WHEN I was little, I decided that I was going to be smart, intelligent, and maybe rich, when I grow up.
I was not very keen on getting rich.
Mas gugustohin kong matalino ako, una sa lahat.
Smart enough na hindi maloloko ng iba.
And pretty intelligent para pakinggan at igalang ng iba.
Pera? Well, inisip ko ring money is not a bad thing.
Kung may sariling pera ka kasi, you can choose not to take other people’s bullshit.
***
May mga kilala akong tao, may pera, mayaman daw, pero utusan lang naman sila ng mas may perang politiko.
They’re puppets with money.
Because they’re properties of a rich politician.
Wala silang sariling opinion.
Kung meron man silang matinong position sa mga issues, they keep it to themselves kasi nga, they have to agree to what stupidity their politician bosses say.
Mga political advisers sila, consultants, campaign managers, sabihin pang chief of staff.
But tell me, between the chief adviser and the paying politician, who is the real boss?
Sino ang puedeng magsesante kanino?
***
Who can fire whom?
Si Donald Trump ba, puedeng sesantehin ng chief political adviser n’ya? Ng abogado n’ya?
In the end, kung puppet ka ng politico, sabihin pang malaki naman ang ibinabayad sa iyo, you lie when the paying politician asks you to lie.
You sell your soul to the devil.
Anong klaseng tao ka?
Sagot: Practical.
Financially smart.
Kumakapit sa patalim.
Patay-gutom, high class na patay-gutom.
In short, asshole.
Tinitira ka na sa puwet, sige pa rin because the pay is good.
***
But it is different if you have your own money.
Kahit hindi lubhang marami.
And that’s what I have.
My own money.
I’m not richer than most people with money who are beholden to politicians.
I am just not beholden to anyone, period.
That’s why I can call the bullshit.
***
That’s why I do not take any body’s bullshit.
Wala akong utang, at mas matalino ako dahil I use my intelligence for the common good.
Wala akong self-interest na pinoprotectahan.
Wala akong trabaho or employment na dapat pangalagaan.
Wala akong amo, o employer na politician na gago, sakim, magnanakaw, at/o sinungaling.
***
That’s why I can afford real talk.
Walang double talk sia #ThePSN.
That’s why I so deserve the “The” before my name and initials.
Ang loyalty ko ay sa Dios, sa Katotohanan, sa ikabubuti ng mga tao, ng sambayanan, ng planeta.
Ako ang tunay na maka-Dios, makatao, makabayan, makakalikasan.
And that’s why I’m still here.
That’s why I am a living legend.
And people still read me, kahit pa naha-heart attack sila sa mga ipinagsasabi ko.
***
I studied our 21st century.
I studied the history and effects of Internet explosion.
I understand how communication technology gave power to the people.
Obvious naman sa social media ngayon na kahit bobo, tanga, hubadera, pokpok, at pangit ay may sense of self-celebrity, may sense of self-importance, may sense of power.
But what is the real power of the stupid?
Pabayaan ka na lang sa sarili mong opinion?
Let you be in your stupid, bobo, morally wrong, and misinformed opinion?
Let you blurt out in cyberspace stupid ideas, outright lies, illogical reasoning, and fallacies?
***
This is why I wanted to be smart: so that I will always stand to reason.
Stand to truth, to valid arguments, to irrefutable reasoning.
To do this, I have to have critical thinking.
I have to have background reading and studies, and researches, and books.
I have to hear opinions, and weigh them, process them.
I have to pray for wisdom, for discernment, for even the supranatural gift of reading physiognomies, auras, behaviors, gestures, idioms, language games.
***
Hindi po sapat na marami kayong nabasa, o narining, o napanood na TikTok revisionist histories, and conspiracy theories.
Hindi po OK that you live in an alternative universe na maganda ka, kahit pangit talaga sa tunay na buhay.
Sige, i-Photoshop mo pa ang photos mo.
O mag-role play ka.
O gumamit ng magandang avatar, o picture ng “ideal beautiful self mo.”
Hindi po OK na matalino, may opinion ka, at matapang online if in real life ay dukha ka, dugyot, at walang laban sa mga amo mo.
Because if you are really smart and bold, you will fight your way out of the shit hole you are in.
You will travel the world like I do.
You will have experienced the life that I had. (To be continued)/PN
