Losing friends and colleagues because of the 'national language' issue: no hard feelings.

ORDINARY CITIZEN'S NOTES. 23 APRIL 2015. THUR. N2.
Losing friends and colleagues because of the 'national language' issue: no hard feelings. 

BETWEEN FRIENDSHIP and the cause of diversity, pluralism, and linguistic justice, my stand is clear: I can lose friends any time. 

But not the cause of diversity of a diverse homeland like the Philippines, the same homeland that insists on respecting the basic rights of people, signs the United Nation's covenants on language, culture, and educational protection and ratifies these, and yet does a different thing. 

But not the cause of pluralism. This is a value that is as central as the meaning of community itself, of humanity itself. Friends can go away, and I let them go, but not this resolve to make it certain that in the generations to come, the college students and all students will have that one fat chance to respect the plural nature of their country and their peoples. 

But not this linguistic justice and cultural democracy. We allow the hegemonic center--and that is Manila and what it stands for--to subjugate even our minds and allow Manila to deceive us--we have no reason to a human and humane claim to knowledge and existence. These are fundamental epistemic and ontological questions for you. 

I used to believe in nationalism but not this fascistic one being foisted upon by people whose minds have been clouded by a Quezonian view of language. Jesus H. Christ: Quezon's model was even Germany, France, Spain, and Italy when their fascistic and Nazistic dreams were on the rise. 

No, thank you. 

Thank you for the friendship, friends. 

Let us part ways: I go with our people.