"In the Yellow Light"

There comes a point in our lives when we suddenly feel undecided. Left and right seems to be the same. We become trapped in a never-ending loop hole of indecisions. As we grow older, we are taught that wisdom comes with age. However, we are not taught that with bountiful of wisdom comes a tower of indecisions. A moment of crisis arise from these anxieties. Heck, it is why people undergo quarter and mid-life crises.
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Revolutions, the Biggest Overstatement of Philippine Politics

“A viable civil society can mitigate conflicts and impose quality of citizenship without relying exclusively on the privatism of the marketplace.”
~ Philippe Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, What is democracy is and… is not

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So I was watching History Channel’s documentary on the French Revolution last night on Youtube, and this professor suddenly said, “Marie Antoinette was like the Imelda Marcos of her time.” I chuckled right off the bat. It was a comment only the nerdiest of people would laugh at, which needless to say includes me. 

That comment suddenly placed me in a nostlagic state: I remembered the good ‘ol days as a kid, hearing about so much hype about the “People Power” revolution in the Philippines during the late 80s. Of course, when you’re a kid you don’t necessarily have an in-depth understanding of such political matter. I placed People Power in quotation because the word People doesn’t really represent the plurality of the Philippine Masses. For one thing, the country itself (more…)

Coming of Age: the Making of the Self in University

Opposition people kept coming to me “You have to watch counting on polling station this station! There things are really bad.”  Another said “No, you need to go to this other station! Things are worse there.” Another woman, a Yushchenko supporter, called me on my cell phone, “Come right away to my station!” She was crying. I nearly broke down myself.  This was probably the most difficult time in my observation. I could not decide where I should go.  The opposition often exaggerates.  So it is hard to judge.  Finally, I decided to go to the station where the woman was crying.
~Professor Lucan Way, “Observations in Ukraine: November 2004- Confronting Electoral Fraud”

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Last September, I decided to finally pick another major. Among the choices I had (History, Global East Asia Studies, International Development Studies and Political Science), I picked Political Science as the Major to go with my English Literature Specialist Degree (Minor -> Major -> Specialist; just meant you’ve taken twice as much difficult courses as you move along the hierarchy). Of couse, I was hesitant at first. I mean, for four consecutive semesters, I’ve indulged myself with nothing but Pre-1900 and Modern Literature courses. It was a four well-fed semester and it turned me into a fat kid. (more…)