EDITORIAL - Tragedy outside the SONA

There seems to be no end to the continuing tragedy that happens everytime a president, any president, delivers his or her SONA, or state of the nation address. What is ironic is that this tragedy has nothing to do with the SONA and happens outside the venue of its delivery.

This tragedy takes form in the protest demonstrations that organizers and participants insist on holding during the SONA, the argument being that the activity conveys a far truer state of the nation.

That, of course, is a self-destructive argument. If protesters and demonstrators truly want to deliver a message that conveys the true state of the nation, and if they truly want such a message to be heard, then the worst thing they could do is coincide its delivery with the SONA.

This can be said without fear of contradiction: Everybody listens to the SONA to the exclusion of everything else. Any protest or demonstration held at the same time is considered a nuisance and gains for the protesters and demonstrators only resentment, not sympathy.

But why do protesters and demonstrators insist? And why do such activities invariably end in violence? Because protests and demonstrations that turn violent are the only means to get into the news.

But why is getting into the news so important? Because publicity provides ample proof to foreign interest groups that fund this sort of activity. The publicity is a sort of voucher to collect payment.

Consider for a moment if the media were to suddenly impose a news blackout on protests and demonstrations and all the foreign funding sources all of a sudden dry up — better believe that these protests and demonstrations would stop.

This is not to say that there are no legitimate issues raised in these activities or that those who engage in them have no right to do so. They do. And the issues they raise are in fact all legitimate. And that is what adds more to the tragedy.

Because people who truly understand rights do not lose sight of these rights in others and respect them. Sadly their numbers are few. What are in abundance are those paid to espouse rights they do not feel. You can spot them by their uncompromising and inordinate aggressiveness.