Rewriting History

After almost half a century on this earth, I can say that I have been a witness to many milestone events. Spending half of my life in the Philippines and the rest in America, I would say that both of these places are seeing current events that history experts probably never imagined would happen.

This I can say for sure, as I have seen it happened: people who hated you today, will embrace you tomorrow. And people who revered you today, will curse you tomorrow.

As the saying goes, “the only constant in this world is change.”

Take for example the changing political landscape in America, where I reside now.

Who would have predicted that someone like “the Donald” who many considered as a joke, and many would not take him seriously as a presidential candidate, even in his own party, would end up taking the highest office of this country. And he won it in a convincing fashion too.

If you listen to all the hurled insults during the campaign period, you would think this world is out of its mind. Or maybe it is. A circus act? Racist? Sexist? Fascist? True or not, it does not seem to matter.

The people have spoken. He is the elected 45th president of the United States of America.

Politicians, especially from his own party, who have tried to distance themselves from Trump before the election, are now backpedaling trying to align with the new elected leader.

How would America be under President Trump? Let’s just wait for the history to write itself.

Then let’s go to the current events in my homeland.

As good students of history know, the former President Ferdinand Marcos was deposed and expelled by “People Power” revolution in 1986. I was in college at that time, and been an eyewitness and even a part of that historic event.

Who would have imagined that after three decades, he will be embraced again by the same nation that derided him as a dictator, and would consider him now as a great president and a hero, finding his final resting place at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

And who would have thought that a name that has been synonymous before to a hero, or a name even toyed to be considered as a saint, would be the same name that many people would find now as unfavorable.

What changed?

But to be candid, people are restless and are always craving for a change. Unless that change that they clamor for is brought in, their loyalties would change. And that’s very understandable.

Whatever happened have happened. The events of the past did not change. It is the perception of the people that have changed. Whether it is right or wrong, I don’t know. Nor am I in a position to pass judgment.

Perhaps let’s just wait for the history to rewrite itself as the years go by.