Getting out of the ignorance of historical revisionism
Many young people still don’t have the means to get out of decades of smear campaigns and historical revisionism that the Marcos family had perpetrated. And this is not entirely the Marcoses’ fault, but the opinion makers around the generations that followed while growing up—opinion leaders who also happen to be our parents, close friends, and even teachers.
Published in the print and online version of the Philippine Panorama of the Manila Bulletin.
https://newsbits.mb.com.ph/2017/02/19/getting-out-of-the-ignorance-of-historical-revisionism/
THE FIRST TIME I learned about the infamous dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos was in fourth grade, during Hekasi class—when I first came across his infrastructure projects in the ’70s. I had read through the book that made no mention of the atrocities of martial law, and was completely neutral on Marcos himself. My teacher discussed the topic passively, without getting further into details.
I’ve come to know more about Marcos from my parents, who were also neutral on him—saying that he was neither bad nor good, and that it was generally safe and progressive during his time. I was not into politics at such an early age, but that was when my admiration for him began. But it wasn’t until in college when I truly learned about the atrocities that have happened during Marcos’ time.
I was a college freshman at the University of Santo Tomas when my Philippine Government and Constitution (PGC) professor told us in the most graphic way of how barbaric the Marcos era truly was.
He told us accounts of torture, desaparecidos, and political intrigues that have occurred in great number during the ’70s and ’80s. But, in hindsight, I’ve realized that I was not astonished at these accounts at that age—I still held onto my belief that our country had gone through a great age. I had even become part of pro-Marcos groups on Facebook, participating and voicing out in, now that I think about it, disgusting dialogues with other pro-Marcos’ loyalists. I have even gained the ire of my other relatives who were anti-Marcos.
Awakening
But in third year, of all the things that have convinced me that it was truly a dark time was one of Pol Medina’s Pugad Baboy comic strips about martial law. The comic strip illustrated how the Marcos family plundered the entire national budget for themselves and that the projects that Macoy had made were done so with international loans that would be paid by future generations through taxes until 2025.
Epiphany
It was a difficult fact to accept that one of my most admired historical idols was indeed a fraud. Pol Medina made it easy for me to understand. From then on, I learned more about the martial law era and the eventual People Power Revolution that came after it. I learned all the governmental conspiracies that have transpired before Marcos’ ambition to wrest power from a democratically elected government. Through reading books and documentaries, I have learned how bogus projects were made and how congress was reduced to Macoy’s rubber stamp. All of these happened in the age of social media.
Unfortunately, this is the most troubling part among young people, including Millennials. Many young people still don’t have the means to get out of decades of smear campaigns and historical revisionism that the Marcos family had perpetrated. And this is not entirely the Marcoses’ fault, but the opinion makers around the generations that followed while growing up—opinion leaders who are also our parents, close friends, and even teachers. The falsehood had perpetrated itself almost naturally.
And this is so because most people hold on to Marcos because of what they are currently seeing now. People see Marcos’ time as a nostalgic throwback of Filipino pride, when they can say that ‘at least during this time, we were great.’ One can’t also blame people for what they think, especially those in the brink of desperation and poverty. The feeling of once becoming a “great country” is indeed a lie, but it provides for a comfortable recluse for the subconscious. After all, it is better to believe in a comforting lie than the harsh truth.
Conspiracy theories
Adding to this, Millennials have a liking for shady conspiracy theories that might turn out to be true. In the end, however, these conspiracy theories almost always turned out to be false. It is also convenient for people, not just Millennials, to learn about the base facts of things, skipping over the taxing and tedious details, as well as basic human philosophy. This was obviously favorable to Macoy, as generations that followed were forgetful of the true meaning of the EDSA Revolution—as a people reclaiming their freedom, rather than a change from bad to worse.
While agreeably we do live in difficult times, we still have the freedom to enjoy and endure them, unlike before; and that is the single most important aspect in our lives that make everything better than it was during Marcos—freedom. It is difficult for people living in an increasingly industrial society like Filipinos to grasp the concept of human rights, empathy, and care for others; for one such society benefits must be felt, and benefits must be done, regardless of the things done to achieve them.
Many Millennials still hold on to Marcos as a hero and a savior, but the same have never really read about the life that was then, or even talked to victims of martial law. Some still believe in the false successes of Masagana 99 and other agricultural and fishery reforms. And it’s not their fault. Knowledge is simply passed down from parent to child, regardless of their correctness or falsity, and, as children, we hold our parents as infallible.
Adding to that fact, it has become increasingly difficult for people to discern truth from biased content online. As a publicist, I understand that publicity is the currency and ammunition of all kinds of politics. And, again, this is one of the effects of the lack of focus on critical thinking—discernment. If more people knew how to read and discredit false articles, instead of sharing it immediately, there would be less of these falsehoods going around.
Set in its ways
It was difficult to grow up with an open mind in a family that is set in its ways, to disregard any information that would prove them otherwise. The manifestations I’ve seen growing up is also an indication of the stubbornness of Filipinos, including Millennials—to learn new things that would correct them. That they would rather stick to their false belief than be proven wrong. Filipinos undoubtedly double down in their pride when their beliefs are threatened. Fortunately, if it weren’t for my gumption to actually go out of my falsity that had been fed to me, I would still be a Macoy loyalist today.
Indeed, the comforting lie that Macoy had planned was a success, and it had permeated into Millennial culture—more Millennials have become involved and vocal in politics. But this should not be treated as a problem, which can be solved by shouting at Marcos loyalists; like me before, they need to pass through years of denial and understanding until they come to their own epiphany. Though, sadly, the same forces that have thrown the country off its track in the ’70s and ’80s are still working, harder than ever before, and now utilizing social media to reinstate Macoy as the figurehead of the youth. The good news is many more Millennial youth have started questioning these half-truths and outright lies.
