Spam or Ma-Ling, and the Emerging Adobo Republic

Image from mindanation Facebbook page.

          There is truth in this image.

          It's not about choosing between Ma-Ling or Spam.  We grew up believing there are only two options in the world.  Sometimes they give us more than two.  Regardless of the number of options, we were  taught that we can only choose among the options laid before us.

          This has been applied not only in politics but in most areas of our lives.

          You are either pro-democracy (though they actually mean capitalism) or else you're a communist.  You only tick "true" or "false" to get a point in an exam, no matter how vague the question is; and you can't raise clarificatory questions because it's a written examination and the proctor is not even your subject teacher.  Parents make a mess out of their relationship and force the kids to make the excruciating choice between mommy and daddy.

          So ingrained are these in our consciousness that we hardly question them.

          Our country must chart its own course.  We need to carve our own identity and get out of philosophical cages we have been confined in for years and years.

          We need to learn to analyze and synthesize.  China may be the anti-thesis of this thesis called America (with all the complex things both represent).  Why can't we synthesize and chart our own destiny -- one that fits our national identity, compatible with our needs and in view of securing our own future.  Why do we keep falling for the invisible hand of choosing between options that others force us to choose from?  Then we fight among ourselves and defend the respective choices we have been forced to choose.  In the process we all lose and waste an opportunity.

          Let us not get caught in the trap.  Let us not give up our passionate defense of truth and hope.  Neither should we give up on vigilance and prevent others from raising their anti-thesis to our thesis.

          No one will ever hold all truths within himself, unless he is, in and of himself, God -- the only one who can melt all questions.

          What probably irks some people is the unnecessary insults against Spam.  Why can't we put Ma-Ling in the cupboard without insulting Spam and throwing it out of the kitchen?  It is mindless and a waste of resource.  True but a jealous and insecure new lover,  Ma-Ling, sometimes requires clear and unequivocal signs that you are veering away from your ex (Spam).  Otherwise the new lover becomes unconvinced and non-committal. It may not be necessary from your point of view and from Spam, but it is a deal breaker for Ma-Ling, especially since she knows you have been sharing the same politico-economic bed for over a hundred years.

          So is it Ma-Ling, Spam or Adobo?   Care to share your breakfast with me this beautiful Sunday morning?