the guided missile of martial law

8/8/2019 The Guided Missile of Martial Law

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Guided Missiles: New Technology from the Marcos¶ Regime

In military parlance, powered, guided ammunition that travels through the air or space is

known as a missile. Guided missiles, by definition, are missiles guided to its intended target.Aimed to improve "Single Shot Kill Probability" (SSKP), the guided missile has been used to

critically fast-pace wars and to improve defenses of many nations. As such, I intend to compare a

missile after the media. Destructive as it is, missiles or any other weapon can also bring peace,

and oftentimes liberation.

Literally, missile comes from the Latin verb mittere , meaning "to send". The word itself

have various connotations to bring about, however, it interests me as to how µguided¶ the missile

was, which was suppose to µsend¶ us information. Instead, the Marcos dictatorship powered its

capability, and strengthened the role of superficial weapons for us to think that the economy is

alright, that we did not have any billion-dollar debt which pesters us today. It is only quite ironic

that the Philippine military did not really have guidance systems ± for that matter, any military

weapon to be proud of.

Yet we know he is a genius. In the 20 years of his reign, there has been no disturbance to

the society. Everything was controlled, ideology-wise; communism-like dictatorship reigned by

two puppets of disgrace ± with one reporting for duty, and the other for beauty. Marcos was

really horrid when one could see him at his office. He was like a monster unfit for that small

body of his. Arming himself with an ultimate weapon, he was unstoppable. At the time when

governments were proud of themselves, gouging the eyes of its people and looming after their

shadows, there might have been peace and prosperity. But Marcos bought guidance systems,



from nowhere else but through American style hamburgers, petted by favorable demands from

his cronies. God was in the TV. We¶re on the other side, the screen is us and we¶re TV.

But television sets were just the height of the thing called censorship and the authoritarian

concept of government controlled-media. Although history attests the relationship between these

two entities, it is just not right for governments to have a hand on the delivery of information and

freedom. After the invention of the Printing Press came government limitations and restrictions

on something they saw could challenge their authority, as it ended church and state monopoly on

knowledge. The Philippines was really full of knowledge and based from the government-run

newspapers, everything was prone to be archived. If everyone had the opportunity to seek some

information about the real liquidities that is happening, they are blind for only to find themselves

enslaved and remotely mechanical.

Now back to the missile thing. For the government that used this weaponry, I am putting

blame towards our American dogs; and for the nation that sought to believe in democracy, I

discern our lack of shame. Anyway, the way media portrays information back then was really to

democratize, like the guided missile seeking heat, ready to explode before our understanding of

it. It brought peace for a little while. Everyone was afraid to lurk behind the walls they were

encased in. Constabularies may point lasers at them. The corporate world was nowhere to be

found, monopolies arose, and the light of the world was beautifully spread to our bubbled homes.

No one really cared of these god damned happenings, only the freedom of the press was

grudging inside the people¶s soul.

We were inept at something we are afraid of. That is the role of the military-wise

Marcos¶ dictatorship and his government-run papers and transient radio waves. But it won¶t last



long for democracy was bred among those who fight for rights. Deaths were concealed to clean

the debts of the regime, but the islands have no curse for knowing it. Our only hope then was a

counter arm. If someone had a stone to throw at someone, that someone has to have an anti-

stone, whatever. For this reason, the people felt overpowered as soon as the throw was

relinquished at their favorite opposition figure, Ninoy Aquino.

We know its effects, and yes, it brought the people to stand-off against them. Who were

the defenders? My anti-guided missile theory speaks of the empowered pen and paper, matched

with the soul of democracy, the scope was indefinable. It is larger, and ever accurate, to fill our

hearts with the call for freedom. It was as explosive as the peacemaker the dictatorship held for

some time. The Lopez¶s has some part to it, but who knows. The fact that the destruction of the

regime was futile in the late 80s, all I know is that a decade ago, development communication

sprung and I know that our faces were clinging to distortion. Towards this distortion, although

recklessly stressing to our society and to me in particular, bombardment of the guerrilla

propagandists were very effective.

Up to this day, media is so powerful and I feel so drugged at everything you call media.

Who knows, this new guided missile might be made again to disband the government¶s trillion-

dollar debts. I hope it will happen soon. I can¶t wait to be part of its culmination. I am hoping.

D ick E. Prado

CC11 ± COMM111

the guided missile of martial law

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