#but we need to keep fighting
It’s a sad tale
It’s a tragedy
But we sing it anyway
See, Orpheus was a poor boy
But he had a gift to give
He could make you see how the world could be
In spite of the way that it is
Can you see it?
Can you hear it?
Can you feel it like a train?
Is it coming?
Is it coming this way?This campaign season, I’ve seen people who were largely apathetic to the politics of this country pick up flyers and walk from house to house talking about a possible future for our country. I’ve seen them register to vote for the first time. I’ve seen them walk through rallies and amass numbers in the hundreds of thousands. I’ve seen them stay from six in the morning to well into the early morning of the next day to guard their ballots.
By evening, I’ve already seen people talk about leaving the country and crying at each other– blaming people for putting the son of a dictator into Malacanang (if this were a clean and honest election which COMELEC still needs to answer for). And I get it. There is grief and there is betrayal. There is even hopelessness that this was written long before we had a chance to shade the ballots.
Pero di ba nakakahiya kay Leni.
Mahirap mahalin ang Pilipinas– kaya mas radikal magmahal.
But we loved this country in those rallies. We loved this country when we imagined its bright future; when we imagined holding politicians accountable for their actions; when we told people that Leni had plans to strengthen the skills of workers so that they can earn more. There was so much love there. And I think it’s still there, under all that grief and hurt.
Let’s not lose what we’ve gained and who we’ve become these past few months. Let’s not shrink back. Let’s not let cynicism drown out our will to engage in participatory governance– as our right and duty. Let’s not stop fighting for our marginalized countrymen (or blame them for the systematic disinformation– especially when so many are so firmly on our side).
The fight’s not over yet.
It’s a love song
It’s a tale of a love from long again
It’s a sad song
We keep singing even so
It’s an old song
It’s an old tale from way back when
And we’re gonna sing it again and again
We’re gonna sing it again
