The CALL to SACRIFICE

(as forwarded via email)

One call we often hear today, when people ask President Arroyo to resign, is the call to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the country. Now that is a call that we can endorse. No, not the call for the President to resign, but the call for everyone, not just her, to make sacrifices for the good of the nation.

Loren Legarda: you are challenging the legitimacy of Vice President de Castro. If and when the President does resign, de Castro will ascend to the Presidency. That is the constitutional process. Your continuing proclamation of his illegitimacy can become destabilizing. Can you make the sacrifice of withdrawing your suit and just allowing him to sit as President?

The 10 Cabinet members who resigned: many of you are known for integrity. Let your record speak for itself. Can you make the sacrifice of just shutting up now and not defending yourselves, for this contributes to further instability?

Frank Drilon: your salivating for the Vice Presidency leaves a bad taste in the mouth. You manifested extreme hypocrisy and political opportunism in extolling GMA to high heavens and then stabbing her in the back, within the space of one week. Can you make the sacrifice of stopping all moves, including those of your Liberal Party cohorts, of political maneuvering?

All traditional politicians: kayo ang tunay na salot ng bayan. Can you make the sacrifice of resigning your posts and fading into complete oblivion?

Activist bishops and clergy of the Catholic Church: we appreciate your concern for the good of our people, but we do not appreciate your being at the forefront of political activism. Can you make the sacrifice of sticking to your pastoral duties of ministering to the spiritual needs of the flock and leave the political posturing to the lay people?

Brother Eddie Villanueva: God has blessed you by giving you a big flock to take care of. That is your calling. While many disagree with your entry into politics, we leave that between you and God. But what is difficult to take is your insistence, and that of your apologists, that you won the Presidential elections. For goodness sake, you were number five! If you were cheated, it was not only GMA who did so but Fernando Poe and the others as well. Can you make the sacrifice of leaving partisan politics entirely and focusing on the Father's business?

Imee Marcos, Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito: is it not enough that your parents plundered the nation and you were part of that, and now you have not only kept all your loot but are also back in power? Can you make the sacrifice of removing yourselves from the limelight? In reality, you are the major reason why the middle forces are not responding positively to the call for a change in government.

Big business: many of you really just care about having a positive environment where your businesses will thrive. Can you sacrifice some of your profits to give more to the poor?

The poor: we understand that, sapagkat kayo ay kapit sa patalim, you allow yourselves to be exploited and brought to rallies of unscrupulous politicians. Can you make the sacrifice of a few pesos, of bearing with your hunger, and not allow yourselves to be exploited, so that you maintain your dignity and you help sow the seed for true liberation and well-being, in God's time? The call to sacrifice is a wonderful call. God himself showed us the way. Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross in order to win our salvation. Such a call is pure, noble, worthy of emulation. Let us not use it for selfish motives. Let us not prostitute its purity by polluting it with the filth in our hearts.