Doggone it

How starved are we for good news? That announcement of the Malampaya find gave a surge of energy to our spirits long before the gas source yields actual benefits to Filipinos.

Yet while this is all happening, our pages are also popping up with an impeachment complaint against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., which, with typical Pinoy humor, has been pitted beside that of Vice President Sara Duterte’s. “Unity” to the end, indeed?

Laugh all you want (and maybe there is something to be gained from making light of something that has the potential to be so depressing), but the truth is, we are channeling our energies into the wrong things.

Calling for an impeachment that looks like it has no likelihood of prospering is wasting our time.

The clock has ticked far too long already on the “Floodgate” controversy, and all we have gotten so far are raps against the middle to low end of the guilt meter, with prominent political names allegedly involved in the greatest scam of our time still enjoying relative immunity.

This is vastly unfair to our intelligence. Betrayal of public trust? We might as well get everyone to resign their posts and we can start from scratch.

But what good would that do? The world is spinning at a rapid pace and we are not even talking about artificial intelligence and all that it demands of our attention, too, at this point.

So, yes, good news is welcome. Give it to us in hordes, in piles, in loads. While we are sleeping, America as we know it seems to have become a dark, alienating force, using its vast powers to cater to the whims of one man. Some say one false move (or more false moves) could spin the wheels in the other direction, and that would mean a disruption we never saw coming.

From this vantage point, America is imploding, though that would be a matter to protest by Trump’s loyal Republicans. Or could it be a kind of strategy to derail any plans against the superpower? Make them think the “United” is divided so they will show their hand?

In truth, what’s been happening around the world has kept us in constant fight or flight mode. We now question loyalties, alliances, international agreements much more than the first time Beijing made a move on international waters, doggedly pursuing its goal despite international rules and global dialogues. This “take it or leave it” stance is seen in the wars we are seeing today, where the battle for supremacy is barely coated in diplomacy.

It is only January, and already we have a country that never figured too much in political discussions now getting the European Union all riled up because someone wants to own it. China is eerily quiet at this point and no one wants to hazard a guess as to what it might do with all the commotion.

Meanwhile, a stray dog of the Indian Pariah breed has been making waves on social media, joining monks on a Walk for Peace from Fort Worth to Washington D.C. They are trekking 2,300 miles “to promote national healing, unity and compassion.” The world needs it, much more than good news every day.

It has been much nicer looking at Aloka the dog’s progress and his peaceful countenance than watching people violently drag hard-working people from their cars or places of work in the spirit of “cleansing” a nation of illegals.