Counter-Narrative

I was not at the Luneta. But my heart was there.

You see, I am a citizen of words. While I write and speak, my world is not the streets and in rallies. My stage of articulating my politics is my classroom and now, my FB account, my newspaper column and my radio program.

I see the Luneta rally as a counter-narrative to the usual way of imaging EDSA. It was of course a show. But it is a show that the President needs.

And it is a political theater that will be facing the risk of being co-opted by traditional political voices, as seen in some of those who spoke on stage in the Luneta. But I am old enough to realize that much as we want to have a monopoly, politics is a meeting and clash of different platforms and strategies, even within our side of the political war. I now resist the urge to be a purist, and recognize that each type of doing politics has a potential to contribute. Traditional politicians may be normally seen in a negative light, but we unfortunately need them because they will be the ones that will have to pass the laws that the President will need. They have access to government resources that can be mobilized to support him.

Fortunately, there is now another and more powerful domain that can check these traditional ways of doing politics. This is where I chose to thrive. The Internet. Facebook.

So I am happy that Luneta happened. The President needed that. And it did not and will not stop me from keeping the flame my own way, here in cyberspace.

To follow Prof Tonton on Facebook, click above image.