Hide and Seek

One. He sprinted away from the post while searching for the most covert spot. Three. He decides which to take, under the wooden bed or inside the tattered closet. He went to the closet but abdul was already there twisting his body to fit himself in. No more room for another. Six. He rushed for the bed gasping his breath. He lied down and went under. His clothes caught the earth’s dirt. He can already see his mother scolding him. Nevermind. Today is playing time. Eight. He took a last glance at the post to ensure that rashid is not cheating. Assured, he waited for the ten. Waited. Waited. Waited.

It never came. The next sound he heard was kumander musa’s wake up call. Like everyone in the barracks, he rose instantly and picked his m16 rifle which is slightly shorter than him. Time to play the real hide and seek; with the 31st platoon of the army.They went outside, assemlbed, and moved. No time to eat breakfast. Lest, the enemy will catch up on them. As they trek the rugged mountains, akmad grinned as he recalls bits of his dream. He relishes these moments for only these bring him the experience of chidhood.

Distorted Justice

In our kind of society, where what is prevalent is the system of “rule of men” and not “rule of law”, everything depends on personal power. The powerful dictates what is right and what is wrong and their dictates can reach even matters personal where under “rule of law”, is entirely your own prerogative. For instance, under “rule of law”, a person owning a property can exercise the attributes of ownership on such property. He can possess it, dispose of it, use it, even destroy it. The exercise of such rights is a sole prerogative of the owner and no one can meddle with it. As the saying goes, a man’s house is his castle and he can exclude from it anyone not to his liking even the king. Not so in our society. The powerful can take anyone’s property or prevent him from exercising attributes of ownership over his property. It is the king than can exclude you from your own castle.

If such were to happen in a “rule of law”, the owner can resort and seek justice in the courts. He can for instance file a civil case for forcible entry and eject the usurper as well as ask for damages. He can also file criminal charges for usurpation of real property. The usurper regardless of how powerful he is will be convicted and jailed. All’s well that end’s well, if such were to happen in a “rule of law”. Not so in our society.

In our society, you cannot expect justice in the courts. I’m not saying that the judges are corrupt though there is credence in doubting some of them. The powerful, with all their guns and goons, can just scare your lawyers away or with their gold, bribe them to make your case as weak as a brittle stick. Imagine a scenario where the prosecution serves as a counsel for the defense. That’ll be the mother of all oxymorons but such are the things money can do. Or worse, they can just opt to kill you. Then, you are left with no one to defend your rights. Or worse, your rights die with you.

So, you cannot go to the courts, what is one to do in such situations? Create your own court and seek your own justice. Fight fire with fire. But in order to do so, you must be powerful. In our society, power is simply equivalent to guns + goons + military. Guns and goons will give you justice though in its distorted yet simplest form: eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But that is better than none. The military will be the backbone of your power simply because it is the most powerful institution in our system of government.

But all of these are simply stretches of imagination without money. If money makes the world go round, it makes our kind of society spin like a top. For the power that money brings thrives in a system of prevalent corruption. And what is our society but one submerged in a dung of corruption ? It stinks so much I can smell it from here.

How do you get money? There are many ways of earning money. You can earn it legally or illegaly. The second is out of the question and does not even deserve an explanation. First you can use your property as investment. Second, you can use your profession. The first is not entirely reliable not only because of business risks but also the fact that we are living in our kind of society. How can you earn the fruits of your property when you cannot even possess it! So long as you do not have enough power to possess your property, don’t even think of using it. Do not put the cart before the horse. This thought is really ridiculous because under normal circumstances, possession goes side by side with ownership and does not require a positive act. It is automatic. But do not laugh for we are not under normal circumstances. We are living in our society where like everything else, ownership is meaningless without power.

So, that leaves us to the second and only reliable way of earning money in our society: Profession. It is the ideal and so is the hardest. It is the ideal because it is the only property that is beyond the reach of the powerful. They may usurp away all your property but never your education. Unlike business ventures though, where returns are high because risks are high, the exercise of a profession will give you modest but definite returns. Nevermind that the returns are small for it may only be temporary. The small steps will eventually lead you to the peak of the mountain. Hence, education may be the key to open the doors of justice however distorted it may be and put you in a pedestal of equality. At this point, the words of Rizal ring like a bell. The pen is indeed mighter than the sword.