We outnumbered the rallyists

 “When you become part of something, in some way you count. It could be a march; it could be a rally, even a brief one. You're part of something, and you suddenly realize you count. To count is very important.”

— Studs Terkel

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

I WAS one of the journalists who covered the pro-Trump New York City rally, which started at six o’clock in the evening outside the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg at the Manhattan Criminal Court on March 20, 2023.

I arrived at past four o’clock in the afternoon and noticed a sparse crowd. The area had been surrounded by the New York Police Department (NYPD) cops and Secret Service police.

The rally was staged by the New York Young Republicans and Long Island Loud Majority in response to the call by former President Donald Trump to “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK” in anticipation that he would be charged criminally for years-old hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Like other journalists, I expected a big crowd but as scores of camera-toting crew and “ambush” interviewers like me ambled around, taking pictures, recording videos in cellphones, and desperately looking for interviews, I noticed members of the media vastly outnumbered the former president’s supporters at the demonstration.

Was the former president losing his appeal to the New York GOP supporters? Or they were only adamant to join the rally for fear of being identified?

The paranoia about a big crowd that sent the media and authorities to the area turned out to be a dud.

I stood on a wooden bench and started counting and estimating the crowd. 

 

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It was one of the smallest gathering of protesters in a widely announced political rally that I’ve covered: at least 90 members of media were present as against 70 to 80 rallyists. 

A protester, who covered his face with an American flag, exclaimed, “I had like 50 cameras on me!” He later sounded secretly he was thrilled he’d likely be in the paper the next day.

I saw someone who looked like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga) in the crowd. Greene has been angling to be Mr. Trump’s candidate for vice presidente.

The rally developed into a press conference as some members of the media scrambled to interview “young” republicans, staff of GOP lawmakers, Trump die hards and election deniers willing to speak to reporters.

A rowdy man who stood beside me most of the time during the rally stole the show by interrupting the press conference yelling “Fuck you” and “Fuck Trump” multiple times. 

Rally organizers attempted but failed to pacify him as he grew more aggressive and unruly each time they confronted him. I later identified him only as “Job.”

“I live near this place. No one can tell me to go away because this is a public place,” bewailed Job. “If Trump will be arrested tomorrow you will all jump from the Empire State building. Listen all of you. You came here only for one man? Who is he (referring to Mr. Trump)? He is only a developer.” 

 

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I briefly interviewed fellow Queens resident Stephanie Lu, a Chinese-American Trump loyalist who carried a huge “Trump won” placard and was among the early birds.

She dared the media “to tell the truth.” Lu, accompanied by several fellow Chinese-Americans Trump die hards, hit “(President) Joe Biden for his political harassment on President Trump.”

Also present in the crowd, according to a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, were white nationalists and members of an Austrian political party formed by Nazi party members during World War II.  

Interestingly on March 21 morning, demonstrators who want a Trump indictment far outnumbered MAGA supporters outside the Manhattan Criminal Court, where the former president was expected to be charged as early as March 22.

The pro-indictment protesters gathered in front of the building where Bragg was investigating Mr. Trump over a hush-money payment made to the sex symbol during the 2016 presidential campaign.

 

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Heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. Let's fight back with this heart-healthy advice: Stop smoking, add exercise, shake the salt habit, manage our diabetes, take our medicine.

WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS: Older adults who keep busy with hobbies live longer, happier, and healthier lives. Gardening, nature walks, and all types of dance fuel the spirit and strengthen the body.

Some of the largest breasts ever recorded figure in the book "Human Oddities" by Martin Monestier. The weight of each breast of the woman he mentions in the book is 44 pounds (19.8 kg) while their circumference is 33" (83.82 cm).

Acrotomophilla occurs when we have a sexual attraction to amputees.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

No fear against bad politicians

 

“One of the reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a politician's objective. Election and power are.”

— Cal Thomas

By Alex P. Vidal

WERE members of the Negros Oriental press really “afraid” of the dreaded Teves political clan?

In at least three interviews in the national TV networks, I watched in disbelief as Pamplona, Negros Oriental mayor Janice Degamo, widow of slain governor Roel Degamo, lamented that the alleged past abuses of the Teves political clan, including political killings, “were never reported in the local media.”

“Takot sa kanila (Teves clan) ang mga local media. I’m sorry to say this,” Mayor Degamo bewailed.

Incidents of killings and other related violence are news. I’m sure they were also reported in the Negros press, contrary to the mayor’s claim. 

It’s impossible for my equally vigilant colleagues in Negros—both Occidental and Oriental—not to tackle them.

What the mayor probably meant was “takot” or afraid to criticize the family. There’s a whale of difference between reporting a news and fearing to criticize an abuse or abuses by a politician, military, or powerful people.

We’re not sure if Negros media people were really natakot/nahadlok (afraid) as alleged by the widow Degamo. But we assure Mayor Degamo that if this arrogant Arnie Teves were our congressman in Western Visayas or in Iloilo, we would never fear him.

We have encountered warlord and uneducated politicians more dangerous, more brutal, more immature, and more powerful than Congressman Teves.

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I’M not totally against immigration officers who are strict in scrutinizing the itineraries of departing Pinoy passengers in all the international airports in the Philippines.

Except for the female passenger who missed a flight to Israel after being asked and failed to show her yearbook, other complaints of “lengthy” Bureau of Immigration (BI) pre-departure interview shouldn’t be taken against the BI officers.

With a growing number of cases involving Pinoy travelers who ended up as victims of human trafficking, labor abuse and exploitation in foreign lands, there really is a need to strictly monitor the flights of many departing passengers abroad.

The BI may be only trying to make sure Pinoy passengers with insufficient travel documents are protected from syndicates that have victimized so many unsuspecting Pinoy “tourists” and jobseekers who didn’t pass through the normal overseas employment process.

Before the alleged “lengthy” BI interviews that raised a howl of protest from those who reportedly missed their flights, several Pinoy jobseekers duped to work in Thailand and Myanmar were either rescued or escaped from unauthorized and unscrupulous employers believed to be syndicates.

Many of them detailed horrifying ordeals from dubious employers who allegedly punished them harshly if they could not meet their quota or pay certain “penalties.”

Most of these jobseekers left the Philippines as “tourists.”

Do we prefer a “lengthy” BI interview (without necessarily missing our flights, of course) or a smooth BI interview but one that will -o0o-compromise and endanger our OFW or tourists?

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I finally made a decision at past two o’clock in the afternoon on March 20, to go back to the Lower Manhattan Monday night (March 20) to cover the demonstration by supporters of former President Donald Trump who protested the ongoing grand jury testimony that Mr. Trump had claimed would lead to his arrest in a case not related to his alleged ties in the January 6, 2021 capitol attack. 

I checked for the pro-Trump rally in the morning and learned that it was scheduled only at Mar a Lago in Mr. Trump’s Florida property. 

I waited for several hours and learned another rally was scheduled in Manhattan, organized by The New York Young Republican Club, which described the rally that began at six o’clock in the evening as a “peaceful protest” of what it characterized as Manhattan District Attorney “Alvin Bragg’s heinous attack on President Donald J. Trump and the legitimacy of the American judicial system.”

The gathering, which is billed as only being open to members of the club plus the Long Island Loud Majority conservative group, came on the eve of the day on which Mr. Trump has said he expected to be arrested. 

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In a March 18 social media post, Trump claimed that he “WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY” in the case, which concerns hush money paid to women who, during his 2016 campaign, alleged Mr. Trump’s past sexual encounters. 

In the same message, Trump called on supporters to “PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”

The NYPD on Monday positioned extra barricades in Lower Manhattan in preparation for a possible indictment of the former president.

The Associated Press, citing a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to discuss the secret proceedings, reported earlier that the preparations came as Robert Costello, an attorney allied with the former president, was expected to testify March 20 before the grand jury.

In addition to working with fellow Trump allies Steve Bannon and Rudy Giuliani, Costello also briefly served as a legal adviser to Michael Cohen, a key witness in the investigation. 

Cohen previously pleaded guilty in connection to the hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal, which he alleges were directed by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump, who is running for a second White House term in 2024, has denied having sex with either woman, and has characterized Cohen, a former longtime lawyer for the Trump Organization, as a liar. Bragg’s office, which has not shared a timeline for the grand jury proceedings, has declined comment on Trump’s claims of imminent arrest. (The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

        

  

 

New visa options for U.S. employment revealed

“The most positive step is to try to expand the employment base by making it, if not economically friendly, at least not economically disastrous, for studios to take on deficits.”

— Dick Wolf

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

THOSE intending to obtain a visa for employment in the United States may check the list below in this article provided by the Filipinos of New York, a community organization that “unites and empowers members living in New York, preserves cultural heritage, and promotes Bayanihan spirit and equality for all.”

Filipinos for New York revealed  the “Visa options for Filipinos: Exploring employment-based to the U.S.”

“I strongly recommend consulting with an experienced immigration attorney or accredited representative who can help you determine which employment-based visa category may be best suited to your circumstances and guide you through the application process,” Filipinos of New York’s Robert RDB suggested.

There are reportedly 21 employment-based visa categories a Filipino can apply for in the US.

Filipinos, like any other foreign nationals, may be eligible to apply for 21 various employment-based visas to work in the United States. 

Here are some of the most common employment-based visa categories:

EW-3 visa - This visa is the specific category for unskilled workers who are new arrivals. Other workers performing unskilled labor, not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the United States. Sub-categories include EW9 for spouses of EW3 holders and EW0 for the children of EW3 who are adjusting status.

EW-8 visa - This visa is the specific category for unskilled workers who are new arrivals. Other workers performing unskilled labor, not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which qualified workers are not available in the United States.

H-1B visa: This visa is for individuals in "specialty occupations," which require a bachelor's degree or higher. It is typically used by professionals in fields such as IT, engineering, science, and healthcare.

 

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H-2B visa: This visa is for temporary nonagricultural workers who are performing seasonal, peak load or intermittent work for which there are not enough U.S. workers available. This visa is subject to an annual cap.

L-1 visa: This visa is for employees of international companies who are being transferred to a U.S. branch or subsidiary of their company. It can also be used for employees of a U.S. company who are being transferred to a related company abroad.

E-1 visa: This visa is for treaty traders who are coming to the U.S. to engage in substantial trade between the U.S. and their home country. The treaty must exist between the U.S. and the foreign country of which the applicant is a citizen.

E-2 visa: This visa is for individuals who are investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business or who are starting a new business in the U.S. This visa is only available to citizens of countries with which the U.S. has a treaty of commerce and navigation, and the Philippines is one of the eligible countries.

E-3 visa: This visa is similar to the H-1B visa, but is specifically for Filipinos with citizenship in Australia who are coming to the U.S. to work in a specialty occupation.

O-1 visa: This visa is for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, and is often used by entertainers, athletes, and researchers.

 

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TN visa: This visa is for Filipinos with citizenship in Canada or Mexico who work in certain professions, such as accountants, engineers, scientists, and teachers. While Filipinos are not eligible for this visa category, they may be eligible for other nonimmigrant visa categories.

EB-1 visa: This visa is for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; outstanding professors or researchers; or multinational executives or managers.

EB-2 visa: This visa is for individuals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business who will substantially benefit the U.S. economy, cultural or educational interests, or welfare.

EB-3 visa: This visa is for skilled workers, professionals, and other workers who perform work for which qualified workers are not available in the U.S.

EB-4 visa: This visa is for special immigrants, such as religious workers, employees of U.S. foreign service posts, and others.

EB-5 visa: This visa is for investors who invest a minimum of $1.8 million (or $900,000 in a targeted employment area) in a new commercial enterprise in the U.S. that creates at least 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers.

J-1 visa: This visa is for individuals participating in exchange programs, such as research scholars, professors, trainees, and interns.

P visa: This visa is for athletes, artists, and entertainers who are coming to the U.S. temporarily to participate in a specific event or performance.

R visa: This visa is for religious workers who are coming to the U.S. temporarily to work in a religious vocation or occupation.

Q visa: This visa is for individuals participating in international cultural exchange programs, such as those involving practical training, employment, and sharing of history, culture, and traditions.

H-1B1 visa: This visa is similar to the H-1B visa, but is specifically for Filipinos with citizenship in Singapore and Chile who are coming to the U.S. to work in a specialty occupation.

CW-1 visa: This visa is for temporary nonimmigrant workers who are coming to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) to work in certain occupations. The CNMI is a U.S. territory, and the CW-1 visa is unique in that it is specific to this geographic area.

It's important to note that each employment-based visa category has its own if requirements and eligibility criteria. Additionally, the application process can be complex and may involve demonstrating that you meet certain qualifications or criteria, such as having a certain level of education or work experience.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

Killings exacerbate our emotional anguish

 “No one loves the messenger who brings bad news.” 

― Sophocles, Antigone

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

AT least eight of the first 10 videos and news posted on social media over the week were about the massacre of nine people in Pamplona, Negros Oriental that also killed Governor Roel Degamo on March 4.

Most of the videos were personal vlogs and clips from news networks that tackled the bloody carnage, which prompted the national government to deploy battalions of elite Army forces in that province to hunt down the remaining gunmen believed to be hiding in the hills, and secure the civilian populace.

Eight out of 10 vlogs assailed the massacre and sought justice for the fallen governor and the eight others. 

At least two or more promoted the crazy idea that the governor’s widow, Janice, the mayor of Pamplona “may be involved” in the ghastly killings.

If they were diversionary tactics meant to smokescreen the real mastermind or masterminds, we are not stupid not to understand what’s going on.

Some criminal minds desperate to wiggle out from trouble always want to win the people’s sympathy by playing victims. A squid or a “reverse psychology” tactic.

The court battle will be another thing. You may succeed in winning the minds of some gullible in the social media through manipulation and sustained lies, but you can’t twist the truth; you can’t change the facts.

In the end, justice will prevail.  

 

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Some of the vloggers who zeroed in on the widow’s supposed possible involvement could be sympathizers of the now “missing” Negros Oriental 3^rd district Rep. Arnie Teves, the alleged mastermind in Degamo’s murder. 

This may be possible especially when they exonerated Teves and transformed the embattled congressman into a victim of harassment and political persecution.  

All of a sudden, pro-Teves vlogs and social media mercenaries have mushroomed in the social media and hit Degamo, Mayor Janice, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, Jr., and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.

Indeed, paid hacks are everywhere.

Now that Degamo has been laid to rest, we expect the number of the Pamplona massacre-related vlogs to slowly thin away in our social media timeline.  

Topics about violence, political rivalry, terrorism, killings among other depressing stories, have only succeeded in planting more hatred and prejudices in the netizens’ hearts and minds. 

The stories have exacerbated our emotional and mental anguishes especially if there was no immediate justice in sight for the dead despite the saber rattling of government and police authorities. 

 

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TurboTax has been reminding me via e-mail that my tax forms for 2022 were already available. 

I just received my fifth notice since January from the software package for preparation of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) income tax returns produced by Intuit. 

I plan to finalize my TurboTax forms before first week of April and beat the deadline like I used to do. I have no more reason to delay everything beyond the deadline and pay the penalties.

The IRS started the tax season last January 23rd. 

Taxpayers have up to thee months to send the tax return during the tax season. This means that the last day they can send the documents is April 18th. 

“Therefore, sending the documents between these dates means fulfilling your obligations as a U.S. citizen,” warned Tododisca.

“If you don’t send them before this date, the IRS will start applying late fees.”

At the time the tax season ends, “citizens who do not have a special season extension permit will not be able to send the forms without a corresponding penalty,” according to Tododisca. “There may be minor exceptions, but usually, they will have to pay a payment for late filing.”

Can I request an extension to send the Tax Return to the IRS?

It is possible to request an extension to send the Tax Return to the IRS, but it is not common that this organization accepts this extension of time. 

It is only for exceptional cases in which there is an important reason to justify the extension.

“In any case, all citizens can request the extension of time, regardless of whether we receive it later or not. In the case that we have this extra time, we will be able to send the Tax Return until October of the same year, so we have more freedom to do it,” Tododisca explained.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

 

 

Suffering part of our past

 

"One ought not to return a wrong nor an injury to any person, however strong the provocation." 

—Socrates 

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF we look back at history, there were more important and famous characters who suffered worse. If we suffer today from persecution, prejudice, discrimination, poverty, let’s remember how some great names of antiquity suffered to death.

Suffering is everywhere and inevitable. Even around our home, we can see families who can’t afford more than one meal a day, students pushed to their limits, workers put out of jobs, elderly folk abandoned by family members, and migrant workers exploited by employers.

Scripture tells us that some people suffer because of divine punishment, some for their faith, and some to save others.

“And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:17)

Jesus Christ mocked and nailed on the cross. 

Mary Magdalene stoned and called a whore. 

Socrates found guilty of "introducing new gods" by a slender majority in a jury of 501 and forced to kill himself by drinking hemlock. 

Pompey decapitated. 

Julius Caesar stabbed in the back by envious senators led by neurotic Brutus ("Et tu, Brute?") and ambitious Cassius.

Darius severely wounded before being killed in losing Persia to Alexander The Great in the Battle of Arbela. Montezuma humiliated in his own territory in Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City, by Hernando Cortez. Napoleon Bonaparte in Waterloo. The Battle of Acium. Holocaust.

 

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Love birds Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Ben Hur and El Cid. Pearl Harbor. 

The Bay of Pigs. Gomburza. Jose Rizal. Andres Bonifacio. Antonio Luna. John F. Kennedy. Martin Luther King. John Lennon. Moises Padilla. Ninoy Aquino.

Bruno burned at stake by the Catholic Inquisition. Galileo forced to recant the heleocentric theory and spent years in jail. 

Bloody Mary beheaded. Thomas Moore beheaded for refusing to solemnize the marriage of Queen Elizabeth's father King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution guillotine.

Diego Silang and his wife Gabriela executed. 

Dona Aurora, wife of President Quezon, and their daughter Baby Quezon, killed in ambush by Hukbalahap. 

Alexander Hamilton, Magellan, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Rasputin, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler all died violently. And so on and so forth.

Great men and women suffered humiliation and cruel deaths. 

According to a Jewish editor, Harry Golden, there are at lease four billion suns in the Milky Way, which is only one galaxy. 

Many of these suns are thousands of times larger than our own, and vast millions of them have whole planetary systems, including literally billions of satellites, and all of this revolves at the rate of about a million miles an hour, like a huge oval pinwheel.

Our own sun and its planets, which includes the earth, are on the edge of this wheel. 

 

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This is only our small corner of the universe, so why do not these billions of revolving and rotating suns and planets collide?

The answer is, the space is so unbelievably vast that if we reduced the suns and the planets in correct mathematical proportion with relation to the distances between them, each sun would be a speck of dust, two, three, and four thousand miles away from its nearest neighbor. 

And, mind you, this is only the Milky Way -- our own small corner -- our own galaxy. 

How many galaxies are there? Billions. 

Billions of galaxies spaced at about one million light years apart (one light-year is about six trillion miles).

Within the range of our biggest telescopes there are at least one hundred million separate galaxies such as our own Milky Way, and that is not all, by any means. 

The scientists have found that the further you got out into space with the telescopes the thicker the galaxies become, and there are billions of billions as yet uncovered to the scientist's camera and the astrophysicist's calculations.

When you think of all this, it's silly to worry whether the allegations of our critics will really change the way we live in society.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)

We talk but we don’t communicate

  

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

— George Bernard Shaw

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

WHY is it that sometimes we don’t communicate even if we talk? 

The lack of good conversation occurs because we sometimes take conversational ability for granted. 

We think that some people have either been given the gift of gab or they haven't. 

The truth is that conversation is an art. Like any other artistic ability, it requires training and discipline. 

And practice improves it. So does being constantly aware of where conversational mistakes can be made.

Asking ourselves questions is actually a great help: What are we talking about? With whom we are conversing? Under what circumstances is the conversation taking place? 

Why are we engaged in this conversation? How should we say what's on our mind? When should certain things be said?

In other words, conversation has to have a solid foundation. 

How To Read A Book author, Dr. Mortimer Adler, said those involved in conversation have to know what the subject is. 

“If they don't, the talk will be lopsided,” Adler explained. “Like any jerry-built structure, it is bound to come tumbling down in confusion.”

The following rules should be observed, according to the famous writer and encyclopedist: 

—Let's begin by stating our own views in the shortest, clearest way we can. 

—Have the other fellow restate them in his own terms and to our satisfaction. 

—Then let's do the same for what he has to say. If we insist on this, what we are talking about will be clear. 

 

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And if we don't hop, skip, and jump all over the conversational landscape thereafter, the subject won't be lost.

Most people are interested in some subjects but not others, observed the late New York educator.  

"If we and someone else share a common interest, fine. If not, we can try to establish it,” he stressed. “But if, after a few good tries, we see that the other party doesn't respond, don't force it. If we do, we will very often find that we have wasted our time."

He added that there are times and places for heavy talk, times and places for light talk, and times and places for no talk at all. 

"Many good conversations are botched from the beginning by the participants' not being able to tell the difference. Let's try always to weigh the external factors that can affect conversation. If certain favorable conditions are lacking, let's try to estimate how much they will disturb the talk,” Adler pointed out. 

“If they are all lacking, if the circumstances are stacked against us, then we shouldn't try. We have to play this by ear, but if we keep the circumstances in mind, we won't make so many mistakes."

Here's Adler’s complete observation: "No one is more disliked than the fellow who argues for the sake of argument. He is the windbag who supports the notion that 'talk is cheap' when, in fact, it is one of the most precious things in the world."

 

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Adler added: "To be merely contentious is not to converse. When we try to laugh off a telling argument or ridicule the other party, when we agree or disagree without understanding, when we become sarcastic, and when we break off a discussion on some pretext, we are not conversing. All we get is the result of our dubious tactics merit--the cheap victory that they bring.

"Every good conversationalist has a style. The better he is, the more flexible is his style. He knows that the vocabularies, experiences, blind spots, interests, and beliefs of individuals differ greatly. To get across what he has to say, therefore, he is constantly making adjustments in his manner of speaking. He never falls into rigid patterns.

"As important as style in conversation is timing. We can do everything else correctly, but if we say the right thing at the wrong time, we've failed. Sensing the critical moment in a conversation is not easy. 

“We know of no conversational skill more difficult to acquire. And the reason it is so difficult is that it requires us to listen to the other fellow."

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed) 

 

Ignorance is evil

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

By Alex P. Vidal 

 

THE saddest part of being alive is to be ignorant, or remain ignorant for the rest of our life. Never mind poverty. With luck, a good health, determination and hard work, we can overcome it. 

A wise man—a Filipino politician, I think—once quipped, “I fear poverty more than death.” For some people, including the Filipino politician, poverty means “hell on earth”; affluence or richness is “heaven on earth.”

But there is more worrisome or niggling in life than poverty: ignorance.

According to Socrates, who was possibly the most enigmatic figure in the entire history of philosophy, “ignorance is the only evil.”

He was probably correct. Nowadays if we are ignorant, technology can destroy us; social media can bring us serious anxiety and ruin our life. 

Fake news will swallow us whole. Tiktok and other dizzying and devious online apps will altogether mutilate our rational and moral judgment.

If we are ignorant, we mistake the villain for an important character; we falsely idolize demagogues and elect them into important government positions.

Instead of rejecting violence and denouncing terrorism—political and otherwise—we outwardly tolerate and even endorse them. “Suspected criminals and drug addicts deserve to be executed”; “the governor or mayor deserved to die for engaging in illegal drug trafficking,” etcetera. 

 

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If we are ignorant, we can be easily tantalized and duped by false demigods and religious impostors. “I was chosen by God to be your leader”; “I talked to God and the charges of rape, exploitation, human

trafficking, corruption leveled against me are the works of the devil”; etcetera.

If we are ignorant, we swallow hook, line, and sinker the claims of insincere politicians that we need to change or repair our constitution to give us a better life economically and politically without thinking they were cooking something to serve their own whims and caprices, including the perpetuation of political dynasty.   

If we are ignorant, we can be easily coaxed to invest our hard-earned money in pyramid and Ponzi-like investment scams.

Thank you Socrates (470 B.C.-399 B.C) for exposing our frailties and imperfections when civilization was in the infant stage. 

The Greek philosopher, who walked on this earth some 500 years before Christ was born, never wrote a single line. Yet he is one of the philosophers who has had the greatest influence on European thought, not least because of the dramatic nature of his death.

Socrates thought that a philosopher is someone who recognizes that there is a lot he does not understand, and is troubled by it. 

In that sense, he was still wiser than all those who bragged about their knowledge of things they really knew nothing about.

Socrates himself said, “One thing only I know and that is that I know nothing.”

 

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But while Socrates constantly questioned the extent of his own knowledge (a method that Rene Descartes was to employ some 2,000 years later), Socrates believed that it is possible for man to obtain absolute truths about the Universe. 

He felt that it was necessary to establish a solid foundation for our knowledge, a foundation which he believed lay in man’s reason. With his unshakable faith in human reason, Socrates was decidedly a rationalist.

In the year 399 B.C., Socrates was accused of “introducing new gods (the “divine inner voices” he claimed to hear in his head) and corrupting youth, as well as not believing in the accepted gods.

Although the government of Athens was one of the world’s earliest democracies, Socrates, on the other hand, let everyone know he believed it was better for the state to be ruled by a single person, whom he described as “the one who knows.”

Some regarded Socrates’ outspoken views as a threat to the very fabric of Athenean life. 

Worried by his anti-democratic influence over the many young aristocrats (including Plato) involved in the Socratic think-tank, a jury of 501 found him guilty by a slender majority and was forced to drink the poison hemlock.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)