Life lessons, yellow lenses

“ For the lessons of life there is no better teacher
Than the look in the eyes of a child. . . ”

            ---lyrics from the song The Eyes Of A Child

                The year EDSA 1 happened, I was but eight years old---a Grade Two student.

            
            Truth to tell, I had no clear grasp of Philippine politics and the transformations then taking place. But this did not prevent me from taking part in the zeitgeist (of EDSA 1).

            
               Even though a minor, something within me---perhaps my soul or my conscience or whatever it was--- was stirred by the events leading to the People Power Revolution and on the occasion of the Revolution itself.

            
               Cory Aquino became the symbol of peace, hope, of positive changes, and of what is good. Every time I saw her on T.V., she was always in a ubiquitous yellow: be it her dress or her accessories. The people around her were also in yellow. On the other hand, the Marcos loyalists were in red.


           Though without a full comprehension what all these meant, I just found myself empathizing with the “people in yellow.” I took on to wearing yellow, too. I even pleaded my Mom to buy me yellow clothes and anything yellow, which my Mom obliged. So there was always something yellow on me wherever I went: to school, outside our house, in the playground, to church, etc. There were even times I wore yellow headband and wristband.

            
                Because of this quirky obsession with everything yellow, my “reputation” in our neighborhood grew. I became known, facetiously, as the “illegitimate child” of the Aquinos. But whenever I pass by some of the houses in our neighborhood, several of my neighbors who were Marcos loyalists would call out “Marcos pa rin” just to annoy me. The more antagonistic of them would come to me and in all sarcasm, reverse psychology style, would blurt (in Visayan): “Ciguro gusto kaayo nimo si Marcos kay cige man ka og yellow” (Probably you really like Marcos because you keep on wearing yellow.”),  Of course, all these were for the purpose of eliciting my most violent reactions which delighted those adults to no end.

                 And they're never disappointed!

           
             I would glare, shout and make faces (as twisted and gruesome as possible) at them. The adults/Marcos loyalists would shriek in delight.

           
                Looking back, I would dismiss the experience as a childish albeit hysterical one.

            
             The lessons I learned though are quite revealing. It does not take much maturity to know right from wrong. An eight-year-old minor (as I was then) who, legally speaking, is categorized as one without discernment, could just listen to his soul or follow his heart to be able to know whom to side with (that is, whether with the “good” or the “bad”).

            
            This brings me to mind what one philosopher said that “man is inherently good.” I believe it. My childhood experience reaffirmed it. It is just that somewhere along the way, many have forgotten to listen to their hearts and to commune with their soul. 

           
                Whether an innocent child or a mature adult, which side you were during EDSA 1 tells a lot about who you are and which path you were willing and perhaps, is continuing, to take---the path to nationalism or the path to self-interest.

(This was written a few years back as I was reminiscing EDSA One during an EDSA Celebration. Some of the sentiments have changed, though, especially with Noynoy Aquino's hyperpresidentialism and assault on the Judiciary in the wake of the Corona Impeachment trial.)