Goliath moved forward, closing in on David, his shield-bearer in front of him. When he saw that David was only a lad (he was of fresh complexion and handsome), Goliath despised him and said, "Am I a dog that you should approach me with a stick?" and cursing David.
The above is a teaser scene from the movie "David and Goliath" based on the story in the Bible (1 Samuel 17).
David and Goliath – most of us know this Bible story: a shepherd boy vs. a giant. In PH 2022 presidential election, David is Leni, while Goliath is Marcos-Duterte – a two-headed political war machine.
The parallelism of the Bible story and the present political context fits like a glove based on the following elements with the respective scriptures:
1. MAMMON
"He was from Gath [home to the 'Anakites,' an ancient race of fearsome giants] and was about three meters tall." (1 Samuel 17:4)
The Marcos-Duterte tandem is a fearsome two-headed giant
Goliath with a four-legged political dynastic machine that spells out tons of
Mammon – wealth regarded as an evil influence or false object of worship and
devotion.
PDI columnist Artemio Panganiban chimed in with his choice of the word "juggernaut" -- a huge, powerful, and overwhelming force – literally a combined wealth of Marcos' billions of pesos of loot and Duterte's campaign kitty pledge to his party: "I bring a lot of money. Sack if there is."
Solita Monsod sounded the alarm of such unnerving four-legged political dynastic machine in her PDI column "Fight, As Never Before, For Our Country":
"Let us think about the fate of the Philippines with the four dynasties [Marcos, Romualdez, Arroyo, and Duterte] in control. Remember the background of these dynasties – a desire to stay in power, no matter what cost to the country. All of them, at one time or another, played with martial law. One could say it is in their DNA. Two of them have drug connections (at the very least as users), two have played footsie with China. And don't forget the corruption. RIP Philippines."
2.
"Saul and his men were afraid and greatly terrified... When the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him terrified..." (1 Samuel 17:11, 24)
Maria Ressa interviewed PRRD unveiling one thing that the Bible story and today's political situation have in common: Fear.
Maria Ressa (MR): "Violence and you say this you know violence is okay. Is it necessary to lead?"
PRRD: "Violence is my strength... there is a need because there's a war, and with that kind of problem in my hands now, I tell you Maria... until the last dragon is killed, this campaign will continue to the very last day of my term."
MR: "Is it important that people be afraid of you?"
PRRD: "Fear."
MR: "But, Mr. President, as president you will now also defend the constitution."
PRRD: "Yes."
MR. "And so this is the contradiction from my last interview. You break the law, you threatened to break the law you said you had killed a year ago right. You told me that and yet you now have the task of keeping the rule of law and you said you would do that also. How do you...?"
PRRD: "Because of the rule of law, there must be fear."
I discussed such "fear" implication in my previous article "Looking at PH Political Landscape with Management Analytical Eyeglasses." PRRD's anti-drug campaign found a need, filled it, but then sadly, exploited it – a round peg in a round hole of the "safety" need of most Pinoys stuck in the twin bottom tiers (physiological and safety) of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Model.
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary." (H.L. Mencken)
"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." (George Orwell)
3.
"I come against you [Goliath] with Yahweh, the God of armies of Israel who you have defiled." (1 Samuel 17:45)
"Who is this stupid God?"
"Pope, you SOB, go home."
Those PRRD's public statements have drawn a line in the sand that lays down the truth: God is on Leni's side.
WISDOM TO LENI'S ISRAELITES ARMY
"[Goliath's] armor was made of bronze [incompetence], his helmet [corruption] and coat [power abuse] weighed sixty kilos. He had bronze greaves [Marcos loot] strapped on his legs and a bronze spear [EJK] slung between his shoulders. (1 Samuel 17:4-6).
Goliath was too big, too heavy, and too clumsy to be missed by David.
TO CONCERNED PINOY
"Putting his hand into his bag, [David] took out a stone, slung it and struck [Goliath] on the forehead; it penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground." (1 Samuel 17:49)
The one STONE of David that will defeat Goliath -- YOUR VOTE FOR LENI.
This is long shot i.e. VP Leno's victory against BBM. But no matter what the outcome will be a vote for VP Leni is a vote for the truth and righteousness!
ReplyDeleteHi Ed!
Delete"Long shot" your word, caught my eye. You may find this interesting.
Malcolm Gladwell, author of the book "David And Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants" wrote that "ancient armies contained teams of slingers, who could be deadly from as great as 200 yards. The best, like David, were lethally accurate, and Goliath was not a small target... Goliath had as much chance against David as a man with a sword would have had against someone armed with a .45 automatic handgun."
But, here's the real game-changer.
What makes the great difference to this fight: God's favor. I find Him on Leni's side.
God bless, Ed.