*****
My only memory of the first Edsa revolution is of my Dad, wearing a yellow shirt, lifting me up in his arms and swinging me around until the room spun crazily--The Marcoses had fled Malacañang. I was five years old. I must have laughed with delight. I'm sure my parents did.
Years later, in college, I went to the various rallies to oust Erap. I read the papers, kept myself informed, had intelligent discussions. I chose the rallies I wanted to join. My best friend and I spent a night at EDSA before marching to Mendiola early the next day. I was proud to be part of that second Edsa revolution.
However, weeks after that January 2001 People Power revolution, Pro-Estrada groups staged an "Edsa 3" comprised mostly of the poor who voted for Erap. The new if fragile government dismissed the protests. Some said most were squatters who were simply paid to join the rally. The Archbishop made like Jesus and asked God to forgive them, for they know not what they do. Newspapers commented on nothing but the trash that littered Edsa Shrine after the masa had been dispersed. I was 20 years old and I cried.
But now, I have to stop and ask myself, Where are we? How far have we come? More importantly, Why again and again and again?
You see, if I look back on Edsa 1986, I remember yellow confetti. Edsa Dos, I clearly remember a helicopter, circling overhead, dropping a load of soft white stuff wrapped in plastic. I had hoped they were sandwiches--I was hungry. But they were T-shirts advertising Commando Waterproof Matches. Another kind of confetti.
You see, if I look back on the between-Edsa periods, I remember the same things. There was the US Bases and now, the Balikatan. There was Ormoc, and now Guinsaugon. There was Honasan, and now the Magdalo Group. Corruption. Election fraud. The OFWs. The poor farmers. The underpaid schoolteachers. The dead grandmothers at Ultra. The children on the streets.
I can't help but ask, and ask with trepidation, What, really, has changed?
And I can't help but wonder that if we should succeed in ousting Arroyo, what would I remember of Edsa 3? Worse, what would I remember after yet another revolution?
I am not saying that we not do anything. I am not saying that we wait like martyrs and let everything run its course. I am saying that we have to do something more often. I am saying that we expect change because we are ready, and we deserve it.
I am not saying that these people power revolutions are useless. But they will be if we lie back and accept everyday indignities and only rise to revolt if we have been abused over and over and over again. Animals will fight back if they have no choice. Any people will revolt if they have the arms and the numbers. We Filipinos did it peacefully under threat of tanks and of being found dead in a marsh. We did it twice and in the biggest fashion. And we will do it again.
But maybe it's time we tried to do a little bit everyday. Maybe it's time we forgot our differences permanently, and not only during times of crises. Maybe it's time we stop counting what it will cost us, and what it'll give us back. Maybe it's time we simply give.
It's time remembered the important parts. Because I'm afraid it's true: Sometimes, you can't make it on your own.
*****
Hunger Strike
Chris Cornell, Temple of the Dog
I don't mind stealing bread
From the mouths of decadence
But I can't feed on the powerless
When my cup's already overfilled
But it's on the table
The fire is cooking
And they're farming babies
While the slaves are working
The blood is on the table
And their mouths are choking
But I'm growing hungry
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