Renaissance and the RH Bill

Still having a holiday hangover.... Berlin, Pisa, Florence, and Venice are all uniquely beautiful. Each is legendary and has its own place in history. But Florence has charmed me the most at this time. Maybe it's because it was my first time in Florence, whereas it was my seventh visit in Berlin and the third in Venice. But there's something in Florence that has caught my curiosity, my worldview, my interest.

Wish I were an artist or an architect, but I'm just a student of history, a student of politics, a student of development, a student of science, a student of change. Florence has reminded me of the system of patronage crafted by the Medicis, the excesses of the clergy, as well as the viciousness of the church, the state, and the elite families whose accumulation drive for wealth and power entailed violence and the establishment of the regime of mendacity that took the name of 'God' in vain. At the same time, Florence has recalled to me the personal and professional lives, works, struggles, and tragedies of the greats Machiavelli, Galileo, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, Raphael, Giotto, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, et al. There must be this longing in me for the virtues, spirit, and lessons of the Renaissance — to begin anew, to question, to experiment, to think, to act, to imagine, to fight, to resist, to rebel, to change....

And then I thought of the Philippines and the Filipinos whose tragic political-economic-cultural development past and present have not been served well by the elites of the state, the church, and business. Brilliant ideas, creative initiatives, and talented people are often ignored, thwarted, or co-opted by these self-serving elites who have material and ideological interests in the protection, perpetuation, and expansion of their presumed hegemonic power over resources, nature, and human lives.

On Tuesday, 7 August, may the social forces of Renaissance for enlightenment, reform, and change overcome the Philippine Savonarolas and win (out) over the medieval forces of Inquisition.

God bless, the Philippines and the hopeful Filipinos.