Pride & prejudice

A small group of men gathered at a Starbucks café yesterday and before they could get on with the business of the day, every other guy could not help but ask for peoples’ opinion on the Iglesia Ni Cristo lightning rally on EDSA.

This was quite different from the past when people would simply shoot off their mouths, pass judgment or make emotional or politically charged commentaries with barely a thread of knowledge or expertise on the subject.

On this occasion, I sensed that the men at the table were intentionally asking and seeking information, either to validate their view or correct whatever misimpression they have.

This was unlike some who simply expressed dislike for the INC while others focused on the traffic jam or why all the fuss over Senator Marcoleta.

When my turn to speak came, I told them a story of a young Chinese lady who was researching and writing her doctoral thesis focusing on Philippine politics and why our presidents and vice presidents almost always end up on opposite corners and fighting.

During the stay of the PhD student, she went to great lengths to contact, visit and speak directly with people whose inputs or shared knowledge would be highly valuable to producing an informed and accurate thesis with integrity.

She physically visited universities and political science experts, spending hours interviewing, talking to community and business leaders to gather as much knowledge on the bizarre world of Philippine politics.

Not only did she make appointments and speak personally with them, but she actually visited “the people in the neighborhood.” In one case, she spent one Sunday afternoon walking through neighborhoods in the district of a congressman she was meeting the next day.

That simple but extremely diligent effort put many of us to shame. She literally had to see it with her own eyes and hear it with her own ears!

Her visit was no stroll in the park. She took all sorts of public transport, including tricycles, padyak or pedicabs and a banca ride between two barangays. She was not a tourist; she was a political scientist.

I shared how the Chinese student would ask typical questions on Philippine politics, the personalities as well as their conduct or behavior, and every time someone would give her a reply, she would politely ask, “How do you know this?” “Is there a document or file I can read?” “How do I verify this?”

Regardless of the person’s title or stature or expertise, she did not simply take in their comments or shared information as gospel truth to be incorporated in her work or the narrative. She cross-checked them.

After two and a half weeks of conversations, we learned “she” was not unique among Chinese scholars in this matter. The obsession to confirm and validate was part of their lifelong education and essential to making plans and decisions.

Not only must information be verifiable, but it also needed to be relevant to the work, producing useful material in making policies, decisions, even the way it affects our thinking. It reminds me of an observation my wife had in our early years together.

Karen noticed that I, and most Filipinos, casually introduce people as their “friend.” But to westerners, a “friend” is someone you have known for many years, know their character very well and not someone you “know” socially.

That, she pointed out, would be an “acquaintance” and not necessarily a friend. This misnomer can mislead people to extend the same degree of relations and assistance to a mere acquaintance that your actual friends extend to you.

These stories drive home the need for Filipinos and Filipinas to be on guard about what we say and share and to make sure that we have personal knowledge or verified the facts behind a statement or story because those who receive or accept what we say, do so believing you are responsible and trustworthy.

Perhaps our mistake or weak link is that we as a people love to “make kwento.” It is part of different cultures, peoples and societies called the spoken word passed on from generation to generation.

Unfortunately, if there is a fine line between genius and insanity, there is an even finer line in the Philippines between “kwento” and “chismis.” In recent times that line has been erased by trolls and rich liars.

The tragedy in all of this is that the “Satans” among us have sought to lie, steal and finally destroy our values, culture and ultimately the people. These “Satans” I refer to are those who willfully engage in malicious or evil disinformation and fake news. That is how they lie.

When we receive, believe, click, share and promote the lies we did not bother to check or verify, they have actually stolen our freedom of thought and speech as well as our character.

Then they use their victims to destroy each other through rumors, spreading unverified information or fake news by cloaking it as your political opinion or views, even fake news or misleading stories. When we speak ignorantly, with pride or bias, we are no better than those who maliciously mislead or misinform people.

The final lesson shared was always base your impressions and information on the true character of a person or an institution, not on hearsay. Character speaks louder than lies.

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