History and Erap

Convicted and now pardoned former President Joseph Estrada was known for his simplistic statements, always in Tagalog, probably in order that he would not be quoted by foreign correspondents.

But on his release from detention, after nearly seven years, he said something significant in English, for foreign correspondents to quote him, “History will be my final judge.”

He also said, for purposes of history, “I may have committed mistakes in my career in public service, but I assure you that corruption is not one of them.” I may agree. But he did not include “graft”.

Anyway, history will be his final judge on that.

The money that he amassed came from private sources like jueteng. That's graft which the Court judged him on.

I also find it believable that he did not corrupt people. If only he gave the Congressmen, not P500,000 but even just half of that, the impeachment would have not prospered. He did not corrupt Congressmen.

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Now history! The judgment of history will depend on who writes it.

We had so many great men but there were no writers to put in print their greatness. Want to be great? Befriend writers.

A Roman historian who lived before Christ, Quintus Horatius Flaccus who we all know as Horace wrote, “Many brave men lived before Agamemnon, but all were overwhelmed in eternal night, unwept, unknown and unsung because they lacked a sacred poet to sing their deeds.”

Agamemnon was a poet who sang exploits of brave men. Homer was also a poet who lived 800 years before Christ. His “Iliad” and “Odyssey” were sung by Homer and later written down by Greek scholars.

Erap needs good sacred poets to write of his good deeds.

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Ambrose Bierce in his “The Devil's Dictionary” defined history as “An account, mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.”

And may I add, by writers mostly incompetent. Or biased.

And William Buckley Jr. wrote, “History selects its heroes, and its villains, and few of us resist participation either at parades or at the guillotine.”

Louis XVI also said that history would be his final judge. A little later, his and wife Marie Antoinette's heads rolled down the guillotine in 1793 at what is now Place de Concorde.

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History is cruel. Many who tried hard to become a hero in history often ended up a villain because theirs is self aggrandizement. Heroes are selfless.

I recall it very well. In mid 80s, President Marcos was interviewed, by Time Magazine I think, on two points for his views: on power and history.

His view of power was correct. Power, I recall him saying, is effective if it is used as a threat and not its actual use. But in history, he said, he foresaw history would be kind to him but that depended, he said, on who would write it. But historians must have basis for writing history. History is not fiction.

But history, considering the record of Marcos, could not be kind to him. The many good things he made can only mitigate the accusation of thieving.

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My own limited readings reveal history is kind to strong, innovative, creative, and leaders with a political will. But they have one common attribute, they are honest.

We know them all. Many strong leaders did not qualify because they are corrupt and grafters. Heroes are selfless. Villains are selfish.

We hope Joseph Estrada will be judged by history better.

History is a very interesting subject. While writing this piece I talked with Jimmy Golez, another ardent student of history. And it was good getting insights from him.

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For members of our Negros Press Club, the deadline for paying your dues is November 30, if you want to qualify as a member in good standing and can vote in the NPC election in January.

On Nov. 3 we will bury Eddie Dumdum, a long time NPC member. The time and place of burial will be announced.

Speaking of NPC, I told our newscaster at Channel 14, Bryan Morden to apply for a membership in the NPC. We need working and competent media people who not only can speak but also can write. Bryan is good.

It has been our passion to improve the Negros Press Club where members take pride of being members of a prestigious organization. And we are succeeding. We have not had complaints against NPC members.

But we ask our friends in business and in government, be generous to them who need your help too. Just don't allow them to abuse their media power.*

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