Randy David | PUBLIC LIVES

In general, our motorists are law-abiding citizens.  The few deviant elements who delight in deliberately flouting the law are exceptional. The many who seem to violate every conceivable norm of decent driving do so, I think,  not maliciously but ignorantly.  They are just unfamiliar with the culture of driving. If this thesis is correct, our … Read more

Rape must rank as a woman’s darkest nightmare for it represents the most total of all possible invasions of her body.  The crudest assertions of power have always had the physical body as their object.  That is why the first spoils claimed by victors in war are the local women.  That is also why in … Read more

While lecturing at the National Autonomous University of Mexico early this year, I had the rare chance of witnessing the signing of the first peace accord between the Mexican government and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation or EZLN.  That historic event reminded me of the Moros’ own negotiations with the government.  I began to … Read more

Graft or corruption is a modern crime.  It presupposes the existence of a modern bureaucratic State and a culture of law.  Strictly speaking, there was no graft in traditional societies ruled by custom.  It was not illegal for a ruler to help himself to the community’s wealth and not provide for the needs of his … Read more

In the wake of the Ozone disco tragedy, the press has called for more militant regulation of establishments that cater to the public.  The main problem of our society, however, is not the absence of good laws, nor the inability to implement these.  Our main problem is the general absence of civility as a value … Read more

At about this time of the year, one hundred years ago, an 8-page newspaper, subversive in every way, came out with its maiden issue. Its name was Kalayaan, the newspaper of the Katipunan. Its date of publication was January 18, 1896 even if it was circulated only in mid-March.  It had taken 2 months to … Read more

In our society, when a man has a problem he cannot handle, he seeks the company of friends and drinks with them.  Thus sheltered by kindly souls and protected by alcohol, he steps out of himself and cries out his distress. Sometimes he retreats into solitude, but unable to handle  the graver environment of silence, … Read more

At most bookstores nowadays, one cannot fail to notice the proliferation of books dealing with self-improvement in all its aspects.  There are books on dieting, health, aerobics, public speaking, meditation, yoga, body building, the soul, and the inner self.   Sociologists say these are indicative of a lifestyle politics which seeks  the appropriation of the body … Read more

To most of us, nothing can possibly be more exhausting than to defend ourselves day after day against those who have chosen us to be their enemies.  But some people are like Nietzsche’s warrior:  they seek resistance and they need resistance to sustain their strength. There are 2 members of President Ramos’s official family who … Read more

If angels are real, then this year they came to us in the form of the Aetas. “Angelos” is the Greek term for messenger.  And the Aetas have come with a simple message: think beyond yourselves.  By their sheer presence in the streets of Manila during these holidays, the Aetas have challenged us to rethink … Read more