Must we curse darkness instead of lighting candles?

With several reports on the Mamasapano incident now out in the open, we are, it seems, going through a biblical moment—except that it’s a “Tower of Babel” experience. Amid a cacophony of discordant conclusions, the doubts, mistrust and hatred generated by this ugly incident will likely continue to pester like an infected wound that will sap the energy of the nation for a foreseeable future.

Why do we, Filipinos, seem to delight so much in wallowing in our own mess instead of picking up ourselves after a fall and moving on? For God’s sake, what really is wrong with us? Are we fated to fail, after all?

Famous spiritual author Eckhart Tolle said: “History is past, the future is not certain, focus on the ‘NOW.’”

I believe there are four basic challenges that we must face squarely:

1. Recognize that it will be unrealistic to expect that each investigating body will ever accept completely the conclusions of the other. As Wikipedia explains the Indian parable about the blind men and the elephant, it “illustrates a range of truths and fallacies; broadly the parable implies that one’s subjective experience can be true, but that such experience is inherently limited by its failure to account for other truths or a totality of truths where there is a deficit or inaccessibility of information, the need for communication, and respect for different perspectives.” Throw in the grandstanding, turfing and attention-grabbing of some politicians and you have completos ricados (complete recipe) for an indecent circus!
2. The longer we find a mutually acceptable explanation of the Mamasapano encounter, the longer the blame game and the finger-pointing will linger.
3. The longer the sipsip (the sycophants) of vested interest groups muddle the issue, the more the mutual trust and goodwill generated in the past will dissipate.
4. The longer P-Noy refuses to say “sorry” in clear and unmistakable terms, the harder and longer he will fail to shepherd the Bangsamoro Basic Law to a desirable end.

What, indeed, is terribly wrong with us, Filipinos? Why are we addicted to the habit of “cursing the darkness instead of lighting a candle” that will illuminate our road to the future?

Helen Keller, the extraordinary blind person, said: “The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has a sight but has no vision.” Have we all lost our vision of a beautiful and just future? Tsk, tsk!

—CARLOS D. ISLES, [email protected]