A September To Remember

I was looking at the date today and wondered why it sounded important, like a birthday or some anniversary. And I'm usually very bad at these things.

And then, yes.

September 21, 1972. Proclamation 1081: The declaration of Martial Law.

I wonder how many of us consider this as just another holiday, one in a series of long weekends we've been having of late. I won't preach because I've never been a political animal and, like most of us, seem content to merely spew political commentaries without taking any concrete action.

I'll make this a short entry because discussing politics, while enlivening, is often like gargling with sewage. I'll also leave intelligent and learned discourse on the matter to qualified experts such as MLQIII. His blog is most informative and thought-provoking, but I must admit that while I follow it, I can only take small doses of The Daily Dose. Just reading about the reprehensibility and repugnancy of our local political players leaves me feeling ill and soiled.

So I'll stick to what I know, and what I know is this: the fact that I had to remember that today marks the day a shadow enveloped this country and held sway for 20 years is very telling, and very disturbing. The fact that I had to remember means I had begun to forget.

We must never forget. Especially in these dark days when the spectre of Marcosian Rule looms over a new generation.

We cannot be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. For if we do, then we truly have no future.