Yes we can

Myths are public dreams. Dreams are private myths. — Joseph Campbell 

Something new and historic has begun. A new narrative has captured
the world. The US election had something gigantically and wonderfully
mythical playing out. A compelling story that was impossible to ignore,
it had many riveting twists and sub-plots running simultaneously.

This was a story of a young man, black, disadvantaged, from a
lower-middle-class family, with a name and background that was, for all
practical purposes, politically incorrect in a post-9/11 America. He
was not your typical American-as-apple-pie candidate — not with a
middle name like Hussein and a father from Kenya. Yet he dreamed beyond
what his race, background, his society and its biases and prejudices
allowed him to do. And he succeeded beyond measure.

It was also the story of someone, an outsider in the power circle, a
virtual unknown who was unlikely to become a major player, at least not
so soon. But because of his persistence, his cool demeanor, his
superior intelligence, and the most flawless and effective campaign
ever run in modern history, he succeeded beyond even his wildest dreams.

It was also the story of a neophyte, an upstart, a political ingénue
who rallied a demoralized people whose basic character and confidence
in themselves have been shaken to the core. He did so by confronting
the monster. He slew the monster of indifference, pessimism and fear
and did so by uniting, inspiring, tantalizing and leading them to the
Promised Land by way of his rhetoric.

Lastly, it was also the story of youth and idealism rising above the old order.

Wow! It has been a while since narratives as powerful as these have
played out this largely on the world stage. Stories of greed, the
brazen use of power for power’s sake, lying, terrorism, fundamentalism,
vulgarity and destruction have dominated our lives for sometime now.
And then a mythical story like this comes along to electrify us!

This election is not just an American story. While a lot of it is
about America waking up to its own goodness and better judgment, it is
a story that has many meanings in many places, not just among
democratic, functional and rich states but also in places like Kenya,
the Philippines, the Middle East and other parts of the world.

It’s a universal story and it speaks to a lot of people. They see in
Obama the embodiment of hope that everyone yearns for in their
symbolically heroic and daunting struggle for a better life. They are
inspired and empowered by his message of hope. “Yes, we can,” I
believe, is the new mantra for people demoralized and wandering
aimlessly in the desert of uncertainty and fear — which is a large
sector of the world population.

In the Philippines, many people identified with the persona of
Barack Obama and are wishing for a similar phenomenon to happen here. I
believe that the “savior” of our country will be someone outside the
club of the usual cast of characters who have been parading themselves
as leaders of presidential caliber. The time is ripe for a David to
enter the ring and cast his lot and challenge the Goliaths who prevent
our country from emerging from the inertia of corruption, poverty and
squalor. Filipinos love a good fight, and the more heroic the struggle
may be, the more we can identify with it.

The last time we had a good “David and Goliath” story going was when
Cory Aquino ran for election. It was a paradoxically powerful story of
the weak (woman, wife of a victim, widow) overpowering the high and
mighty. It was a narrative that had everyone intensely involved and it
produced a story that inspired the world as well.

The ideal candidate — the one we are looking for — must have a story
equally compelling to move our people out of apathy, indifference and
hopelessness. We must find the candidate who can speak clearly and
subliminally and on many levels, and situate himself in mythical
stories that can move the electorate. He/she must communicate the
dreams we have for ourselves and our people and the urgency with which
we move to act in a heroic manner in order to pursue it.

“It is a myth, not a mandate, a fable not a logic, and symbol rather
than a reason by which men are moved,” says Erwin Edman, an American
Philosopher. The mythical appeal of a leader is not something rational.
I believe, in a sense, FPJ had it. People gravitated towards him
because his films were about the little man who, when pushed into a
corner, could fight and win. Never mind that he was not intellectually
prepared for the job. He embodied a mythical story.

Because of the collective experience of our OFWs, today’s Filipinos
may be more conscious of the need to find a leader who has seen how
things work in more functional societies, and who is willing to take
his people to a level where they can experience abundance and good
governance right at home. Perhaps that could be one template among
many. In a way, it is an elaboration of the story of Rizal who was
educated abroad and came home to face the demons of the old order.
There are many other templates, to be sure.

Will this leader materialize in time? I don’t know. All I know is
that we once experienced how great we could be when we all came
together in 1986. We may not repeat that story in the same way. To
duplicate it is the wrong approach. Who was it that said the first time
anything historical happens, it is drama, but the second time, it is
farce? Thus EDSA 2 and 3 failed to move us in the right way.

It is time for this would-be leader to dig deep into his or her soul
and respond to the call to animate and embody our national dream and
spirit for change. Like Barack Obama, he or she could have the majority
of Filipinos believing once again that, yes, we can!