The art of dedma and other things

HAPPY Kadayawan, Davao City!! I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities. We all need a chance to just keep things light and chill! With two holidays sandwiching the weekend, I figured that a lot of us are indeed having a great time enjoying the 4 day rest period. I have always maintained that the best holidays are the ones that fall on a Monday and since tomorrow is a holiday.. Hooray!! We deserve it, God knows how we had to put up with the traffic that we are not used to this week!! This is addition to the horrible heat that makes it feel like it is summer in the city rather than the rainy month that August it supposed to be! I hope that everyone has had the time to go around to take part in the celebration, I certainly hope that you have taken beautiful pictures to add to beautiful memories bonding with family and friends! A warm Kadayawan welcome too, to our visitors, it seems like we have a lot of them this year!

I have to admit though, that the weekend was filled with much drama as all have witnessed on the news and in social media. I imagine quite a lot of people suffering from raised blood pressures’ witnessing all that has transpired on the political arena. Hay nako, maka-high blood jud! It is not easy not to get sucked into that vortex, or, you are living under a rock! I was agonizing over the decision of actually putting in my two cents’ worth about the recent developments. There are a lot of disgruntled and disillusioned people out there already, do I want to add more to their consternation? Hmmm. That being said, I decided against jumping into the arena. No need to add to add more flame to the fire, don’t you think? But I will share a few things that I have come to realize some things about human nature, more specifically, Pinoy human nature, while reflecting on the current events. I am not saying that this applies to absolutely everyone, but I am inclined to believe that these are true.

We love drama and action. We like seeing people cry as much as witnessing people doing something unexpected. Yeah, they make good conversation pieces. Yes, we find that so entertaining and as the saga continues, the more drawn we are to it! It really is like watching your favorite telenovela. You anxiously wait with bated breath for the confrontation scenes of the protagonists and their antagonists (of course these roles depend on whose side you are on) to see who wins the encounter. Exciting right? And then, what do we do? We make memes and quote the wittiest and the most blood-curdling statements to attract, amuse and annoy anyone who is interested! Just look at the your social media wall and tell me that I am wrong! The one who captures the sentiment (or ire) of the public gets the most likes (or angry emoticons).

Chismis wins. Yup. We love them juicy bits! We love the behind the scenes and the scandals! They totally catch our attention and maintain our interest more than real issues. We get even more fired up when someone acagainst tually steps up to inject a possibility of truth on what has only been regarded as hearsay. We go crazy when someone actually speaks up bravely to amplify what has only been talked about in hushed tones, even secretly, among friends and allies. Quite honestly, gossip is a national pastime. YES. Admit it. It is true, whether you engage in it or not. I just wish that real issues get to share equal billing. Do that and we bring attention to more worthwhile things effortlessly.

We are natural “escape” artists. Ang galing nating lumusot! We are masters of finding loopholes and getting away through them that it’s almost always impossible to get caught. We have become so good at it that it seems futile to even call attention to anyone lest you be willing to call them out repeatedly. We have also become so good at the art of dedma that we pretend that to be clueless with such honest innocence when we need to do so. Oh you know it, how it can effectively thwart confrontation. Effective most of the time right? We do what we do and get away with it until someone actually calls our attention and takes the time to tell us off. We react violently and feel picked on. It hurts to be singled out. Nakakahiya. I remember as a child believing that I could actually get away with certain things only to be reprimanded by my parents after a few successful “attempts.” I realized much later that I never fooled them in the first place, they were just giving me a chance to redeem myself. And my chances ran out. So. Lesson learned.

Are these things we can be proud of? You tell me. The thing is, we can always choose to be better by doing better. We are all in a constant state reinvention. So, remodel yourself to be better. Not only for yourself but for the common good! Happy Sunday Folks!! :)