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Media must carry out self-examination, too LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “… Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure---you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts…” (Psalm 7:9, the Holy Bible). -ooo DENYING EXTORTION IN MEDIA IS LYING: We who are in media should accept the truth that there are many of us who use our profession for purposes which are less than sublime, like extortion, as President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte said the other day. It is no use denying this unfortunate reality, because it is something that is there for all to see. If we deny extortion in media, then we would be lying. And because extortion is a reality that cannot be denied, we who are in media must also accept the fact that the people who were victims of extortion by media practitioners cannot be prevented from thinking and acting negatively against those who extorted from them, and this is where Duterte was correct once more---media extortionists do get killed by, or on orders of, their victims. But, Duterte and his government should also accept the truth that there are still many in media who practice their profession to
uphold truth and justice, and as a tool against wrongdoing and corruption both in the public and private sectors, despite the difficulty of doing so. And many mediamen get killed or persecuted, simply for espousing these righteous motives in the exercise of their profession. -ooo WILL DUTERTE CLARIFY, WHEN IS A MEDIAMAN A “SON OF A BIT..H”? And that was where Duterte was totally wrong, in generalizing that many of the media personalities who were killed were assassinated because they were engaged in extortion or corruption, or because some of them were, as he derisively described them to be, “son of a b..ch” There are good mediamen, as there are mediamen who are sons of “bi..es”, but not all are bad, as not all are good either. It is therefore wrong for Duterte or anyone else to be generalizing about a bad media, or even about a good media. With his long experience as a local chief executive, I know that Duterte would know, even from a distance, who is bad, and who is good, in media. Be that as it may, the next important matter that must be clarified is this: assuming that a media personality is extortionist, or is corrupt,
would that be a justification for summarily killing him or her? Does anyone have the right to take the life of a newsman or a broadcaster simply because of what he wrote or say? And, perhaps Duterte can clarify: when is a mediaman a “son of a bi..h?” -ooo MEDIA MUST CARRY OUT SELF-EXAMINATION, TOO: But let not this be a blind defense of media, for, indeed, practitioners have an urgent task to examine themselves and their colleagues, too, to look for solutions to the long pestering issue of corruption in media, whether it be the in the form of the so-called “envelopmental journalism”, or of distortion of news and events in the guys of commentaries carried out by broadcast networks and giant newspaper companies. Indeed, many practitioners who are supposed to be merely dispensing the news, writing an account of events as they actually happened, nowadays have strayed into interpreting and commenting on the news, not really innocently or as an honest-to-goodness attempt at commentaries, but more on satisfying the interests of the people who had talked to them earlier on what to write about or what to broadcast.
K akampi
Mo A ng Batas
Atty. Batas Mauricio Unless media carries out this self-examination real soon, and its practitioners thereafter conduct themselves in a manner worthy of respect and deference from the public, it should not expect media killings to stop, and harsh criticisms even from the President of the Philippines, to abate. Media should change first, before it can expect change from others. -ooo PLEASE LISTEN: “Ang Tanging Daan” (The Sole Way): a Bible study and prayer session online could now be heard, 24 HOURS a day, in the Philippines and the world at www.facebook.com/ angtangingdaan or www. facebook.com/ANDKNK (and look for “Ang Tanging Daan” broadcasts). Phone: 0922 833 43 96, 0918 574 0193, 0977 805 9058. Email: batasmauricio@yahoo.com.
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Obstacles or Opportunities Think a minute…In the 1930’s, Jesse Owens was a world-class athlete in track and field. Yet he was told that because he was black, an African-American, there was no way he could beat the white, Nazi German athletes. Well, the 1936 world Olympics were held in Berlin, Germany. The racist Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler, was there. He refused to even look at the African-American Athletes! Jesse Owens and the other American athletes were booed and laughed at while all the Nazi German athletes were cheered and praised on the field. But Jesse didn’t worry about Hitler’s cruel, evil prejudice against him. Jesse just stayed determined and focused on his dream and goal. Jesse made mistakes in his first 2 long jumps. Yet He still didn’t let that discourage or stop him. Then, on his last jump, Jesse won! In fact, he also won the other 3 events he competed in. So Jesse Owens came home to America with 4 Olympic Gold Medals! You see, he had the courage and commitment to keep going no matter what happened or how others hurt him! There is a Japanese Proverb which says: “If you fall down 7 times, simply stand up 8 times!” We all fail and fall down! That’s fine. It’s only when we stay
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THINK
A Minute
Jhan Tiafau Hurst down and just lie there that we disgrace and shame ourselves. Just because you lose sometimes does not make you a loser! The famous inventor Thomas Edison said: “Many people who failed in life didn’t know how close they were to success when they gave up!” So when problems and challenges come your way, even when you fail, it is still your choice to keep going and reach your goal. You still can live the life you want. This is why we need Jesus Christ to give us the courage and willpower we need to never give up and stop moving toward our goal. If you will ask Jesus to take full charge of your heart and life, then you can have the inner strength and power of God Himself to keep going to matter what problems you face or how many times you fail. Just Think a Minute…
I just would like to put in my two cents’ worth in this issue of separation of Church and state. This issue has been hogging the limelight lately, and all sorts of ideas have arisen, including the wrong and dangerous ones. To be sure, both Church and state have to be united and have to know how to work in tandem, because both serve the same people who are both Christian faithful and citizens. Of course, their ser vice is distinct from each other, not divided, much less hostile to each other, with the Church working for the spiritual and eternal common good, and the state for the material and eternal common good. The separation of Church and state has to be understood properly. When Christ said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s,” (Mt 22,21) he certainly did not mean that there are two mutually exclusive authorities here on earth. G o d is t he supreme authority to whom even the most powerful earthly authority has to pay obeisance. After all, as St. Paul said in his Letter to the Romans, “there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” (13,1) We have to junk that notion that all authority here on earth simply emanates from the people. That’s
a Godless understanding of authority and power that would consider these values detached from G o d’s p r o v i d e n c e a n d fully dependent on our common will, considered as the supreme will beholden to no higher authority. We need to understand that “the things of Caesar” are also part of the “things of God” except that given our earthly condition and the way we handle “t he t hings of C aes ar,” meaning all our temporal and mundane affairs that have to be regulated by an earthly authority, we enjoy a certain autonomy that is proper to our human nature that enjoys our God-given freedom. Part of the peculiarity of our temporal and mundane affairs, especially our politics, is that there are no uniform positions to be regarded as so necessary as to be assumed by everyone. Things would depend on a great variety of conditionso n e’s b a c k g r o u n d , aptitude, culture, history, o r i e nt at i o n s , p e r s o n a l p re f e re n c e s a n d t a s t e , etcetera. And these, complex and complicated as they are, have to be respected. Of course, the way to resolve and integrate all this vast variety of different positions has to be agreed upon by a certain consensus. In this regard, we have to contend with the reality that there will be no “perfect” position in a given issue or
“perfect’ solution to a given problem. We just have to contend with what is workable and effective for at least a period of time and to the majority of t h e p e op l e w it h out ent irely neg le c t ing t he preferences of the minority. While we should try our best to accommodate everyone, we should not forget that we cannot please everyone. We just have to learn with that fact of life. So, any politician or political program that touts to have all the solutions to all the problems of the country, i.e., that promises a utopia, is definitely a false leader and a questionable program. The Church actually has something to say on anything about our temporal and earthly affairs, since everything in our human affairs has a moral and spiritual bearing. Yes, this can include our politics. In fact, our political activities carry with them a heavy moral and spiritual burden that would and should be of great concern to the Church. The Church may not have the competence to talk about the technicalities of these human affairs, but it not only has the competence but also the authority to speak on the moral and spiritual aspects of the issues involved. Within the Church, the hierarchy and the clergy, from the Pope down to the
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Fr. Roy Cimagala latest deacon, should not be partisan, though they can and in certain instances should talk about the moral and spiritual dimensions. In this, they should avoid even sounding partisan. These pronouncements, put as reminders, suggestions or clarifications, should not be considered as partisan. Rather, they simply are views which the rest of the faithful are invited to consider. It’s t h e l ait y i n t h e Church who can be partisan based on their conscientious assessments of the issues involved. In resolving their differences, ever yone is invited always to be respectful and charitable. The Church leaders can only take strong positions in politics when serious issues needing clear Christian guidance are involved. The laity themselves should also take active part in this. Let’s remember that the Church includes both clerics and laity. roycimagala@gmail.com.