People Power and the Animal Farm

I recently read a columnist’s sentiments entitled “25 Years On, Philippines Offers Lessons for Egypt. At first, I thought her column would boast of the greatness of our EDSA Revolution. After reading it, I felt enlightened and somewhat sad about the truths she wrote.

Then one night, while discussing some of these points with my wife, she said mentioned something I haven’t thought about in along time. I guess it was something second nature to her, being in the field of English Literature. To me it was something from from way back in high school, about George Orwell’s Animal Farm, a fable and an allegory, which made reference to Communism and Socialism.

Reading it again in light of the EDSA Revolution Anniversary made me think again about the Philippine situation.

The main theme of Animal Farm was the failed revolution, which only succeeded in ousting the negligent drunkard Farmer Jones. The dream of a utopian society never really got underway as Snowball, the only pig who genuinely worked for the improvement of the farm and the lives of animals was chased away by the dogs of Napoleon, an even darker, more sinister tyrant.

Just like our 1987 Constitution, the animals came up with their version of the constitution, the 7 Commandments of Animalism, which was slowly amended to justify the actions of those in power. By the end of the story, even the most important of the commandments, “All animals are equal.” was changed to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” No wonder some sectors are really wary about any move to revise the constitution.

Whether the present government or all other regimes that followed the Marcos dictatorship was more oppressive is already a point for argument, but I think most of you will agree that with the many scandals that have been brought out into the open by whistleblowers and media, graft and corruption is at an all-time high. In fact, we’re actually just waiting for the next government scandal to hit the news.

Much has already been said about how the pigs abused their power. I guess my take on the Animal Farm after decades out of high school is its warning and its challenge to an indifferent, ignorant and forgetful society.

We, myself included, can be likened to many of the characters in the book. We are like Boxer who just worked harder and harder until he could work no more, or Mollie who moved to another farm, lured by sugar cubes and ribbons. We still believe the slogans of the chanting sheep or the propaganda of the spokesperson (or spokespig) Squealer. What about the donkey who didn’t really care about what was going on? Last May 2010, did we take the time to see which candidates were like Snowball? Or did we set aside our convictions for a more “winnable” candidate.

The failure of Animal Farm was not just in its leadership, but also in the animals that let things be. I remember my depression after seeing the results of the general elections last May 2010. It was supposed to be our chance for change, and yet we elected politicians of the same old mould. There were so many actors and members of old political families. So far, how much change have you seen?