A ND why should we not expect and prepare for the confrontation consciously? We know we are right, and they, too, insist on being so. Yet, the diametrically opposite directions and manifestations of what is right and wrong between two aggressive and contending sectors of Philippine society cannot be corrected by a medical treatment abroad, or the exile of a deposed president. It can only be resolved by reaching a common understanding and acceptance of what is right and wrong. Or, by a decisive victory of one side over the other and the establishing by the victor of a dominant view and value system in Philippine society. E strada is not the issue; he simply rides on it. No one person is that important that the fate of a whole nation can be held hostage by him or her. Just as Ninoy Aquino was being carried by a wave insisting on change, Estrada is simply being borne by the pattern of divisiveness that has enslaved the Filipino consciousness. Ninoy stoked the fire of change, the need to allow the return of freedom, and died for it. Estrada, who once stoked the fires of religious prejudice between Christian and Muslim and now fans the resentment of the poor against the rich, will most probably be consumed by it. T he adoption of the maya as the national bird and the carabao as the national animal gives us an important glimpse into our national psyche. Why would national leaders of both politics and culture choose such common ordinary representatives of our surroundings to be national symbols? We cannot assume they decided by mere whim. We can argue that they could have been wrong, but not whimsical in their attitude and process. H ow apt, though, that mayas and carabaos define the Philippine environment even in symbolism. After all, the Filipino people and nation must be reflected in national symbols. The ordinary nature of mayas and carabaos conjure memories of Filipinos who sought nothing more than the highest interest of the community, of the collective, often subordinating individual preferences. B ut too much "eagle" mentality after Western values were superimposed on us, shifting the value to competition and victory instead of cooperation and complementation. The maya and carabao became too common as individuality overshadowed the sense of the collective. Now, we have not a diverse people but a divided one, each trying to be better than the other in a race where losing means failure and maybe even economic or political ruin. Goodbye "bayanihan." A nd that goodbye to bayanihan has taken us to the opposite path of competition and division. The traditional spirit of the younger and stronger going out of their way to tend and help the old and the weak runs counter to everything that dominant business principles and strategies teach. And business schools thrive while a learning center for community service has yet to be established for our students. T alking about business or economics in any other form outside of the conventional understanding will not generate keen interest from those who continue to create poverty with failed economic policies. It is just as true for politics. It must be spoken of independent of cultural or religious values, especially if electoral victory or juicy positions will be threatened by principled behavior. I t is victory above all. It is wealth above all. Wealth brings victory, and victory brings wealth. They go hand in hand just as poverty and corruption become inseparable twins. As business gets dirtier, so do our politicians and bureaucrats. And victory at all costs is now more easily understood than the traditional surrender of personal preferences to collective interests when both collide. S o while the destructive trend toward a social conflagration promises a more graphically violent cleansing and purging of Philippine society, it remains pitifully improbable that the fearful concern of a few can overcome the need for wealth and victory. There is a growing lust for bloodletting. The hunt is on and the dogs of war, on both sides, are recruited not only among the ranks of the uniformed but from urban poor partisans as well. P ro-Estrada forces give broad hints of destabilizing and even violent moves even as they insist that such is not their intent. The coming weeks and months will return great uncertainty in the political landscape as plunder charges hound Joseph Estrada a.k.a Jose Velarde. We cannot simply expect a disgraced president to meekly meet his fate when untold resources monetary and otherwise are at his beck and call. I nstead, we must expect the more classic reaction by the rich and the powerful to threats of conviction, imprisonment or lethal injection. We must expect Estrada to raise the ante, to bring to bear whatever political, financial and maybe even criminal infrastructure he can muster to disrupt the trend toward the demise of his freedom and influence. T he mood of divisiveness and the trend of confrontation will have more than enough provocation to express themselves in the immediate future. Perhaps, it will be better for us to have the opportunity sooner more than later to engage in decisive battle so that clear winners can and should dominate the nation to hammer out a common perspective and acceptance of right and wrong. Why delay the inevitable? D ivisiveness and greed, poverty and corruption, the need for confrontation and the lure of violence destabilize our nation no end. Estrada in exile or in his doctor‚s clinic in the United States will not stop the catharsis of a nation, just as it did not stop Marcos from causing mischief from Hawaii. If Estrada had stoked violence to erupt in Mindanao in his all-out war policy, and had by proxy induced a mob to attack Malacañang, Estrada should stay in the Philippines to witness and taste the fruits of his labor. Or become its karmic victim. Reference: http://www.inq7.net/opi/2002/mar/08/opi_jmontelibano-1.htm