Hope against despair -- musings on the peripheral events of President Aquino’s state of the nation address

Watching the news on TV last night gave me goosebumps.  It was indeed a rare sight to behold:  the man-on-the-street, the laundry-woman-on-the-job, and every other Kuya and Ate congregating in front of the boob tube at 4 PM (Manila time) to watch the new president's state-of-the-nation address.  And when was the last time that you saw ordinary people out there on the street standing at attention and holding a hand over their heart while the Philippine national anthem is playing live on national TV?

What explains such a social phenomenon?  (I think the word phenomenon succinctly embodies the seemingly innocuous but resolute individual behaviors that have taken on national proportions.)

This scenario can only be comprehended when juxtaposed against the widespread pall of bleak and despair that the past 9 years has afflicted upon every Ate and Kuya.  The sound bites and the occasion itself have evoked tears from the laundry woman and made the tricycle driver teary-eyed.  They see new-found hope against the despair that has almost seemed a curse on their lives.  Indeed, the past 9 years were most god-forsaken, endless pestilence for these folks.

Hope against despair.  The people have faith indeed on the new leadership.  Be that it may include hope that the new leadership will not betray the trust that brought them into positions of great responsibility.