movie of the week

 quick before the copyright cops remove it.

the story is true, and asks the question of all of us who worked with the very poor who were oppressed by the rich and the local government: Do you turn to violence (aka liberation theology) or accept this with passivity and prayer?

if you say prayer, it implies withdrawal from the world.

Or maybe not:

When the Filipino people faced this under the first Marcos administration, too many western missionaries were cheering on the NPA etc. and insisted that was the only alternative.

But prayer and courage worked...

From February 22 to 25, 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos gathered on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue to protest President Ferdinand Marcos and his claim that he had won re-election over Corazon Aquino... When Marcos ordered the military to arrest detractors, Cardinal Sin called upon the people to shield them. The Catholic radio organ, Radio Veritas, became a major control center for protest communications during the People Power movement....

and half a million Filipinos walked in front of the tanks on the EDSA highway praying the rosary and singing hymns... 

The result was re establishment of democracy with all it's imperfections.

one addition that makes one sad:

right now, Marcos Jr has just decided to erase the holiday of this peaceful revolution against his father; not a smart thing to do at a time when China threatens us, and a possible war if the Yanks decide to stop them.

Sigh.