By Dr. Dencio S. Acop
We’re so divided! While issues appear obvious to some, others have a divergent view. Some of these views are even starkly opposed. When we see a political leader adopt extra-judicial killings as official policy, many of us react by disagreeing with it. But many also agree with it, riding along the reasoning of the perpetrator. Isn’t it both illegal and immoral to kill other human beings without due process of law? Even if, as some people justify, the people executed were drug addicts (almost all of them were), does their execution make it right? What about the law – which is supposed to be the chief responsibility of those elected to positions of political power? What about the families – wives and children – of the murdered drug-users? Are not drug-users, victims themselves who need help like rehabilitation in the same logic as convicted criminals? If convicted criminals are allowed to live, how come drug-users aren’t? Who gave the right for anyone to kill anyway? Does being a chief executive give anyone the right to kill? If a person is given the order to commit a heinous act, why would that person oblige? Doesn’t he also possess a conscience? Doesn’t he feel the heavy burden of guilt by taking an innocent life? We live in a society where everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Due to the great value of human life, there is the elaborate criminal justice system designed to ensure that the consequent punishment of a wrongful act is commensurate to the committed act. Most importantly, it determines and pinpoints responsibility and accountability to sanction the truly guilty but spare the innocent. For instance, instead of a unilateral determination of justice, there are five pillars to the justice system. These pillars are the people (witnesses), law enforcement (police), prosecution, judges, and penal or juvenile / rehabilitative institutions. Nothing is served by killing the innocents. For all we know, the extra-judicial killing of addicts was merely a diversion away from the real problem who is the chief executive himself covering-up his own involvement in profiting from the illicit drug trade and complicity with drug-lords. Proof of this is that while thousands of supposed addicts (are they even suspects? If suspects, then suspects of what? Is drug use deserving of murder?), have been executed, almost none of even the known drug lords have been touched because they are protected by the chief executive. This chief executive has finally been arrested and is now undergoing trial before the International Criminal Court at The Hague. All through this, many people still close their hearts and minds to truth. In fact, some even question what is truth? It almost sounds like Pilate questioning Jesus. And this is timely too in this season of Lent.
It seems convenient to blame technology for humanity’s moral decline, but it is hardly the explanation. The inclinations of man may be partly influenced by technology, but artificial developments do not fully explain why man does what he does. Man is a developed creature, and it is from this development that he operates through the various stages of his existence. He is therefore the accumulation of all his acquired knowledge and wisdom from experiences and formal education, as well as innate attributes. In this sense, every person is unique. And the ultimate manifestation of this uniqueness is in how a person chooses to use his free will. Do we choose to do the right thing, especially in decisions that truly matter? Is our decision based on truth? Or is it just coming from outside influence or pressure? Do we have the tools to make a wise decision based on what’s moral or legal? Do we discern more before making a choice? Or do we choose simply from our limited abilities and capacities? Worse, are we siding with one issue or another due to our prejudices, jealousies, or for revenge? Since technology has surfaced rapidly every bit of information both from reliable as well as unreliable sources, aren’t we better equipped to deal with them by continually developing ourselves to keep up? And by development we mean its holistic areas to include not only cognitive and psycho-motor, but more importantly, the affective. While cognition relates to our academic knowledge, and psycho-motor refers to skills development, affective concerns our moral values. These moral values are what differentiate us humans from mere animals. They relate to conscience – the doing of what is right from wrong. For instance, would you want anyone to just kill you, steal your property, and do every evil act against you or your loved ones? If your answer is no, then you likewise do not have the right to wish the same to others. If your answer is no, but you still wish ill will against your neighbor then you are a hypocrite who does not deserve justice yourself by your hypocrisy. The golden rule of the natural law also reserves the worst punishment to come to those who’ve caused others to commit mortal sin commensurate to the gravity of what they’ve done.
Finally, there are those who think they are doing the right thing simply because they are religious or blindly follow the preaching of pastors. Not all religious or cult followers are true. Belief that does not translate into concrete action means nothing. It is merely self-serving. Believe all you want but if it does not result in your doing the will of God, then you might only be said to be lazy for a supposed witness. But belief that translates into wrong action is even worse. I would say that one’s connectedness to what truly is the One and Only True God is not only important but critical in living this earthly life. Having this connectedness grounds one who has it to the source of all good. This, in turn, brings untold happiness and peace to that recipient of such faith. Having been inspired by the holy spirit, the faithful cannot help but also share this gift with anyone willing to accept it. Happy, therefore, are those who receive this gift and bear fruit a thousand-fold. The problem with the world is that it is too distracted by worldly pleasure that makes it almost impossible for man to connect with his greater self which is his divine soul. It is even hard for me to write what I do now because I know that not many (if they even read this) understand what it is I’m saying. But it needs to be said because the world we live in now is simply divided between those who advocate what is good and those who worship what is evil. And where one belongs is known by one’s fruits. It is neither Machiavellian nor Zionist either. There really is no in-between because indecision or the lack of it ultimately leans towards one or the other. Christ himself said it, “you are either with me or against me”. And the ultimate clue pointing to where one should be if he were wise, is his next line: “For anyone not with me, eventually scatters”. Christ is the center of all that is good in the world. When he was lifted upon the cross, he gathered all people to himself. But there is a catch – only those who are willing. Not by their lies. But by their lives.