NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 05 December) — There is no substitute to truth, justice and decency in governance. From these imperatives spring many other values in economic, political and social we could ever cherish.
Truth requires the rigor to go deep, to know and understand the cause or causes of a problem. It impels one not to dwell in and be content with eliminating the symptoms of an illness.
Justice is to give everyone a chance to live with dignity free from wants, ignorance and fear.
Decency is holding on to some ideals and basic values in life in confronting whatever challenges may come along the way.
To yield to despair corrupts the soul; it’s committing suicide to flow with the current of blind submission hanging on empty hope.
Nobody is safe in a dictatorship. Everyone – the dictator and the dictated – turns paranoid in time. In such a regime, a time may come when a suspected rebel is no longer just a rebel but is already a terrorist that needs to be eliminated. The bad, the good, the beautiful and the ugly will all eventually suffer. It’s just a matter of time.
Has the time come? (MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. William R. Adan, Ph.D., is retired professor and former chancellor of Mindanao State University at Naawan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines.)
