The Sound and Fury
rang@theguidon.com

Sixteen was the total number of holidays in 2008, covering everything from the Fall of Bataan to end of Ramadan. This relatively lofty figure attracted some criticism last year. For a country that’s supposedly all about moving forward and making up for lost time, sixteen non-working days seem like a lot of collateral damage for commemoration’s sake.

Add another one to the list.

This year, President Arroyo declared July 27 of this year and every year thereafter as “Iglesia ni Cristo Day,” a special working holiday in recognition of the organization’s founding anniversary. The declaration couldn’t come at a better time—Iglesia is celebrating its 95th founding anniversary this year.

Never one to miss opportunities, President Arroyo released a statement of congratulations: “President Arroyo wishes to congratulate in advance the INC, at present under the stewardship of Executive Minister Ka Eraño G. Manalo and Deputy Executive Minister Ka Eduardo V. Manalo, on this year’s landmark anniversary.”

Many people will see this as the latest in a long line of Arroyo’s calculated grabs for approval ratings. With the 2010 elections looming, she needs to get her political cache back if she’s planning on being any sort of political force in the future. Sucking up to a congregation as vast as Iglesia, the largest independent church in Asia, would certainly boost her profile.

At the risk of complete naiveté and foolish optimism, however, I choose to see this as simply the leader of a predominantly Catholic country extending a hand of acknowledgement and congratulations to one of the nation’s most significant religious groups. Like the Ramadan holiday, the celebration of the Iglesia holiday is a clear show of solidarity to our Muslim and Iglesia ni Cristo countrymen.

This is significant because ours is a religion that prides its followers for being “the chosen people.” Consciously or unconsciously, living in a country full of people like us, full of Catholics, tends to give us tunnel vision. We look down on other religions if their practices don’t match ours. Praying fives times a day is unnecessary because our God doesn’t require us that number. Bible meetings with the church group are hilarious because we don’t have Bible meetings, or even church groups. Consciously or unconsciously, there is elitism—elitism coming from strength in numbers and centuries old traditions that back us up, that tell us we are right.

Society is becoming more open to different kinds of people and lifestyles. We are living in a world of pluralism, fortunately or unfortunately—depending on where you stand. It’s about time we embrace other cultures and other religions, that we properly and wholeheartedly acknowledge that there is more than one “correct” way to live.

It’s easy to hate this government. If it’s not blatant vote tampering, it’s attempted charter change. If it’s not an embarrassing, pointless, name-calling State of the Nation Address, it’s dissolving the security unit that was due to Cory Aquino. From bickering senators to an Obama-desperate commander-in-chief, it’s top to bottom gloom and doom.

But every now and then, people can still surprise you. It might not be able to heal the sting of vote-tampering or a $20,000 dinner, but it’s at least a step in the right direction.

This is not a religion of tolerance; it’s one of acceptance and understanding.