MY VISION FOR A NATIONAL CHARACTER:
IN MEEKNESS LIKE DOVE BUT NOT TURTLEDOVE;
IN WISDOM THAT OF A HAWK OR A SERPENT
MEEKNESS DRIVES AWAY CRUELTY
One time, the Lord was exhorting the disciples to be meek, and not repay evil for evil, nor anger for anger, nor fire for fire. On this, He cited the little unimposing gnat who playfully buzzes around and though a little bet bothered, the mighty lion dismisses its presence and allow its activity for the gnat is below the dignity of the king of the forest, meaning: it’s not for a lion to fight against a gnat!
You might be also surprised to realize that the lowly coo of a turtledove spares it from the preying hawk hovering above looking for its meat.
“When nature wakes soft pity's coo
The hawk deserts the dove,
Compassion melts the creature through,
With palpitations felt by few,
The wrecking throbs of love. “
From the poem The Powers of Love, George M. Horton
Analyze the line of the poem. The pitiful coo of the turtledove (Visayan: tokmo, crocoto) melts the cruel heart of the hovering hawk and ‘the hawk deserts the dove’.
Gentleness conquers cruelty.
That is what God and His servants keep on reminding us. King Solomon wrote a proverb: ‘Soft answer turns away wrath.’
Paul wrote: “Do not repay evil for evil. But when your enemy gets hungry, feed him… Overcome evil by doing good.”[1]
This has been the behavior of our race – the black and brown race, the descendants of Cain-Ethiope.
Even if our curly-haired, thick-lipped, black Negrito race lived long in the wild forest, we were not ferocious, but as the foreigners said, “we were a gentle race”.
This kind of character is very likeable. Even the hawk-wise Americans like us to be their employees and fondly consider Filipinos their ‘little brown brothers’.
Peace and prosperity also reigned between the White race and Black slaves in America when and as long as compassion was in the heart of the white master and humility in the heart of the black slave. In this case, ‘slave’ is a nice experience.
TURTLE MEEKNESS GIVES WAY TO ABUSE OF AN EVIL HAWK
Not dove only is meek; a turtle too. And not good wisdom alone resides in a hawk, also an evil cunningness.
When meekness is turtle’s, it is naïve meekness. It is meekness paired with dullness. It is this kind of meekness that opens up for abuse and exploitation by the deceitful animal of prey.
When the cunningness of the hawk reigns in the heart of the master, as with many of our former Spanish masters, then misery would be the lot of the people! For neither brotherly love nor neighborly love does reign in such master’s heart, but greed, lust, pride and covetousness. And so, he would turn his subjects into a milch cow, a prostitute, and a slave. It is because he does not love.
Let me quote to you, for the nth time, the negative parable of the hawk and the turtle, to wit:
THE PARABLE OF THE HAWK AND THE TURTLE
One day, there was a turtle struggling on a mudhole in the meadow. On the other hand, in the sky there was a hawk hovering. The hawk noticed the struggling turtle.
The Lord: “The hawk first eagerly helps the turtle out of its mud-hole in the meadow, only to be grabbed by the hawk in its neck during its search for herbs, carried aloft and smashed into a rock.
“Why did the hawk do that? So that she can enjoy the turtle’s flesh as a reward for its previous eagerness to help. My, children, do not do that!
“Do not follow the evil inhabitants in hell who serve out of selfishness, for everyone there expects to be served.
“They are like the story of the turtle and the hawk
“Service should be given in love and with true brotherly feeling, as is customary in the heavens.” [2]
I envision not of a humility with naivety, such as that of the turtle[3], which renders us outsmartable and oppress-ible.
I envision of a meekness-humility-mercifulness like that of a Dove[4], who by its wakening coo
“The hawk deserts the dove,
The former’s heart melts by compassion
With palpitations felt by few,
The wrecking throbs of love.”
I do not however envision us to remain a Turtledove[5] (naivety and shortsightedness of a turtle and weakness of a dove) who by its sad and sorrowful coo, softly tells the world that it is unhappy in its humbled condition. Its plaintive cooing indicates that it is ‘quietly mournful’ and ‘weakly complaining’ e.g., probably because it is oppressed or suppressed and does not find freedom within its sphere like a discontented mother and a regimented wife.
I envision a meekness where wisdom, peace, love, joy and freedom reign.
I envision us as individuals and as a nation evolving from a unhappy turtledove into a happy peaceful dove.
While at the same time, I envision us as individuals and as a nation like an awakening turtle getting out of the confinement of its shell so that, light and free, it can metamorphose itself into a bird, untouched by the treacherous hawk, able to soar the sky on its own, and view the whole perspective, and thus, become wise – even wiser than the hawk or as wise as a serpent, as Jesus said, without losing the harmlessness [meekness, gentleness] of the dove and never adopting the evil cunningness and treachery of the hawk-serpent.
LIKE THE DOVE WITH PURIFIED GENTLENESS, MEEKNESS, HUMILITY AND MERCY, AND LIKE THE HAWK OR SERPENT GREAT IN ITS WISDOM WITHOUT IMITATING ITS DECEITFULNESS –
THAT IS MY VISION OF CHARACTER FOR MYSELF AND FOR MY PEOPLE.
It is the turtle’s naivety, ignorance, and lack of wisdom that makes our meekness corrupt and impure, weak, gullible, beguile-ible, easy to fleece, easy to seduce, easy to deceive, abusable, oppress-able. Without true wisdom, the Filipino meekness has become a weakness. That is why we were colonized by many foreigners for over 400 years. That’s why we were exploited, suppressed, oppressed, and deceived.
But with wisdom, the Filipino meekness will be purified of its inherent weakness and soon will be like that of a dove whose coo melts the heart of the preying creature [e.g., hawk], provokes its into compassion. A meekness that conquers all cruelties.
I am challenged to think that had we had Christ’s wisdom and not the turtle’s naivety and carabao’s unselective, unconditional submission, certainly the Spaniards would not have subjugated us for 300 years and they would not have corrupted our character with pride, wastefulness [gambling, drunkenness] and indolence. We would have been long time ago a nation rich in God’s blessings, and thus, great in the nations’ eyes. As a promise which can be attained, we could be “the head and not the tail; we shall lend and not borrow” as we shall “serve and not be served”, and “not a slave even as we are not a master”.
Towards the true greatness that God has in store for us all, attainable by any nation, we can advance our selves by (1) first, purifying our meekness using God’s wisdom, thus converting it from being a turtle meekness into a dove meekness; and (2) if that is accomplished, proceeding to expanding our self-love into divine love for God, neighbor and self. Thus, we’ll have positioned ourselves prepared and ready to accomplish any thing – any dream – any vision – any mission – any goal – any aim – any purpose – any height - that this matured noble love may set before us!
That is the strategy towards our Vision for a National Character.
[1] Romans 12
[2] Great Gospel of John IV/99
[3] Turtle – properly designates all reptiles with a shell
[4] Dove is any of several pigeons; symbol of meekness and peace
[5] Turtledove – a small variety (11 inches) of light-brown dove found throughout temperate areas in Europe and Asia, such as the Philippines. It is known for its plaintive cooing and the affection it shows for its mate. In Visayan: tokmo, crocoto. Plaintive – quietly mournful; weakly complaining.
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