mangoblackberry

[mangoblackberry]

Peace Plan for the Philippines

Martin Luther once said that nothing good ever comes of violence. People would always say that there is no winner in every war. I also believe that whenever there is violence, it is also a lose-lose situation for both parties. Although, if this is the case why do still a lot of group of people try to inflict violence on other people? In today’s society, several political violence is starting to emerge. The violence that was rooted in our differences. Why do we have so much violence today? We experience two world wars, a cold war, civil war, massacres, terrorism, and a lot more. The reason behind this is our differences. That is why I wanted to propose a peace plan that will focus on the Philippines first. This is due to the fact that I believe that a state must first do it so that other states will be able to see the effect and will eventually try to make it as a model for their own state.  

 Before getting into the peace plan, let us look first who are the ones who are inflicting violence. For this, let us look at the incident in the recent Marawi crisis. It is a battle between the Philippine government security forces and the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant that includes the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Salafi jihadist groups. Bombings, air Strikes, exchange of gun shots, and a lot more violence were happening in the Marawi. Not only the lives of these groups and soldiers were put in danger but also the lives of a lot of innocent people. On July 12, 2017, in a report of ABS CBN news, there were 2 soldiers that were killed and 11 others were wounded because of the air strike that happened. Structures also collapsed because of the impact of the explosion and because of this, there were lives that were taken away. Martial Law was even declared by President Duterte in order to solve the crisis that was happening there. On July 25, 2017, a report was made by The Diplomat, the lower house and the Senate approved the extension of Martial Law in Marawi. Duterte explained in his second States of the Nation Address (SONA) that the extension was for the preparation for “future of war-torn Marawi City and the expected counter-retaliation from terrorist supporters” (Cabalza, 2017).  

 In order for us to further understand what is really the root of terrorism here’s an insight from a documentary about the Marawi crisis. “Ang kaguluhang sumira sa isang siyudad, ang gumulat sa buong bansa”. This is how the documentary entitled “Di Ka Pasisil” that was shown in ABS CBN last August 13, 2017, describes the Marawi crisis. According to Amer Hamzah Lucman, a friend of Omar Maute, Omar was just an ordinary Maranao like them. He is good in school, whenever his classmates had a hard time in school, he was always willing to help. When Omar joined the cadet, he showed his other side of being a caring and funny. Gracia Dando, his teacher, even said that he is a respectful student to his teachers, there were no signs of him becoming a terrorist. In just a day, Gracia and Amer said that they were shocked to see the new Omar. The soldiers do not who will be shot next, or until when they will leave. Every single day, they live in horror, they have to make this sacrifice in order to get Marawi out of the hands of the Maute-ISIS terrorist group. To quote what was said in the documentary: “habang tumatagal padami ng padami ang mga sundalong nasusugatan”. They admitted that the soldiers were not out numbered, they even had modern weapons but the thing that the Maute had an advantage is that they are from Marawi, they know Marawi more than these soldiers know the place. In the documentary, the reporters had a chance to talk to the soldiers, and when one of the soldiers cried, I felt how hard it is for these soldiers to be there fighting for peace while they are away from their families. These soldiers do not know when will be their last day on earth, they do not know if there is a tomorrow for them. For them, it is okay to be away from their families as long as they know that the country will be safe from any horror that these terrorist group will bring. Every day, these soldiers faced a lot of horrors, but it is through this they that learned to fight for each other. They also had an interview with Abdul who is a child fighter of the Maute group. According to him, the Maute recruit children who were not able to study. They have training, in the morning they study the Quran, in the afternoon, they learn how to use and operate the weapons, they clean these weapons and this is lead by their leader who is no other than Omar Maute. What is horrifying is what is written on the blackboard that these kids have to read it is in Arabic that says “patayin nito sila mga Kristiyano”. When the reporter as Abdul if he wanted to kill the Christians he said without having second thought “gusto ko pumatay at gusto kong mamatay kasi kapag namatay ako may regalo ako kay Allah”.

 A lot would say that the Maute-ISIS groups are the bad people here. The soldiers and the innocent people are the victims. Although for me, I believe that both parties are the victims here. It does not matter who inflicted the horror, they are still both the victim. Due to the fact that I believe that these terrorist groups are just a victim also of the society. After watching a lot of documentaries, especially those documentaries that interviewed the people who are part of the terrorist groups, I can say that they are people who were victimized by the system.

 Indeed, I salute all the soldiers who are willing to risk their lives just to make sure that the Philippines will be a safe place to live in. seeing them, it makes me feel proud to be a Filipino because they proved that Filipinos will always fight for each other even if it means that their lives will be put in danger. I am also hurt to see that a lot of innocent people have to live in horror because of these terrorist groups, especially seeing kids living with fear. It is terrifying to see Abdul, who was once part of the Maute group, can’t go home to his family because of the fear that if the Maute-ISIS group knew that he was still alive, they would kill his family. Above all, no words can explain how I fell towards the Maute-ISIS group. On the one hand, I am angry at them for inflicting the horror in Marawi. On the other hand, I feel sorry for them because I know that they are the victims of the society. They had their ideology and that’s what they are fighting for.

 After what happened, a lot of lives were taken away already. Due to this, I would like to come up with a peace plan. I know that it is hard, but I also know that with the right system and attitude we will attain the peace that we all wanted. Seeing the story of Omar and how he was as a kid, I believe that there is still goodness deep inside his heart. That is why for my peace plan, the government, schools, churches, and families are all important. These are my proposed plans:

1.    The government must go into an agreement with these groups. They must have a compromise of what they want. I believe in the give-and-take system.

2.    At least once a month, Catholics and Muslims must come together to eat and pray. This has to a collaborative work between the church and the government of the state.

3.    Schools must teach the children to learn to respect the difference and it must not be a hindrance in order for them to become friends.

4.    Families must learn to nurture their children to grow with respect to their fellow men and also fear towards the Higher being that they are worshipping

5.    The church, both the Catholic/ Christian and Muslim churches, must teach their congregation that they must learn to respect all the different religious groups.

6.    These terrorist groups who inflicted the terror will be given pardon by the government, they can live peacefully again and have a fresh start and they have to sign the contract that they will not do anything to start a war again. Any violations of these rule will mean a death penalty for them.

 With this, I believe that little by little, we will be able to learn to accept our differences and live harmoniously. Not only, we will live in peace but also the future generation will have a brighter future. I believe and I am very positive that there still a chance for us to live in a world where there’s peace and harmony.

  Reference:

·      Documentary: Di Ka Pasisiil  (August 13, 2017)

·      Cabalza, C. (2017). “Duterte’s extend martial law and the future of Marawi”. The diplomat. Retrieved August 12, 2017 from http://thediplomat.com/2017/07/dutertes-extended-martial-law-and-the-future-of-marawi/. <July 25, 2017>

·      2 soldiers dead, 11 injured as air strike misses target in Marawi. (2017) ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 12, 2017 from http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/12/17/2-soldiers-dead-11-injured-as-air-strike-misses-target-in-marawi. <July 12, 2017>

[mangoblackberry]

ISIS: Behind the Mask

“I am not a Belgian; I am Muslim” This is a line said by Delefortrie in an interview by CNN which has impacted me because I felt like these people are also victims of the society and the government system. Delefortrie is a 28-year-old is one of the many young people who had decided to join the most notorious group known as ISIS. The documentary entitled ISIS behind the Mask showed the other side of the issue, they showed a man behind the mask. Delefortrie was an ordinary young Catholic boy who even became an altar boy in the church until he realized that converting to Muslim is an upgrade. The time that he joined the ISIS group, he said that he felt that he has an identity. He felt that he is a real Muslim whenever he is in the group. Given a choice, he said that he would rather be in Syria rather than being in Belgium. Additionally, he believes that Osama bin Laden was a hero and because of this he even named one of his children, Osama.

 While watching the documentary I felt like these ISIS may be perceived as ruthless people by a lot of other people but I realized that maybe they are also victims of the society and the system of the government. For me, a lot of young people would think that joining ISIS is cool because they think that the government is not for them. That is why I believe that the root cause of the problem is also on how the government and the society treat other people. A lot of people, especially those who are in the lower class, were alienated and have felt that the government will never be on their side. As a result of this, when they saw that a group of people will be fighting for and with them, they are interested to join immediately. Due to this reason, I believe that the only way to solve the problem of ISIS comes back to the issue of the government system. We need a change of the system so that the government will be able to make the people from different classes feel that there is a government that will fight for and with them.

 Thus, I believe that the people who are joining ISIS are not “bad people” as we thought of. They are just people who are looking for a community where they can sense their belongingness. They are just looking for a system and a society where their voice can be heard. Most importantly, they are looking for someone who will fight for what they believe in and who will fight for them all throughout. That is why I believe that the government must strive to make the people feel that they are not alienated even if they are part of the lower class.

[mangoblackberry]

Afghanistan: The Great Game Documentary

“Afghanistan is an easy country to enter, but a difficult one to leave”. This is a line said by Rory Stewart in the documentary entitled Afghanistan: The Great Game. In the first episode, it showed how the British intervened in Afghanistan when the rival between then and Russia became more intense. The great game was a period where both have mutual suspicion on each other. According to Seward, when the book of Alexander Burnes was translated to French, Russian people started to read it and assumed that Britain began expanding in the north that led to the first British Invasion of Afghanistan. This is where the three Anglo-African wars started, this is the three conflicts that happened because Britain which is based in India, wanted to extend their power in Afghanistan in order to oppose the Russian influence. In the second episode, it showed that Soviet and American aid came to Afghanistan. The CIA gave modern weaponry and  Charlie Wilson and Joanne Herring raised 9 billion and gave it to Afghanistan. In 1988, the Taliban was victorious in imposing the Islamic law. Since then, Afghanistan became a refuge to a lot of terrorist groups.

Who would have thought that Afghanistan would be exploited but in the end, they will be seen as a threat to the British national security. I believe that the Philippines can also be a threat to the other countries. Today, we would perceive other countries as a threat to us, but I believe that the government must only learn to have allies and make some negotiations in order for us to be a stronger country. We may be considered as a weak state today, but I believe that with the right government decision we will be able to become a strong state.

We have experienced a lot of terror and horror in the hands of the colonizers and also even in the hands of our own government from the Marcos even until today. Due to this, I believe that the future leaders of this country can use this as a tool in order for us to become a strong state and become a threat to any state. We just need our government to be more competitive at the same time cooperative and wise when it comes to making allies so that we can be a developed country in the future.

[mangoblackberry]

Septembers of Shiraz

In 1979 during the Iranian Revolution after the overthrow of Shah, the movie Septembers of Shiraz started. Isaac was caught by the revolutionaries for he is perceived as someone who is loyal to the regime that was overthrown. The movie revolved around how they tortured Isaac both physically and psychologically. While he was arrested by the revolutionaries, Farnez, who is his wife tried to get information about him and where he is. They planned to escape Iran and go to Turkey through the mountains. At first, they had a hard time escaping Iran, but in the end, they were able to escape.

 This movie reminds me of what happened during the Marcos Era. Although, some can’t consider People Power 1 as a revolution, yet others still consider it as one. Regardless of what my stand is regarding the People Power 1, I believe that the movie and what happened in the Philippines has a common denominator. What is common between the two is that whoever is loyal to the administration that was overthrown, surely these officials or people will be punished. For me, this is something that is wrong. As what many would say Cory Aquino brought back democracy in the Philippines and with this being said I believe that it is part of the system that we respect whoever the people supports. If one will still support the Marcoses, the government must not punish him because this is what democracy means. In a democratic system, everyone is free to support who they want to support. After a changed of a system, why do the alliances of the administration that was overthrown has to live in fear?

 Thus, I think that our state leaders and the government’s problem are that they wanted so much power. When an administration is overthrown, they try to punish those who were loyal to the old administration because they see them as a threat to their power. Due to this, I believe that whenever a revolution happens or an administration gets overthrown, it does not mean that the system will be better, it only means that a new group of elites will be coming in to alienate those who are not for their administration.

[mangoblackberry]

Secret History of ISIS

One of the greatest problem of the world as a whole today is the threat of ISIS. The documentary entitled “The Secret History of ISIS” showed the everything started. They showed how brutal they are. Zarqawi, who was the founder of ISIS was characterized as someone worse than bin Laden.  ISIS had done a lot of violence all over the world. They had beheadings, suicide bombings, and mass killings. All of this was planned by Zarqawi. When Zarqawi died, everyone thought that it was the end of ISIS but it came as a surprise that Baghdadi, the successor of Zarqawi was more ruthless, he even fulfilled Zarqawi’s dream. He declared himself to be the caliph, the ruler of the global caliphate.

 I believe that one of the greatest mistakes here was done by the government also, first is when Vice President Dick Cheney tried to force CIA to make a link between Zarqawi, bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein. Second is when President Obama refused to get involved with the issue on ISIS. Though, we can’t also blame Obama because he promised United States will be out of Iraq’s ISIS issues. After 9 years, in 2011, he said that US military troops will go back to the United States and they will disengage from Iraq, militarily and politically.

 After watching the whole documentary, I was alarmed. Due to the fact that ISIS is an issue that the world must face today. State leaders must think of solutions so they can solve the problem as one. Fighting ISIS individually will never work. The time has come that the world must come together and be politically involved. This issue is not only the problem of Iraq nor the United States, this is the problem of the world. It may be hard for the different states, but today we must all take the risk. A lot of lives need to be sacrificed so that the future generations will be able to live in a safer place. Unlike today, where there were bombings around the world. It is frightening that you can die just by walking along the streets. No one knows when will this group attack a certain state. ISIS are not simple criminals that we can put to jail, they are brave and ruthless, they even have videos showing how they are beheading a person, or burning people alive. That is why I believe that this is the time to forget about competitions among states and start collaborating with one another to solve this issue.

[mangoblackberry]

Worse than War

Why does genocide happen? How can these people kill their fellow people?  These are the question that kept on going in my mind while watching the documentary entitled “Worse Than War.” This blog will focus on one word: choice.

  “Genocide is always political”, this is the line in the documentary that can best answer my 2 questions. It happens because of politics, people can kill their fellow people because of political reasons. The documentary mentioned the different goals of why political leaders commit genocide. To quote on what is stated in the documentary “The leaders' goals vary, depending on the time, place, and circumstances: Pol Pot wanted to radically transform Cambodian society; the Turkish leader Mehmed Talaat wanted to secure Turkey's decaying empire; Adolf Hitler wanted to create a vast political empire ruled by the German master race; Colonel Theoniste Bagosora and his fellow Hutu leaders wanted to secure political power in Rwanda for the Hutu; and in the Balkans, Slobodan Milosevic wanted to permanently redraw the political map of the region” (Worse than war, 2010). On the other hand, the side of the people who helped these political leaders in attaining the political goals also had their reason why they are able to kill their fellow people. In the documentary, it was mentioned that for some, they are just being threatened that they are the one who will be killed. Although for some it’s because they were not able to see the humanity in others. Another thing that was mentioned in the documentary was that in Bosnia, Muslims were killed by the Christians. From this, we can see that one cannot judge a certain ethnicity or group of people base on their religions. Genocide knows no religion. Today, a group of Muslims is always equated to terrorist groups, but we must realize that Christians can also initiate political violence. Lastly, it was also shown that Goldhagen was able to interview the former dictator and also the person who is responsible for the genocide in Guatemala, President José Efraín Ríos Montt. According to him, staring in the eyes of the “killer”, he felt horror and disgust but he was reminded that it still boils down to a choice. That is why he asked the question “can we get future leaders to make different decisions?”

 The question now is: what are the actions taken by the international organizations such as the United Nations? Today, what we need is to be able to choose. We need to choose leaders that will promote peace and security in his or her own nation state. Our government must also choose to punish those influencing political leaders who committed the crime. We also need to have international organizations that will choose to protect the people rather than just watching it. Lastly, we ourselves must choose to be people promoting peace amongst other people. We all must choose to see the humanity in others and we must choose to shake the hands of other ethnic groups and other race. Whatever government system we have, whether it is democratic, federal, or authoritarian, we must choose to live in a state free from political violence. Every change in the system begins with a choice.

 Reference:

Documentary: Worse Than War

[mangoblackberry]

Kinyarwanda

There is always a choice. This is the thing that I have learned in the movie entitled “Kinyarwanda”. The movie showed what happened in Rwanda during the Rwanda genocide. Although, this is a more positive side of the event. It showed how people in Rwanda choose to forgive, how the Tutsi forgive the Hutu. The line that really made an impact on me is when the Hutu said that “I will not call myself a Hutu, I will not call you a Tutsi, for we are all Rwandan.” This line showed how sincere he was in asking for forgiveness. He showed that even a man who has killed a lot of people can be someone who is soft and has a good heart.

 Forgiveness will never be easy for the people in Rwanda who were victimized. Although, looking at the positive side of the genocide, the movie showed that our perception of the Muslims people is all wrong. Due to the fact that, in the movie the Muslims were the ones taking care of the people who are victimized. They are the ones who made the way to protect the Rwandans. Here we can see how the priests, themselves made the way for the Tutsi to be killed. They were just seeking refuge in the church but it is the priests who were the traitors and gave them in the arms of the Hutu. We can also see here that it is possible for Christians and Muslims to stay in harmony. There was a scene in the movie where they prayed together and this showed that it is possible. Christians/Catholics and Muslims may have different ways of worshipping but it is possible to pray together despite of the difference. I believe that this should be something that must be learned by the people not only in Rwanda but also all over the world. The Gacaca court and their transitional justice also made an impact on me. The hardest thing in this world is to ask for forgiveness in front of the person to whom you committed a crime. It is also hard for the victim to be able to look in the eyes of the person who killed your whole family and say that he is forgiven. That is why at the end of the movie where this scene is shown, I felt the courage of both parties. Being able to forgive and also asked for forgiveness will be something that can be considered as a heroic act.

 I believe that what happened in Rwanda will always stay in the hearts of the Rwandan. The pain will always be there, the wound that was made by the genocide will always stay inside of the Rwandans. Although, the thing that touched me was that these Rwandan learned to move forward and forgive the people who have committed the sin. Through this, I believe that soon, they will be able to grow as a nation and courage among the Rwandan people will always be there. The best thing that can happen in this world, is to be able to see the hope in the eyes of the people who were wounded and scarred but never broken. Due to the fact that these people will always learn to forgive and move towards development.

 After watching the movie, I believe that choosing forgiveness must also be present among the hearts of the Filipinos. One thing that hinders as to move toward progress is our hatred of the past. We never moved forward because we always look at our past. The #neverforget is a sign that we still haven’t forgiven what the Marcos did. Whenever the term of our president ends, we look at what mistakes they made. One thing that we never did was to look at the bride side of things. We look always look at the aftermath of what happened in during the Marcos era, we never think about how can we forgive the Marcoses, how will we deal with our current situation, and how are we going to move forward together as one nation. This is something that we should work on as a nation. It is not bad to talk about what happened in the past because this will be our inspiration for the future of this country. Although, this must not be our focus. We must focus on how our country will develop and grow more. In this way, we would be able to rise again as a nation.

[mangoblackberry]

Narcos

“There is a time to fight and there is a time to be clever”

-Pablo Escobar

 In Columbia, during the late 1970s, the life of Pablo Escobar as a drug dealer begun. He is known to be the “King of Cocaine”. He was known to be transporting trucks with illegal products such as alcohol and cigarettes in Columbia. During those time, products like these were banned in Columbia yet he still able to bring these products in. together with Mateo Moreno, who is a Chilean exile, they made the cocaine business “successful” not only in Columbia but also in the United States. Their business grew together with the growing demand for illegal drugs. Drug abuse at the time became rampant in the United States. Murphy’s task force, on the other hand, aims to stop Escobar’s operation as soon as possible. In the end of Season 2, the military and the drug enforcement sent by the United States to Columbia were able to kill Escobar.

 In this movie, I can also remember Duterte’s war on drug. He has pointed over and over again that drugs is the root cause of violence that is why he will be serious in fighting illegal drugs. A lot of lives were killed because of this. Other countries and state leaders thought that there were extrajudicial killings happening in the Philippines. For me, even if I find his war on drugs as a tool in order to reduce crime yet I find his ways as a wrong way. Though, I can’t also blame the administration in resorting to killing all the drug users and pushers since the Philippines lacks the budget to build rehabilitation centers for these people. The line “there is a time to fight and there is a time to be clever” said by Pablo Escobar in the series can also be applied to the government today. These drug pushers know when is the right time to fight and to be wise, so the government must also know this. It is not all the time that they need to kill these drug users and pushers sometimes they have to be wise enough when to attack and when to not attack. A lot of lives are in danger whenever they have an operation. The lives of the innocents and the military or police are the ones that are put to danger when they have an operation to kill the drug lords. Thus, I believe that the government must find other ways on how to stop the operation of these drug lords. It may be hard, yet for the country’s sake, they must.

 It may be impossible to eradicate these drug lords in the span of 6 months, but I appreciate the efforts of the government. Due to the fact that for the first time in history, I have seen a leader who is determined to fulfill his promise. Though he was not successful, at least he tried. President Duterte was mocked by other state leaders, but I admire how he was not affected by it, he just continued what he thinks is right and good for the country.

[mangoblackberry]

A.D. Empire and Kingdom

The Crucifixion was only the beginning.

-       A.D. Empire and Kingdom

 In the series entitled “A.D The Bible Continues”, it has shown how the crucifixion was only the beginning of a lot of violence. We know that before the Lord was crucified he has experienced a lot of violence already. He was mocked by the people, he was denied by his disciples, he was betrayed. Although, after his crucifixion, a lot of us, even me, expected that situations will get better. On the contrary, this didn’t happen. An example of this is Saul of Tarsus who said that Jesus is a false prophet. Rebellion also started against the Romans and the high priest when the golden statue of Emperor Caligula arrived in Jerusalem. Stephen was stoned to death; Peter was mocked by Saul that he is only a fisherman. The disciples’ martyrdom has begun during this time.

 Here we can see that violence is nothing new, it started way before even in Jesus’s time. He was the one who suffered so much violence more than anyone. Although, his crucifixion didn’t end the violence that was happening. During the Dark Age, people were banned from opening the Bible. Those who were found to be guilty of being a Christians were imprisoned and killed. In our history, we have people like Thomas Beckett, Thomas More, Joan of Arc, and more who fought for their faith. If we think about it even until today, there is still violence. A lot were being killed because of their religion. In countries like North Korea, Iraq, Syria, Iran and a lot more other countries, Christian are being punished, arrested, or killed.

 Thus, one can see that violence because of religion were serious in this world. A lot were killed because they fought for their faith. A lot were mocked because they fought for their God. I believe that this is happening because of the lack of respect for each other. People who are in power are greedy that they want to people to follow them and not be a threat to their power. Due to this reason, even religion, which is perceived to something that promotes peace and order, is the reason why we are in chaos right now. The crucifixion of Jesus was just a beginning of a lot of questioning that had led to a lot of violence.  

[mangoblackberry]

Game of Thrones

“When you play the game of thrones you win or you die there is no middle ground.” “The more people you love, the weaker you are” “Everyone who isn’t us is an enemy” -       Cersei Lannister

 The series entitled “Game of Thrones” showed how nine powerful families fight for control and power over the 7 kingdoms of Westeros. The Kingdom of the North ruled by House Stark of Winterfell, Kingdom of the Mountain and the Vale, ruled by House Arryn of the Eyrie, Kingdom of the Isles and the Rivers, ruled by Harren Hoare of Harrenhal, Kingdom of the Rock, ruled by House Lannister of Casterly Rock,  Kingdom of the Stormlands, ruled by House Durrandon of Storm's End, Kingdom of the Reach, ruled by House Gardener of Highgarden and the Principality of Dorne, ruled by House Martell of Sunspear. The different character in the series showed their strength in fighting just to get power. Different violence was there. There were parts where they burned the people alive, rape women, weak were oppressed. Although there are several political violence that one can see in the series, I believe that the most prevalent one is ethnic violence. Due to the fact that the game of thrones is a matter of killing a race in order to gain power. The strongest race will remain alive and rule over the 7 kingdoms.

 Relating this to today’s situation. I believe that we are also living in a world where we can apply the game of thrones. Today’s situation is also a matter of who gets more. One of my admired character in the series is Cersei Lannister. People may think that she is heartless, ruthless, and manipulative. Although what I like about her is her strong character. For me, she is someone who is deeply hurt and this is the reason why she is became someone who is resilient. She is also just someone who wants to change what is destined for her. I also believe that her attitude of never giving up her power and her character of being ruthless and merciless are the things that Westeros needs in order to defeat the night’s king.  Lastly, I admire her because behind the image of a strong woman, she is someone who has compassion deep inside her heart and this was shown through her care and love for her children. Due to this character of hers, I believe that this will also help her win the battle against her enemies.

 In this paper, I will be discussing three of her most famous line in the series and relate it to today’s situation.

 When you play the game of thrones you win or you die there is no middle ground. If you are lucky enough to be on top of the society, then you will get what you want. If you’re not, you stay poor. As what people would always say, our government system today is a system where the rich get richer and the poor, poorer. That is why we can say that the government system that we have is a system that always favors the rich people. In today’s society, it is the survival of the fittest. If you are not privilege enough then you will die poor and hungry.

 The more people you love, the weaker you are. People today doesn’t realize that the more people they love; they just gave weakness more room in their hearts. Today, if we want to be strong, we must be able to control our emotions. I believe that the people whom we love the most give us strength to go on but at some point in time, they will also be our greatest weakness. Our enemies can use them in order to get something from us. As what others would say the people you love the most will also hurt you the most. I believe that our success is caused by our loved ones but our downfall’s reason can also be them.

 Everyone who isn’t us is an enemy. It is hard to trust people nowadays. Our family can betray us, what more those who are not? That is why today trusting people is hard. It is hard to trust anyone because they can betray or kill you anytime. That is why today we must be wise enough in playing with the system. Today, we build connections for our own self-interest. As we build connections, we must also learn not to trust easily the people around us. No matter how kind or nice they treat us, they can always be our enemies too, there will always be the probability that eventually they will betray us. That is why in today’s society we must learn to play with the system.

 Overall, I believe that we all must learn from Cersei Lannister. In today’s society, we must not be weak.  We must be strong and never give up on something that we want. No matter what it takes we must learn to fight for what we want. Other people may misunderstand why, but we must not care what they think. We must focus on what we want and how to achieve it. Noone and nothing must hinder us from reaching our goals. Today were the struggle for power is present, we must be the one who will have that power. Due to the fact that today, if we are powerful, we will get what we want and we will be able to reach our goals in life.  A lot of people would tell us to be kind and have a soft heart but I believe that our society will teach us and will require us to have a strong heart and be strong to defend ourselves. A lot of people will bring us down, but we must not let them. We must continue to pursue for great power. For if we have power, we will survive.

[mangoblackberry]

Critical Commentary 1 (Readings)

“Violence starts with greed. People who are in power are not satisfied with what they have. The more power they have, the more that they long for more.”

 In our POLVIOL class, we talked about what political violence is. In one of our lectures, it has mentioned that it is a term used to describe violence initiated by a person or political groups in order to achieve their political goals. We have taken time to discuss the different types of violence. We talked about wars, genocide, gang violence, religious violence, gender violence, ethnic violence, homophobic violence, revolutions, civil wars, rebellion, terrorism amongst other. With all these political violence, I can say that there is just one thing in common and that is their goal. Their goal in creating a violence is to eradicate a certain tribe, regime, or ethnicity. It is because they wanted to have more power and that is why they resort to violence as a solution.

 We talked about a lot of theories of violence such as the functionalists state that whenever there is an unexpected shock to the system, it will disorient the society that can result to collective violence. Another is the constructivist perspective where violence is a social construct through the social, economic, and political process (e.g. colonization and conquest). Rational Choice theorists say that violence occurs when the benefit of participation prevails over the costs.

 Based on the readings, political violence is lessened in a democratic institution. Although there is a question I would like to point out. Why does a leader resort to martial law whenever a country is under a certain kind of violence or under a state of emergency? One of the practical example I can cite is what happened during the Marcos Era. Filipinos will never forget what happened during the Marcos Era, especially during the Martial Law Era. There were extrajudicial killings back then. This is the reason why EDSA People Power Power 1 happened in 1986 and during that time the Philippines shifted back to a democratic type of government. This is because of the belief that democracy is always equated to peace. Although, throughout the Post-Marcos Administration several political violence still happened. Some of the examples are the Maguindanao Massacre, Mendiola Massacre, SAF 44 to name a few. Until President Rodrigo Duterte’s Administration came where he had to face the issue on terrorism in Marawi. After the what happened in Marawi he immediately declared Martial Law. 

 Why is it that in theory democracy will lessen the possibility of violence but in reality, it will not and every time there is terrorism or another type of political violence, state leaders resort to martial law in order to regain peace and discipline in the state.  That is why I want to end this commentary with 2 questions. Is democracy the solution in order have peace and order? If democracy works, why do state leaders resort to martial law in order to solve political violence like the situation in Marawi?

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