by: DONALD SEVILLA
A WAR FOR PEOPLE’S HEARTS AND MINDS
More than the actual fighting that occurs on the
ground between the militant Hamas group and the
occupying Israeli Defense Forces, is the all-out war
in media played skillfully by both sides.
Without digging any deeper, the conflict is deeply
rooted in time and religion having spun decades of
disagreement and misunderstanding on contentious
issues between different ideologies.
While Jerusalem and its surrounding areas are
deemed as one of the holiest places on earth
having biblical roots, it is also one of the most
sought after, claimed by different religions.
The region’s conflict and volatility goes back to the
days of the Christian crusades which, over time, did
not capture lasting peace, despite several efforts at
peace talks brokered by powerful geopolitical
forces
Without taking sides, it is pretty obvious that both
groups share equally despicable acts of violence
against one another. We do not seek to judge any
one group or people, for there is more than meets
the eye here.
Yet, what is pretty obvious is that propaganda
machinery is hard at work to sway public opinion
and pressure governments to act in favor of one or
the other.
Similarly our local politics is fraught with
propaganda. Despite the elections over a couple of
years back, election promises and narratives
continue to be peddled to cover inefficiency and
incompetence.
To date, nothing substantial has been
accomplished and no concrete benefits
experienced by our people.
Are our lives better off now than they were? We’ve
kept tightening our belts and budgets but for how
much longer? Except for the promised investments
and hype nothing else helps keep our hopes up.
But we cannot live on dreams and an empty
stomach. Perhaps enough time has passed to be
able to accomplish at least something. Yet, where
are we now?
We seem to be more indulged in our politics and
the perpetration of our power and positions. Our
country, sad to say, is one of the most politicized
places on earth where political influence matters
and pervades our lives.
So what then are we to do? It is quite difficult to
break free from this stranglehold at least in our
generation but we can only hope that our
succeeding offspring could fare better.
But the SK intramurals offer no consolation as we
are exposing our young to our dirty game of politics.
The posts for SK federation chairmen are highly
coveted and partisanship is more evident as key
political players jostle to control outcomes to favor
their interests.
Are we hopeless? I hope not. But unless we open
our eyes and be discerning about all we see and
hear, we may never overcome this dilemma.
We must not be misled by clever propaganda and
be sucked into this all-out war for our minds and
hearts. Let us learn to read between the lines and
feel our way around.