Year of the messiahs

In 2015, we thrust our fates in the hands of messiahs.

Early in the year, we cheered on Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago as she roasted one official after another during the hearings on the Mamasapano encounter. Finally, we thought, a senator who doesn’t mince her words, who displays the same passion as the concerned public, and whose feisty one-liners capture our very sentiments. We followed her saga and urged her to save the country by running for the presidency.

Another potential savior emerged later. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte rode on the support of Davaoeños who attested that he made their city safe and successful. The mayor’s aggressive crusade against crime, coupled by his bluntness when speaking about his leadership style, sent him to the top of the popularity polls. And we, the public sick of  trapos  and weaklings in national office, waited with bated breath for this fearless man to officially make his presidential bid.

Other aspirants inspired similar eagerness among their supporters. A quick glance at the Facebook pages of Vice President Jejomar Binay or of Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas, for example, would show how fans loyally defend their candidates from criticism hurled their way.

It’s not just politicians that gained an ardent following last year. There was Pope Francis, too, who continued to earn applause even from non-Catholics for his kindness and tolerance. And Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, who was hailed as an example of beauty and grace. Even Gen. Antonio Luna, previously occupying only a few paragraphs in history books, became our biggest symbol of nationalism and courage.

For us, these persons represented ideals for which we had been so thirsty, and we could not help but revere their names and trumpet our admiration for them.

So great was our devotion to our heroes that even when they failed standards, bent the rules, and violated outright the principles we held dear, we made excuses to defend them. They’re only human, we said. We loved them even more for showing their human faults. We forgave them for being imperfect, never mind that their transgressions bordered on inexcusable.

Zealous, unquestioning, defensive—that’s the kind of blind devotion for which we have always criticized the Nazis, and eerily, the kind of devotion we have started to display here. And though we could never imagine ourselves letting another Holocaust happen, if we continue to venerate our champions without scrutiny, we may already be tolerating too much.

Unethical ways, questionable associations, track records of corruption and incompetence—these are only a few of the faults we turn a blind eye to so we could preserve our faith in our champions.

It doesn’t matter who we are supporting—the conservative or the progressive, the strong or the smart, the Pope or the politicians—we cannot afford to let anyone go unchecked because of our absolute and unthinking reliance on them. While we recognize their merits and achievements, while we may have found our ideals in them, being blind to their indefensible lapses can cost us much.

History has taught us over and over again how catastrophes happened because popular persons were uncontested, their ideas unchallenged, and their actions barely restricted by any question of ethics or accountability.

Today, the start of this crucial year, is a perfect time to set aside our fandoms so we can objectively reassess our chosen messiahs. We can begin by considering questions and being open to the answers. How much stretching of ethics are we going to let our politicians get away with? How much of our leaders’ word are we going to take? Do we really agree with a popular person’s stance on critical social issues?

In addition, it’s time we practiced being more rational and analytical when faced with what others have to say about our heroes. This is especially needed every time we are parked in front of the TV set or wandering on the Internet—two notorious opinion machines.

A wide variety of information, misinformation, and personal preferences abound. With that, it’s easy to find validation that we’ve made a foolproof bet, whoever it is we are betting on. Confirmation bias makes it easy for us to find people on our camp, sharing our beliefs, making it seem as though we have made an infallible choice.

It’s also easy, unfortunately, to get lost in our own echo chamber, comfortably regurgitating the same old opinions while rejecting facts that don’t agree with those opinions.

But being objective means sticking with the facts, even if they are ugly. Even if they paint an undesirable stain on our champion’s immaculate image. Even if they disappoint us or make us think twice. Actually, it would be even better if they make us think twice.

In 2015, we latched our great hopes on those who showed promise. In 2016, may those hopes be guided by fact-based, unbiased judgment, and may we be ready to detach ourselves from our existing devotions when we need to. Moreover, may our choice of heroes be truly ours, not a mimicking of the majority or of a loud minority, not a mere reiteration of what we heard on the news or read on social media.

In 2016, may we take charge of our own fates, and see through our messiahs.

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hyacinthjt@gmail.com