In more recent times, however, there are fewer spellbinders and religious fanatics, mainly because money has overtaken many of them. Money has taken on god-like powers because society has decreed it so, placing it as the primary value in life. Money is now considered the master key to all problems, replacing the deity we once revered. Our traditional value system has become warped and is now centered around money as the ultimate goal. This distortion persists until death becomes imminent and undeniable, coupled with the growing realization that money cannot halt our mortality.

The ascendancy of money is proportional to the descendancy of our capability to stand on our two feet from the power of what we can do ourselves. The more we do not know how to fend for ourselves, the more we depend on money to do it for us. This weakness is what makes the world go round, as the old saying goes, as money is the tail that wags the dog. It is pitiful to witness the way money has risen to capture mankind over my lifetime, but it is a bitter reality that must be admitted.

In the true sense, there is no learning poverty among our young. Children by divine or natural design are like sponges – they learn whether they try to or not. If there is now a measured “learning poverty” among them, it is directly proportional to the poverty of teaching – meaning what is taught is poor, impoverished, severely lacking in quality and in spirit. This is, to my mind, the greatest challenge before us today, how to undo the artificiality of the life we live and discard the alternative reality dominating us.