In a world made perfect by the Almighty only to be altered by man to suit his liking, no day passes without each and every one of us having to reckon with the arrogance that has affected us all.
The rich are naturally arrogant because they are rich, and look upon the less blessed as lesser to them, nothing but sloths and lazy bones, unwilling to work precisely because they lack the tools and the inclination to hold a job.
Thankfully, the old rich have learned to control their dark or bad side, sharing part of their wealth to those in need, perhaps fearing God’s wrath would befall them otherwise.
It is the new rich who are arrogant, and when one ventures into their enclaves like the country club, they give you a look that says “Are you sure you are in the right place, you appear to be lost.”
This is particularly true of police and military generals who play golf every other day, and make practice swings at the mall or park when not in the golf course.
Even their fellow rich look at them with disdain in their hearts, more so when it is a government official doing the same thing, whose pockets are bulging with money stolen from the coffers.
Rather ironic, but the rich who are into illegal activities behave far better, knowing that one misstep will send them back to their past life – trying to make both ends meet with meager resources.
All too suddenly the former driver of the drug or jueteng lord is now the lord himself, and the sight of their former boss coming upon hard times is what keeps them in line – jitters too.
But nothing matches the arrogance of the poor.
They fight back with stones, rocks, and darts when being evicted from land belonging to another, screaming that they need to be relocated first, or at least paid compensation should they decide to pack up and leave.
But the fantasies that they weave about themselves are both funny and galling, but laughter does not come easy to the listener.
During gatherings, they would tell stories that despite their humble existence, politicians and other persons in authority including the police afford them respect and recognition, one or two of them being godfathers to their offspring, and how much they love his pretty wife’s cooking each time they come to visit, and that in one occasion, he got into a friendly debate with a college professor, and getting the better of him.
“The prof may know his economics,” he brags, “but he has zero idea about the practicalities of life and public affairs.”
He recalls too the time when he fought his bravest gamecock, with odds against it pegged at two to one, but upon his entry into the arena, his cock became “llamado” or favored, with no less than the cockpit owner himself quickly evening the bets.
But, of course, his cock won handily against the bird of Patrick Antonio, no less.
Taxi drivers, barbers, they love to impart lessons to their passengers and customers, like at one time he saw this lawyer on TV arguing his case and saying all the wrong things.
A school dropout, he boldly says that he can teach Trump and Duterte on how to run a government.
He hits the nail on the head with his observation that 80 million Americans were stupid enough to vote for Trump, a cheat and a liar, given all his erratic moves and decisions, making one insane mistake after another.
Lucky for us, he adds with a laugh, only 16 million voted for Duterte.
But nothing beats the arrogance of the self righteous and the hypocrites, people who think they can do no wrong, and that the misenlightened should tread their footsteps.
The prelate who lectures about God every Sunday, later on getting his share of the mass collections for marketing, which he will bring home to his “partner” to cook, not to mention “luto ng Diyos.”
The city executive who claims to be honest and fair, yet favors one Chinese business magnate over the other; who demolishes structures squatting on city land, while the jueteng collector waits for the workers to finish so he can take the bets of both the displaced and the workers themselves.
Covid is his priority and not the welfare of the citizens, using health concerns as a convenient excuse.
No wonder Morris is again visible, and doing the rounds like before.
Lucky fellow, not doing well, but the voters would rather have him stay than see the pagbabalik of the past.
And last, and certainly the least, is the arrogance of media. The closure of ABS-CBN, (the heavens forgive me) was a much-welcomed event.
Why? Gone are the arrogant newscasters and the showbiz folks that make you throw up, flaunting their gender.
I can only pray that once cleansed, they will still find their rightful place in the sun.
But none are more arrogant than the opinion makers, whether in broadcast or print. Among newsfolks, they refer to it as the Tulfo syndrome, I wonder why.
Oh yes, this column too is an arrogant piece (of s__t).
Felicitations to Architect Rollie and his better half Erma, whose daughter is Atty. Sherlyn, recently passed the California Bar Exams.
Sherlyn is a summa cum laude A.B. graduate of Saint Louis University, who finished her Law studies at the University of the Philippines, passing the Bar exams here a year later.
Congrats, Atty. Sherlyn, more power. Incidentally, Rollie and Erma also have a daughter who is a college professor at SLU, and an engineer and a doctor doing well in their respective professions.
Mga anak ng Diyos (si Rolly, I mean). Anak rin niya tayo, pero sa labas. He he.
I end this column with a line from a song that was much sung during my growing up years, when people were kind, helpful, and God-fearing, not the way we are today.
“May your troubles all be small ones, and your fortune ten times ten. May the good Lord bless and keep you in His heart with the second coming of the Savior.
God bless.
