SABBATICAL NOTES. 15 JAN 2014 N1

SABBATICAL NOTES. 15 JAN 2014 N1

TWO IMAGES OF FORMER students hit me and today, I think of them and pray to the Life Force of justice and fairness and truth that they be blessed with energy to lead us to the light. 

One, Kas Mahilum, said he has gone full-time doing what needs to be done: labor organizing work in Cebu. 

The other, Tinay Palabay, has not left the struggle for a better country since Day One that I met her when she was younger and was the college-type that questioned the assumptions of the received knowledge of the academia.

There are some students that remember what questions you asked, or how terrible you conducted your class, and those who come back remember some goodness that happened even as they now hold the placards whose words you also wrote on yours and held high on the streets when you joined those innumerable rallies and demonstrations to fight for what is right.

At some point, at the height of the Erap Estrada Resign campaign, you were part of the group that would be holed up somewhere to craft a manifesto for distribution during these public gatherings that almost always ended up at Mendiola, at the Batasan, or at the Senate.

Ah, manifesto crafting was not easy.

The words had to be calculated, the phrases more so, the clauses must be factual, and the sentence must have the kick and catch. Even a revolution must be planned--in words, phrases, clauses, sentences.

I wonder now, what about its root and stem, this revolution thing, a revolution that makes sense to a people long oppressed by oligarchs but who couch that oligarchy with democracy?

And now I see Kas Kahilum holding a placard, this young man who was silent and listened a lot.

How many classes did you take under me, I asked him yesterday.

A lot, he said.

Ah, these students are greater than their lowly teacher.

Even then, something good has happened.

And something good is happening.

WPH, HI/
16 Jan 2014