Reconciliation and Political Re-Alignment13.05.10
Aired on May 13, 2010
Narration by Ptr. RG Foncardas
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RECONCILIATION AND POLITICAL RE-ALIGNMENT
Ours is in many ways a fragmented society. This is specially true during elections, where politicians and parties seek political mileage through mud-slinging and black propaganda. This present crisis of fractured disunity is something we have entirely made for and by ourselves.
After the elections, there is a need for political parties to stretch out a hand of reconciliation and come together in unity. Given the political climate of our country, this will be no doubt difficult. Nonetheless, this is essential if we want our country to move forward. We already witnessed how our warring political parties can spiral down the divisive path of conflict, confusion and even violence. Reconciliation must be pursued as an alternative to the present way of pitting one party against another. This is a negation of the gospel of love as exemplified and taught by Christ.
Genuine reconciliation must be rooted in the soil of truth, watered by love and fertilized with justice. There must be a sincere desire for dialogue, a meeting of heart and minds. This would mean listening and learning from each other. For this to happen, there should be no room for deceptive propaganda and lies. True reconciliation means placing the common good of 100 million Filipinos above the narrow self-interest of any political party or clan.
Genuine reconciliation can only take place if we recognize that true solutions to our problems as a nation are not exclusive to any one party, solutions can only be reached by working together. Any party after all is only a part( for that is what the word party means) and not the whole of a nation. Each political party must be willing to undergo the painful process of repentance and self-limitation rather than self-expansion. We need to recognize that each party has the potential to contribute distinctly and uniquely to the enrichment of the society. We need one another . Reconciliation is not a luxury but a necessity if we are going to survive and thrive as a nation. Let it begin with us. You and I be ambassadors of reconciliation.
Written by Sunil Stephens, ISACC Fellow on Theology and Professor at Alliance Graduate School of Theology