Burning Down the House in Order to Kill the Rat
“I prefer a loyal staff officer to a brilliant one” Gen. Patton
“Good men change others, but the best of men change themselves”
“An effective leader is a catalyst who does not force change but enables change in others”
“If you’re enslaved by greed, you cannot lead”
The Problem with Terrorists - THEIR ACTION Never Matched Their Aspiration
On a personal note, what happened to the aborted mutiny last 27 July could be summarized in one word: OVERKILL. What could have been a simple case of administrative lapse in the Check and Balance of a democratic system, was met by force in the Balance of Terror perpetuated by the coup plotters, a case of burning down the house in order to kill the rat. Only time would reveal the extent of damage this extreme measure carried out by the mutineers has wrought not only to the integrity of the Armed Forces, which was thrown into the defensive, and how it set off a chain reaction of unintended consequences. One thing is definite, this brief rebellion affected the Filipino psyche.
To my mind, what we have before us is an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have a hostile group of junior officers who chose brotherhood over country. Officers who fanatically believed a piece of paper as the best replacement for the Constitution and the Bible itself, and once their demands are not met, they threaten the use of formidable force. What is more worrisome is that the Filipino society is still very much divided and disunited. Such a horrendous act would only espouse a culture of violence and the “might makes right” system of governance an accepted means of change.
One rebel officer told me that we should be glad and thankful to them because there is now a move in Congress to raise the level of the soldiers’ pay. Point blank I said: your action was no different than that of a mugger’s who pointed a weapon to a passerby to demand money from him. I went on explicating further that there is really no side to take in this issue, that we are all connected and will just be hurting our very own selves. I asked the rebel soldiers if they have considered how many government employees would be forced to leave the service in order to increase the soldiers’ pay? They all fell silent.
Evidence has yet to be unearthed that would give the mutiny any redeeming quality but as I write this article, the stories behind the scene become increasingly deplorable, hatched with extreme deceit and criminal in intent. The rebel soldiers’ action at the macro-level added monumental damage of despicable proportion to the current sorry state of the country…except of course, if it is a 100% outlandish and bizarre act of power grab, then it does well belong to a different story.
Another perplexing behavior of these young rebel officers is their myopic view of things. The truth stands steadfast: as long as this country lacks the abundance in the natural resources it badly needs, then no change in government would ever make the country rich. History has stated that conclusion, and experiences by other countries are replete with examples that would uphold this precept. The mutiny is very much comparable with that of an office floor plan, in which, no matter how you rearrange the interior, it could only accommodate so much. However, if they are advocating an Industrial type of revolution, then I might shift gear and consider that in mind. But then again… if it is a 100% outlandish and bizarre act of power grab, then it does well belong to a different story.
So the question of the day remains: how come brilliant and idealistic officers like those involved in the mutiny became tentacles of politicians?… or at least the evidences gathered point chiefly that way. What motivated these people to carry out extreme measures up to the point of sacrificing their own life for such a cause that can be resolved through legal means and does not warrant the change of government? Do the rebel soldiers have to burn down the entire house just to flush out the rats?
Need we be reminded by the tragic past like what happened in Jonestown, Guyana in November 1978 when the persuasive ability of one man, Reverend Jim Jones, led the mass suicide of more than 900 cult members? It was done so by mixing cyanide in their beverage. Ten years ago, America was held hostage in a similar fashion in Waco, Texas when the Branch Davidian religious sect headed by David Koresh fought it out with US forces along with 100 of his members who were all incinerated when the compound was razed to the ground. If mass hypnotism, also known as mind control, can happen in other advanced and modern countries like the United States, can the Philippines be far behind? Studies even showed that intelligent people are more susceptible to hypnotism and suggestions because they are intrinsically receptive. Could it be that this was what happened in Oakwood?
I clearly recall what William Petersen in C.S.I., an award-winning TV series in the U.S., said: “Whenever you put a crazy man and an insane one inside a room, the crazy man becomes apparently normal”. I leave the reader to make the conclusion.
