Superhero spaces

This month and September, the entire nation once again commemorates the tragic deaths and the miraculous triumphs of Pinoy greats. I would like to call the 21^st and 25^th of August and September particularly the 21^st as superhero spaces. As these days will be holidays, I might as well spend it writing something about it and reflect, in my own little world, on the legacies and journeys of man and woman that social and evolutionary psychologists called “the altruistic” and “the divergents”.

From an academic point of view, some pundits defined “heroes and heroines” as persons “who, in the face of danger and adversity display courage and the will for self-sacrifice for some greater good of all humanity.” Etymologically speaking, in Greek and Latin, heroes are “protectors” and “defenders” of the weak and the oppressed. In Sanskrit, the root word would be vira roughly translated as “the brave, the eminent, the excellent, and the powerful ones”.

For the Heroic Imagination Project, heroes in a contemporary context would be “people who transform compassion (a personal virtue) into a heroic action (a civic virtue).” These are individuals and network of people that take action “for others in need, in defense of integrity or a moral cause.” Stan Lee, the creator of X-Men and the Avengers, sees heroes as tough men making tough choices and choosing the difficult path instead of the easy ones.

Lee thinks that heroism, in some sense, is doing something that is right even if it’s difficult to do. Lee argued that “only real life heroes can safeguard human civilization…we need the heroic deeds of real people from the real world.” 

For Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist and author of the book “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”, the hero’s quest is pervasive across all cultures and generations. His research project and book found something surprising. It concluded that a hero’s life and journey has some basic pattern and the hero, he would add, have always been confronted with the same problem when they are called into the realm of adventures.

The pattern is something like—the hero ventures into some unknown world and discovers some sort of power, encounters some fabulous forces, challenges the anti-hero and comes back from the adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. 

At some point, to paraphrase Campbell, heroes are provoked, initially, with questions like: Should I dare? And then if I do dare, the dangers are real and of course the help are real too.” When they emerge victorious, the experience bliss and become the “Masters of the Two Worlds”, the physical (material) and the spiritual (non-material). They are fulfilled and are ready to die.

A hero’s life is a long and winding journey and their lives could also end in a fiasco.

Campbell notes that “there's always the possibility of a fiasco” and “there's also the possibility of bliss” in the life and story of a hero.

But in most hero myths, the superhero would always experience the bliss. They die gloriously by murder or assassination but are symbolically resurrected in a future history. They win in the end and they get to live forever metaphorically as they become “the insight” for future generations.

The anti-hero, who is, usually, a powerful and wealthy emperor or a great orator king would commit some sort of a “grand majestic error” similar to what historians or strategic analysts called “the Crassus mistake”, a gross and disastrous blunder that may cause the demise of an empire, an era, a civilization or a generation.  They, the anti-hero, would become the “fiascos” or “the fake versions of heroes in history” or in layman’s term “epals” of classical history.

Crassus is an example of the anti-hero myth or the original “Epal” story. Crassus, the wealthiest man in Roman history, a well-known orator, military tactician and arguably the most powerful Roman emperor ever, is mostly recognized for conquering Gauls Crixus and Spartacus, Thracian Gladiators who led a slave uprising against the Roman Republic, in The Third Servile War. His exploits would earn him a position in the Roman Triumvirate and rule Rome along with Julius Caesar and Pompeii.  His insatiable desire for fame and power and his fatal mistake of crucifying some 3,000 slaves would cause him his name and legacy in history and would later be depicted as one of the most horrible dictators of all time. A song about his horrific acts and deeds would be written and his story was featured lately, on the sidelines, in a documentary about the life and heroism of Spartacus. Scholars would note him as the “the forgotten Roman emperor” partly because of the Spartacus myth and Julius Caesar’s unrivaled power and influence.

Now, since this is the month that celebrates the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, I would like to explore his legacy as a person, his beliefs, his perspectives on leadership and his views of Ferdinand Marcos by quoting him extensively. I will try to refrain from putting words into his mouth and as a researcher I will try to be “academic” (if there is such a word) if possible. But then Ninoy’s myth and story must have overwhelmed me thus I would not aspire to be neutral (neutrality is impossible in a relative world) or disinterested in here. So let me deconstruct the man as he is.    

Juan Ponce Enrile repeatedly referred to him as “the nemesis” of President Ferdinand Marcos. Ninoy’s political supporters and some historians would note the guy as “the greatest President we never had.” But then some, in fact only a few, would challenge this assumption.

But whatever our biases are, positive or negative, without a doubt Ninoy’s story of heroism is quite rare if not unique.  Some would say that Ninoy personified the raging fire and resilience of the Filipino spirit (he was imprisoned for seven years, exiled for several years and his death would result to a People Power that would end the Marcos regime).

His vigor, intensity and will; his fortitude and courage have inspired millions of social activists, scholars, intellectuals, academics, and state leaders around the world.  His quest for a collective leadership and a republic guided by conscience had endured the test of time. And like Rizal, he was, amazingly, fearless.

He might have been, which is quite rare, an awakened Jivatman, jiva meaning a living being who realizes his true dharma—nature, atman or soul.  Jivatman is an individual, a person liberated and transformed by suffering, struggle and trauma in Hindu mythology and religion.

Unknown to many, Ninoy would, in an undelivered speech, quote Gandhi on the transformative power of suffering and selflessness to depose a tyrant, he would soon realize that “the willing sacrifice of the innocent is the most powerful answer to insolent tyranny that has yet been conceived by God and man.” 

I’ve been reading, studying, watching Ninoy’s speeches and videos for years now and learned that Ninoy’s journey somehow exemplified the life and temperament of a hermit. His words and actions were powerful and surprisingly intuitive. Perhaps that was the gift or grace he got from the God he so believed in and who would help him in his moments of depression, self-doubt and loneliness.

His life and learnings as he would confess later in a 700 Club interview, a popular Christian Broadcasting network in 1980s, were spent in prayer, meditation, contemplation and penance. He would admit that his seven years of solitary confinement transformed him spiritually and felt that his God had always been there for him. Ninoy believed in something mysterious and more powerful, “I feel that there is a good Lord who watches over us and that the truth will come out”. 

In that memorable interview he would reflect on his days of confinement, his doubts about the existence of God and suffering. I find this really interesting, in his own words: “When I was placed in deep solitary confinement…nobody to talk to, I became desperate. And here I began to question the fundamentals of my belief. Firstly, is there really a God? I began to doubt that. I said, ‘If there is a God, why should I be here? What have I done?  Why are the crooks all out?’ And so I asked the second question, “Was there a God when the children were gassed at Auschwitz, at Buchenwald, at Dachau? Where was He? Where is this God …?” And that was the doubt that was in my mind. 

“But then I felt, there must be a God. Because then all their suffering would be useless. I mean, if I am suffering like this, and there is no God, who would ever reward me? Who will ever pay me back? So, there must be a God. So I felt then, maybe it’s a false consolation, I had to even invent Him if there’s no God because that’s the only way you could survive.  Without Him, Pat, you will never make it. And as Saint Paul said, I’m strongest when I was weakest. And I became strongest when I was down there on the floor, in solitary confinement, alone. And it’s only when He came to me that I really felt strongest. And therefore now, I have survived all of my vicissitudes because I know that there’s this God interceding for us.”

On suffering, Ninoy would contemplate, “Suffering can do two ways: It can break you or make you. In my particular instance, I welcomed it as an opportunity. With this suffering, I knew that God cared for me. Cause if He didn’t care for me, He won’t make me suffer. But I knew that when He gave me this suffering in solitary confinement, away from my children, they would come in the afternoon and visit me once a week, and when they left, you know, my heart would be broken. But it’s only then when I really realized the value of my children. God had to take them away, for me to realize that value. And so, I think, the message is welcome your suffering because God will never give you a suffering that will break you. It’s only a manifestation of His love, I think, that He makes us suffer to really realize Him. Because when we’re in glory, we don’t know Him. But when we suffer, we remember Him. So, I think, that’s the message.”

But then Ninoy’s undelivered speech was even more brilliant. These were his sentiments before he got assassinated in broad daylight: “I have returned on my free will to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedoms through nonviolence. I seek no confrontation. I only pray and will strive for a genuine national reconciliation founded on justice. I am prepared for the worst, and have decided against the advice of my mother, my spiritual adviser, many of my tested friends and a few of my most valued political mentors. A death sentence awaits me. Two more subversion charges, both calling for death penalties, have been filed since I left three years ago and are now pending with the courts. I could have opted to seek political asylum in America, but I feel it is my duty, as it is the duty of every Filipino, to suffer with his people especially in time of crisis. I never sought nor have I been given assurances or promise of leniency by the regime. I return voluntarily armed only with a clear conscience and fortified in the faith that in the end justice will emerge triumphant…It is now time for the regime to decide. Order my IMMEDIATE EXECUTION OR SET ME FREE”.

And in his campaigns, he would say this to remind Marcos about the perpetual dangers of absolutism, materialism and dictators in history, “I have written Mr. Marcos letters upon letters and I told him, ‘Read your history my friend, I have no hatred for you, I only have pity because if you do not see or you do not remove the calluses from your eyes, if you do not remove your blinders, you will meet the same fate of all the dictators in history…’ There has never been a single dictator in history that has lived forever and so I tell Mr. Marcos, ‘Mr. Marcos, study the lessons of history before it is too late. It will be a tragic, tragic, tragic thing for a man to miss the side, the right turn of the four and end up as a great tragedy’”.

The murder of Ninoy would be the tipping point and history and our collective futures would take a different turn altogether. A sustained campaign of civil disobedience and defections would happen and to cut the story short, the “Yellow revolution” would end Marcos’ 20-year rule and result in his departure.

Today, the nation celebrates his 31^st death anniversary, and two decades after, his wife and son were elected presidents of the country. He has steered the wheel of Philippine history as one blogger pointed out. Like Pope Francis in one of his latest tweets challenged Catholics and the youth, “What are you willing to die for?” Ninoy, a long time ago, spoke this words, “We must not only preserve yesterday’s heritage fight for today’s ephemeral interests, but die if need be, for tomorrow hopes”.

Again, the mythologist Joseph Campbell had this to say “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself”.