People’s Poet

By: Victoria 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: In last month’s column, I wrote:

“At the time of this writing, the Philippine presidential elections are just a few days away, in fact, only five days away. And at the time of this column’s publication, a new Philippine President and Vice-President will have already been elected. I can only hope that the evil … will not have come to pass in my beloved native country at such time.

Opinion polls allege that the leading contenders for the presidential and vicepresidential positions are Rodrigo ‘Digong’ Duterte, Jr. and Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr.. These personalities are famous or rather, infamous for certain reputations— Digong, for his notoriety as the vigilante Mayor of Davao City who brags about killing suspected criminals as his primary peace and order strategy, and who uttered those shocking and vulgar remarks stating his regret, being the Mayor of the town where the crime took place, of not having been the first to have sexually enjoyed the beautiful Australian missionary rape victim whose dead, naked body was brought before him; and Bongbong, as the heir to the supremely corrupt and tyrannical Marcos political dynasty, whose mother, Imelda (yes—that equally if not more infamous widow of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, and former First Lady world-renowned for her thousand pairs of Italian shoes that are keenly symbolic of her scandalous high living at the expense of, and despite her people’s poverty), urged Filipinos to vote for her son so he ‘…could continue his father’s legacy…,’ conveniently failing to state that such legacy was defined by Martial Law, death, destruction, torture, and plunder of the Philippines’ natural resources and national wealth….”

As Fate would have it, what actually transpired was neither complete tragedy, nor complete victory for the vanguards of enlightened human society: Although Duterte was indeed elected president of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos fortunately did not get the vice-president position. Ms. Leni Robredo did. Nevertheless, Duterte sounds determined to make Ms. Robredo a sitting duck vice-president on the excuse that it would “hurt Bongbong’s feelings” if he appointed the vice-president-elect to a cabinet position. Such a statement is not only especially ridiculous when one considers the fact that Bongbong wasn’t even Duterte’s vice-presidential running mate. In addition to other public declarations and actions on the part of the president-elect, this substantiates my warning in other social media outlets that the Duterte name has long been associated with Bongbong’s deceased dictator father. Now, the Philippine president-elect is clearly merely continuing their families’ old alliance. I suspect that Duterte’s declared intent to bury the corpse of the singularly corrupt and ousted dictator Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (National Heroes’ Cemetery) is just the start of the incoming Philippine president’s reinvigoration of his family’s historical collaboration with the shady Marcoses.

Similarly in the United States, one braces for the very possible outcome that Donald Trump might win the presidential race, despite his absolute lack of the usual traits associated with a wise and enlightened leader. In the recent Real Time With Bill Maher show, guest Neil deGrasse Tyson, the famous astrophysicist known especially for his astute observations and analysis not only about the multiverse, but also on human nature and society, said something insightful and on point. To paraphrase him, he said that what we (should) complain about is not so much that someone like Trump could win the presidency, but more so that there are actually people who fanatically support him, and in large numbers at that. He suggested that the real problem is the societal conditions that have reduced people to having become so desperate and ignorant as to believe someone like Trump would actually make for a good president.

I say the same of the Philippines and Duterte, and on this, there is enough blame to go around: to the elitist political and economic class that has shamefully betrayed the hopes of the Filipino people in the 1986 People’s Power Revolution; the educated, intellectual, and academic class that has proven itself largely irrelevant by failing to apply its knowledge and intelligence to produce real-world solutions to real-world problems, particularly as regards the Philippines; and the Filipino people themselves, for allowing themselves to be duped yet again by the same incompetent and corrupt politicians, and in continuing to believe that the traditional political elite and movie and sports celebrities that have no qualifications for leadership above their mere wealth and/or popularity would actually make for competent and honest political leaders. This is the very definition of stupidity: to make the same mistake over and over again, expecting a different result.

It is precisely this kind of situation that makes a poet cry out in desperation through a poem such as above.

(All rights reserved. Copyright © 2016 by Victoria G. Smith. For updates on her author events & publications, go to VictoriaGSmith.com. “Like” her on Facebook at Author Victoria G. Smith. “Follow” her on Twitter @AuthorVGSmith)