Who is Veronica Guerin?

Last year, I had the chance to watch the film entitled “Veronica Guerin”. This film is based on a true story about Veronica Guerin (played by Cate Blanchett), an Irish journalist and a reporter for The Sunday Independent, Ireland’s leading newspaper, who exposed some of Dublin's most powerful crime barons and drug lords in 1996. In that same year she was gunned down by assassins hired by the same criminal drug lords she exposed.

Veronica paid a very dear price for her passion for truth and liberty: her very own life. She was afraid because she knew the risks attached to her profession and she was well aware of the dangers not only of being hurt but also of being killed. She was terrified when one of the drug lords threatened her that he would abduct her son and kill her if she would press charges again him. In one of the scenes that she even threw up out of fear and told her husband not to tell anyone that she was actually afraid.

Veronica’s search for the truth was worthwhile because she was able to awaken the awareness of people to make a campaign against crime and drug addiction. At first, it seemed she was all alone in this battle but at the end everybody was crying out the same desire that she had.

One of the most interesting scenes in the film, journalistically speaking is when Veronica and an envoy of the drug lords were talking inside a bar where she was being bribed to stop the reports she was doing about the drug lords. Guerin told the envoy that she could not be paid and went away leaving him in the pub. Veronica, as a professional, was not afraid and not hesitant to say NO to the offer.

Her death was not in vain or useless because it served as a spark, a push to move the people to fight against crime and drug addiction maybe not only in Dublin but also all over Ireland. What she initiated was continued by the people who saw that Veronica Guerin died for a very good cause. ®

Media and Moral Degradation

Now a days, if you watch news on TV, read the newspapers, listen to the radio, it seems that all we see, read and hear are about negative things: killings, wars, famine, corruption, same sex marriage, prostitution, global warming, pollution, etc. It is good that we are informed and updated about these issues and all the things that are happening around us but it seems we do not see anymore good things that are happening around us because everything is negative, everything is hopeless. Again, media plays a big role in this so-called moral degradation; instead of boosting the morale of the people, media degrades it by showing the negative side of everything. Media sometimes presents something that uplifts the morality of people but most of the times it is doing the opposite. How does this happen?

Media likes to sensationalize everything, from personalities, events, issues, objects, etc. For example, a certain scandal becomes the talk of the town because media would amplify it by making it the front page of newspapers for several days and becomes and becomes the topic of endless argument and discussion on TV and radio stations. I think it is not bad that the people should become aware of such scandal but to discuss all the minute details of that scandal on newspapers, TV and radio stations is too much; I would call this as “over killing”. But unfortunately, this happens all the time.

Media should become an agent, which boost morality among its audience especially the young people. The younger generation is not yet mature enough in terms of decision making and their morality so they are easily influenced by what they see around them. So, if the media presents only this one sided view of reality as something negative then young people become morally disoriented or degraded. To be more concrete, if young people see that corruption is rampant in the society and that everything is doing it then they will grow up also as corrupt individuals. If they see around them through media that it is all right to marry now and divorce later as if nothing happened they will grow up doing the same thing. These things will happen likely because young people are like “sponges”, that they easily absorb what they see, read, hear around them. This is why media plays a very important role in the lives of these young individuals.

I think the media should be balanced in presenting issues, comments, discussions, arguments etc. It should not only make people aware of the problems that are existing in the society but it should also make people aware of the solutions to these problems that are being initiated or implemented. Oftentimes, the issue of poverty is much discussed by many as only a problem but only few discuss solutions or remedies to alleviate people from poverty if it cannot be totally eradicated. If media presents the positive side of things and the solutions to many problems this could boost the morale of the people that despite all the problems that we have in the society there is still hope.

Media and Violence

Looking at the movies being made now a days there are always two things that are obviously presented in these movies: sex and violence. How is it that sex and violence are very common in the movies we watch in cinemas and even in TV although not much compared to cinema? Because as sex sells, so violence also sells! At present, people say that a movie is good if it is full of “action” that is, full of violence and from time to time a sex scene is shown although not always explicit but most of the times implicit, suggestive and provocative!

Why do people, young and old alike, like movies full of action or violence? Usually, people like movies with a lot of movements, a lot of action, a lot of fighting, a lot of killing, etc. This is because these kinds of movies offer to the audience the feeling of being “thrilled” by the actions they see in the movie and they are not obliged to think too much about the story or plot of the movie because they are more interested in the turn of the events through the actions full of impact in each and every scene. In short, they do not have to exert effort just to follow the dialogues of the actors and actresses, the twist and turns of events and whole plot of the movie itself. They are simply amazed by the “stunts” done by the protagonists who fight and kill the bad guys. This is what makes them tell that a movie is good if it is full of action and violence even though it does not have a well thought of plot or story. And I think this is also the reason why movies full of violence are almost all the same in their plot or story, that the good guys kill the bad guys or vice versa, because people are not anymore after plot or the flow of the story of the movie, they are more interested in fighting and in the killing presented in the movie.

Media Ownership in the Philippines

In the Philippines, media is mostly controlled by those people whom we call “tycoons”, that is by wealthy and powerful persons or families in business or industry. The Philippine government owns just one television network, a couple of radio stations and a newspaper and all the rest are already owned by these wealthy and powerful people. Thus, the media, in all its aspects is controlled by the private sector in my country.

Since the American period in the 1920s, the mass media in the Philippines have been dominated by individual business and political interests. In the Marcos era, the President’s cronies owned and controlled the media. Their control ended as soon as Corazon Aquino took over power from Marcos in 1989. Dozens of new newspapers were set up, TV and radio empires returned from exile to reclaim their properties which were confiscated by the Marcos regime. The old order re-emerged; powerful families again saw the media as their domain. The majority owners of the most influential daily, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, for example, include real estate and food manufacturing interests. Manila Bulletin owner Emilio Yap has interests in shipping and other ventures. The two biggest media networks are owned by companies of wealthy families. ABS-CBN is owned by the Lopez family and the GMA network by the Gozon-Duavit-Jimenez family. ABS-CBN is a multimedia company that has 33 TV stations all over the country, 20 FM and nine AM radio stations, and subsidiaries and affiliates in video/audio postproduction, film production and distribution, and audio recording and distribution. It runs a cable TV network and is also a cable TV and Internet provider. Furthermore it owns a number of magazines and printing press.

The GMA network is also a multimedia company, and has subsidiaries and affiliates in film production and distribution, music and video production, radio and the Internet.

Media in the Philippines is a monopoly of some rich families who are involved in various businesses all over the country and they are the ones in control of media. It is true that… “I soldi, il denaro controllano i media.” There are many disadvantages of this monopoly but somehow they have been responsible of the development of media in the Philippines, maybe without them media would not have been the same as it is now. And maybe without them or their support, media would not have developed well.

Want some relaxation?

How do we get entertainment, amusement or enjoyment from media? Anyone who would like to relax or to breathe some fresh air after a day’s work finds that there are various means that could be used for entertainment or enjoyment like the television, cinema, radio, magazines, newspapers, internet, etc. but normally TV, radio and cinema are the most common. Why? It is not simply because we feel relaxed when we watch a TV program or a film in a cinema but it is because we tend to identify ourselves with the persons and situations that we see in the television or in the cinema. This is the reason why many people love to watch soap operas because they present stories of concrete experiences in life like the family, love story, married life, envy, work, etc. that people can easily identify with. They may not be real stories of real persons but people find contentment and enjoyment in watching these kinds of programs because they somehow can communicate with what is being presented or conveyed in what they are watching since they share the same experiences, situations and even emotions.

Enjoyment, amusement and entertainment are not bad at all and very useful as long as we know how to use them properly. I think one factor that causes “burn-out” is that we never find time to have enjoyment for ourselves at least once in a while if not every time and media is just around the corner to help us out. ®

Popular Religiosity

A most important cultural-religious element at work in the appropriation of Catholicism has to do with “feeling” as a manner of perception. The language of popular religiosity is “body language.” It understands realities and expresses its deepest feelings and thoughts through this language because the body “feels.” The various senses enable the body to truly experience and to communicate. It is important to recognize the significance of bodily knowing (=understanding) and bodily language (=communicating). The body knows, and the body communicates through integrated sensing and expressing. When it is at ease, the body relaxes; when it senses tension, there is rigidity in behavior. Quite often bodily pains are the body’s way of communicating that there are things that need to be attended to in our deepest selves. Modern society is only too familiar with emotionally induced illnesses.

The greatest awareness in families takes place through touch, being touched and touching (bodily knowing and communicating). Is it not at times the most precious mutual awareness of each other that one has? Think for a moment of how a newly born baby primarily knows that he or she is welcome and loved. Certainly, not by sight because the new eyes are not functional for some time; not by hearing a language because that still has to be learned. How then? By touch, by the embrace and cuddling of parents, the sound of their voices which increasingly become familiar, as well as the warmth and smell of their bodies -- all these so closely intertwined with each other -- giving a total bodily word which is received as love. ®

Why is it important to understand Fundamentalism?

Why is it important to understand fundamentalism? Fundamentalism is incompatible with freedom of religion. The basis of freedom of religion is respect for other peoples right to disagree with you. To have freedom of religion, you must respect the right of others to believe something that you think is wrong. Fundamentalism is incompatible with democracy. Democracy is based on the belief that people with radically different beliefs and cultures can live together in peace if they respect each others rights to disagree. It is an essential characteristic of a democracy that the majority rules. However, what we frequently forget is that in a democracy, the majority cannot do whatever they want. For a democracy to survive, the majority must protect the rights of the minorities. The majority must limit themselves and their actions to those that are in the best interest of the society as a whole.

Fundamentalism is incompatible with Christianity. Christianity is the religion of freedom. It is the religion of tolerance and diversity. Christianity is a religion for all peoples in all cultures in all times. Fundamentalism is dedicated to cultural homogeneity and fixed behavior patterns, to unchanging traditions and conventions for governing social interactions. Fundamentalism is about condemning sin when you see it and taking a stand for what is "right." Christianity is about caring for the sinner as much as the saint, it is about understanding the factors that contribute to destructive behavior and leading those who have destroyed themselves, their families, and their friends to healing and forgiveness. Fundamentalists would have us believe that they are the guardians of Christian fundamentals but they are not. They are the guardians of their own position, culture, and power.

Human progress is essentially a search for truth. To the extent that fundamentalism blocks or impedes that search for the truth, it blocks or impedes human progress. True religion is a relentless search for and acceptance of truth about yourself and the universe in which you find yourself regardless of the discomfort that truth may cause. Fundamentalism must be confronted with education. It is obvious that the best innoculant against any form of ignorance is education. And make no mistake, fundamentalism is a form of spectacular ignorance, ignorance of the basic principles of true religion… It is no coincidence that fundamentalism has arisen in America at the same time that the public education system has collapsed. And it is also no coincidence that fundamentalism is strongest in America and elsewhere in the world wherever the educational system is at its weakest. ®