Angst

By Rey David Gayas

As I was eating my breakfast, I saw on TV the news about the People’s Initiative  regarding the revision of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Many people were clamoring about it: some were in favor, some were not. For the day’s interview, they were showing those who were saying how the signatures were stained with vitiated consent. But what  struck me the most   were the words of the interviewee. 

The interviewee, Atty. Christian Monsod mentioned that they made two mistakes in drafting the Constitution, to wit: “we made two mistakes: one is that we overestimated the spirit of EDSA; second, is that we underestimated the greed of the politicians.” 

Upon declaring those two mistakes, I felt that tomorrow he will be like a colonel who is in the middle of a firing squad–one who had angst as if he was also carrying a gun but because his hands were also  tied, his words are the only trigger.

How strong  was my coffee that day? The whole day became filled with white noise. Just pondering upon those words, my mind lingered on its echo like the buzzing of mosquitoes and the chirping of birds. A bittersweet taste too strong to forget. The words of the good lawyer gave the fragrance of hope and miasma of despair lingering in a marketplace called the Philippines.

Human nature is plagued with such paradoxes. The spirit of Revolution could have actually vanished. The feelings may have faded, thus the people nullified the memories along with it. The hunger for power and fame may have also entered a part for such forgetfulness. Now, the spirit remains only in the angst of those who wanted to rekindle such feelings.

 What is being asked is that the law should be pondered upon in order to come in fruition. Because sometimes, it becomes stale when there is just a manipulation of power or abuse of confidence – like how the legal field sought to operate in the guise of friendship and position. That should not be the case. The angst of the law, so to speak, is more than willing to introspect and become acquainted with the carriage of duty without any measure and fear. Because time will tell, the place we are living in shall be plagued with forgetfulness. Only one’s angst can rekindle the values left behind in history.