EDITORIAL - Exhibit closure victory for sanity

Finally, the sacrilegious exhibit that included a likeness of Jesus Christ blasphemously highlighted with a wooden penis for a nose has been grudgingly shut down by the Cultural Center of the Philippines, thanks to pressure brought to bear by President Aquino.

The closure was grudging because the CCP never admitted bowing to pressure from Aquino, despite the fact that the president summoned the CCP board to a closed-door meeting. All that the board would say was the closure was due to threats to persons and property, and to vandalism.

The CCP obviously meant an incident in which exhibit viewers angrily broke off the penis nose of Christ. The CCP at first defended the work of Mideo Cruz by invoking his right to freedom of expression. Well, the attack by viewers was freedom of expression as well, not vandalism.

If Mideo Cruz insists on freedom of expression and thinks it is not sacrilege to defile religious images or blasphemy to trivialize religious beliefs, we challenge him to test his ideas and flex his rights against Islamic beliefs.

The problem with Cruz and those who think like him is that they believe they are the only ones vested with rights, and that being so vested with such rights, it becomes all right for them to trample on the rights of others.

They should be thankful the Philippines is a very tolerant society and that closure of the exhibit was the worst fate they could suffer. But that is precisely the problem, because they have abused this tolerance to push forth ideas that upset the very society that gives them space.

It is very good that Aquino yanked them down and put their feet squarely on the ground. It is very good that the son of the supposed icons of freedom defined what freedom is to these misguided mortals. 

Aquino said: “There is no freedom that is absolute. There are limits set as to what you’re allowed to do. I made my position very clear to them, and I did stress the idea that you have rights, but if you trample on the rights of others, I think there is something wrong there.”