The man for all seasons and our reign of greed - ROSES AND THORNS by Alejandro R. Roces

Last Tuesday, the Vatican named British statesman, humanist and author Thomas More as the official patron saint of politicians. There could be no greater Christian political model than Thomas More, who was Lord Chancellor of England in 1529, Henry VIII wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon. More disagreed and resigned as Chancellor. When Henry VIII went further and broke with the Pope, More refused to accept the King as head of an independent Church. He was charged with treason and beheaded in 1535. As an author, he is remembered for Utopia, which means no place, and is about a society where all men are equal, prosperous, educated and wise.

We can’t help wondering if it is pure coincidence that More’s designation as patron saint of politicians happened at a time when our nation is undergoing its greatest political crisis since People’s Power. The whole problem centers on one politician – the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Our first suggestion is that the President and all appointed high officials in the present Regime should see the movie on Saint Thomas More’s life – Man for All Seasons. That movie will definitely tell them what they should do.

Only six days ago, Time magazine published a picture of President Estrada that depicts our president as a person who is the epitome of avarice. In the portrait, President Estrada is shown clutching money with both hands and holding it against his chest as if it were the thing he loves the most. Money is even coming out from one of his sleeves. He does not possess the money he grasps the money possesses him. Samuel Johnson defined avarice as: The last passion of those lives of which the first part has been squandered in pleasure, and the second part devoted to ambition." It is the ultimate corruption of the degenerate individual.

That Time portrait of our president is a sad reflection on all Filipinos. Cardinal Sin is right. President Estrada has lost the moral ascendancy to occupy the highest position in the land. He must voluntarily make the ultimate sacrifice of resigning from the presidency. It is the noblest thing he can do for his country. The last thing we need is a violent change. We condemn all forms of violence. We sincerely hope that the demonstrators who rammed the gates of the Boracay home allegedly owned by the president get arrested and charged according to law.

We also decry the fact that both our Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police were not properly presented on TV. The impression most people got was that they spoke after the President and that they would support his stand. What they actually said was that both the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police would support the Constitution. In short, things must be done according to law.

At the moment, the ball is on the side of the President and our legislators. The simplest solution is for the President to make the supreme sacrifice of resigning to save our economy. If he doesn’t, our legislators will have to act. If they too, fail, then the people will have no recourse but take to the streets for another peaceful People’s Power Revolution. To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.