Terror and apathy

“I am drowning here and there you are describing the water.” That is a line uttered by Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie “As Good As It Gets.” It is not the first time I have used that line. In fact I have quoted it here several times already. It seems to describe precisely the way the Filipino lives out his political life.

What many people do not understand about the Marawi crisis is that it is the most serious security threat the entire country has seen in decades. In fact it is a manifestation of a security threat that is not going away anymore even if the Marawi crisis is resolved in the government’s favor. We will forever be haunted by this threat.

Marawi has given us a taste of a new reality that stares us in the face. It is a reality that is devoid of any ambiguity. It is what it is. Just because today it is confined to Marawi doesn’t mean it is an isolated case. Terrorism is the new, and perhaps final, global scourge that is threatening the very existence of the whole of mankind.

The call of the day is to recognize terrorism as the common enemy. It is the patriotic and civic duty of every citizen to rally behind the leadership of the country to combat this deadly enemy. How disappointing therefore that some Filipinos would see fit to question the motives of leadership in its chosen way to fight the threat.

Political color is of no moment under the circumstances. Only one thing is required of all Filipinos at a time like this – undivided support for the flag no matter who waves it in defense of the motherland. There will be a time of reckoning for any excesses in leadership by those who wield it. But not now. Now the country needs help.

“I am drowning here and there you are describing the water.” The country is in clear and present danger and needs immediate and unqualified help and yet some Filipinos would rather teach swimming lessons. They do not recognize the gravity of the situation. They do not appreciate the urgency of the moment. They think Marawi is just a story.

Well, yes, Marawi is a story. But one of great unfolding tragedy. And like any story it has two sides. One side tells of the great suffering of Marawi and its people. The other tells of the great apathy of a few.

From the suffering people of Marawi, the word is out: HELP! But to the apathetic few, they would rather check the spelling first.

The world is at war with terrorism. It is a war that needs no declaration. It is a war governed by no definition. It is a war that does not go by the book. It can flare up anywhere. And it is already here. In Marawi, they know it by the nothingness that is left of their lives. Outside it, all the apathetic few know is what they lecture before the cameras.