People’s Poet

By: Victoria G. Smith

 

You cry to me,
Hope! Hope! Give us hope!
That you’d give anything
for a sputter of meaning
to your lives.
I’m sorry to disappoint.
A poet rises no higher
than her source.

Poet’s Notes: I’m sorry to begin the New Year with such seemingly despairing tone. But half the solution to our problems as a people is waking up to our realities—a fitting start to our process of crafting our new year’s resolutions. And one reality we need to face, address and correct is our Fil-Am communities’ incredible predisposition for crab mentality and power-hungry conflicts. I suspect such problems are simply symptomatic of some of our community leaders’ fundamental personal insecurities. Just goes to show that if you have a hole in your heart, no external reward, award (like the otherwise prestigious Chicago Filipino-American Hall of Fame Award), title or position could ever satisfy the personal greed that such insatiable sense of lack creates. We seem to have resigned ourselves to a culture of poverty—both material and spiritual. And we appear to have nailed ourselves forever to the cross of our victim mentality that some of us have twisted out of the otherwise hopeful message of our religion.

We are quagmired in our communal misery because we refuse to work together in unity and harmony, quick to pull each other down when we see someone else shining brighter than us, not realizing this is also the reason for our stunted development as a people. Don’t we see that if we can only celebrate the light in each of us and support each other in shining more brightly, this will result in a greater communal brilliance that uplifts us all? Why do we feel threatened by other’s rightful gains, as if this results in our loss?

Take Facebook for instance. To the uninitiated—beware! For Facebook has an uncanny ability to bring out your friends’ latent insecurities to the surface. They see everything you do, enjoy and accomplish, and somehow some of them feel less by it all and demonstrate this by their sudden catty comments or petty criticisms to your otherwise innocent or joyful posts. Some simply stop “liking” your otherwise very likeable status updates—or comically, resort to “competitive posting” as if they are in a contest for your common friends’ attention. This apparent cultural trait of envy is so prevalent among us that I suspect some of us just do it as a matter of habit, unaware they are even doing it.

We resort to lies and manipulation—even to ruthless Mafia-like tactics in our attempts to destroy each other—not only in the personal realm but on a societal scale, steeped in our centuries-old corrupt “padrino” political system that encourages tit-for-tat, turf-building and protection and “kampi-kampi” mentality to assure us of political favors to capitalize upon when we need them in our quest for self-glorification at the expense of our communities. Some of us appear to have no shame or conscience. No sense of nobility or honor. We have succumbed to the philosophy of survival of the fittest and biggest dog in a dog-eat-dog world, instead of respecting the code of conduct of the “Maginoo” that is the true legacy of our ancient cultural roots. And some of us are too lazy to think for themselves or too indifferent to conduct their own study of the smoke that the deviously cunning among us conjure to obscure our vision and understanding. Some of us are content to allow others to tell them what to feel or think—and thus, unwittingly or perhaps more accurately, purposefully though conscious default, become lambs led by wolves. Ignorance is not bliss, my friends—it is suicide! Elders now fail to provide good role models for our youth. Is it any wonder then why many of the latter are indifferent to our identity as a people?

What is the solution? One has to start from within—no less than personal transformation is needed in each of us to bring about progressive evolution and revolution in our communities.

A fellow Chicago Filipino-American Hall of Fame awardee and friend whom I very much admire is Lynn Funkhouser. She posted something on Facebook not too long ago that I paraphrase: When one feels connected to everything, one feels the burden of compassion for everyone and everything! That is how I feel as a poet, artist, and community leader. One of the heaviest burdens and responsibilities I feel as such is to be steadfast in bravely speaking the truth, even to my erring friends, despite the betrayal and vilification that are sure to come from them.

Sr. Odiliana, the German Benedictine nun who was the principal of the Philippine high school from which I graduated must have had foreknowledge of my life’s calling. She wrote on my senior yearbook: “The truth shall set you free!” Her message is carved in my heart and is a strong beacon in my soul. Thus, I persevere. (Copyright 2015 by Victoria G. Smith)