ME: Hello everyone! Welcome to GeopoliTik Talk, the live show from Studio 13 where we strip power down to its bones and raise the questions most are afraid to ask. I’m your host, Raymond, and today we’re brainstorming a provocative, global phenomenon: Daddy Knows Best – How Populists Became Patriarchs.
Let’s unmask the myth of these authoritarian “daddies” who sold us safety. Before I introduce our guest, let me tell you a tale of two “Daddies.”
One lives in the West, known for his red tie and thunderous tweets. The other, in the East, ruled with gravel in his voice and death in his rhetoric. They may live oceans apart, but the rulebooks look hauntingly alike.
Without further ado, please help me welcome our special guest who will help us unpack this whole shebang - geopolitical expert and analyst… Mr. AI.
MR. AI: Thank you, Raymond. Thrilled to be here. When power wears a paternal mask, it pays to lift the veil – and I’m here to help do just that.
ME: To start the ball rolling – give us an icebreaker. In one sentence: how did Trump and Duterte become their nations’ “Daddies”?
MR. AI: By playing the angry father who promises protection through punishment – and convincing people that fear was love in disguise.
ME: That reminds me of Time’s cover banner of Duterte: The Punisher. Straight up – what’s the psychology behind people calling their presidents “Daddy” or Tatay?
MR. AI: It’s emotional outsourcing – putting the responsibility for our emotions on other people. When institutions falter or chaos emerges, people crave order. “Daddy” or Tatay becomes a symbol of assurance, even if that assurance is brutal.
ME: So, this isn’t just about strongman politics – it’s personal?
MR. AI: Deeply personal. Trump and Duterte didn’t just lead; they performed fatherhood. They said: “Only I can fix this.” And millions believed them – not as presidents, but as saviors.
ME: Let’s talk tactics. What do these two share in their playbook?
MR. AI: Fear. Disdain for institutions. Weaponizing the law. Demonizing the other. And most crucially, turning democracy into a personality cult.
Trump had deportation quotas and ICE raids. Duterte had body counts and death squads - different languages, but the same grammar of control.
ME: Okay. But where do the followers fit in? MAGA in the U.S., DDS in the Philippines – it’s eerie.
MR. AI: They’re mirror movements - uniforms, chants, digital loyalty tests. You’re not just voting – you’re swearing allegiance. Trumpism and Dutertismo became identities, not ideologies.
ME: Let’s move on to the meat of the matter. Duterte is now on trial at the International Criminal Court. Does the Tatay myth die in the Hague?
MR. AI: It flinches – but doesn’t die easily.
Duterte at the ICC isn’t just legal news – it’s a cultural reckoning. The father figure is being cross-examined. And for many, that feels like watching their own beliefs on trial.
But here’s the twist: the courtroom isn’t just judging the man. It’s holding up a mirror to a whole country and asking, “Was this love – or was it just violence with a lullaby?”
ME: That’s chilling. What does this mean for accountability in paternal populism?
MR. AI: It means the spell can be broken. Not by shouting, but by storytelling. When the protector turns predator, the myth cracks. And once people stop whispering Tatay, or “Daddy” in reverence, they start remembering how to whisper the truth.
ME: We have here a question from our studio audience, Dionne, a college student.
DIONNE: Hi Mr. AI, do you think humor and satire can fight something as serious as authoritarianism?
MR. AI. That’s a thought-provoking question, Dionne. Authoritarians survive anger – but they can’t survive laughter. Satire is subversive. It feels the mask, mocks the myth, and reminds us that the emperor’s barong – or red tie – isn’t shockproof.
Think The Daily Show and the many American late-night talk and news satire television programs or memes that poke holes in “Daddy”’s logic. Once you laugh, you stop kneeling.
ME: What’s more, let me read a Messenger’s question from James, a journalist: “What can people do in places where these 'Daddies' still have strong support?”
MR. AI: That’s stimulating, James. They can build mirrors. Tell human stories. Speak uncomfortable truths calmly and consistently. Authoritarianism feeds on myth and fear – truth, empathy, and narrative starve it.
ME: Powerful. That calls to mind Patricia Evangelista’s book Some People Need Killing.
ME: Someone still says, "But Daddy kept me safe" - what would you say?
MR. AI: I’d ask – safe from what, or safe from whom? Because real safety doesn’t come from silence, fear, or graveyards. It comes from laws that outlast leaders – and citizens who don’t trade liberty for lullabies.
ME: Spot-on. Before we close today’s show, I want to bring up something personal, something deeper than geopolitics – belief.
Duterte once stood before a crowd and mocked the very core of Christian faith: “Who is this stupid God?” he asked. And yet … many who call themselves Christian still call him Tatay today.
As Duterte faces trial at The Hague – not just for crimes against humanity, but for the death of dignity in the margins of society – another trial is unfolding. One not held in a courtroom but in the quiet corners of conscience.
For those who profess faith in Christ, the question isn’t just political, it’s spiritual.
MR. AI: Precisely. The Sermon on the Mount doesn’t rhyme with extrajudicial killings. Grace cannot walk hand in hand with gunfire. You can’t worship the God of mercy and cheer for a man who mocked Him while ordering death.
The trial is about Duterte. But it’s also about which God you follow – and whether you’re brave enough to follow Him when it’s politically costly.
ME: Did we follow Christ… or did we follow a man who called Him stupid?
It’s not the kind of question the ICC can answer. But it’s one every believer must do.
Democracy is fragile. Faith is sacred. And when we let fear wear the mask of love, we trade the cross for a clenched fist.
That lands hard – and exactly where it should. Thank you, Mr. AI, for helping us reflect not just on the leaders but on what we ask of leadership.
That has been GeopoliTik Talk. Keep your mind sharp, your heart open, and your truth intact.
Good day, God bless everyone!
Content & editing put together in collaboration with Bing Microsoft AI-powered Co-pilot & Grammarly
Head collage photos courtesy of ABS-CBN, Townsville Bulletin, & Getty Images; design by Canva
Still photos courtesy of New Mandala, Time Magazine, Freepik, ICC, YouTube, ABC, Bell Media, Spotify, The New York Times, Facebook, Raffy Lerma, Vecteezy, & Pixy.org
No comments:
Post a Comment