Ekuva matata

From fionski, I learned that the word 'churky' is the new 'chorva'. Churky, like its predecessors, is an all-purpose utility word for something you dont have a word for: "Metanoia, theosis, and other similar churky". Like that. She mentions in a blog post that she first heard of it in a male-dominated department of a customer service center she used to work for. I found that strange at first. Churky is so... I was going to say gay, but that's not right. Gayspeak is more elaborate, more over-the-top. Chuvachuchu, an earlier form of churky, is an example of gayspeak. No, 'churky' is too cute. As this word is currently used by "cigarette smoke reeking, beer lugging, cuss loving men," one can only speculate that the word is used to soften up their macho image to be less threatening to the opposite sex. They can land more chicks that way. But I digress.

What I would like to do instead is try to trace the origins of the word. This would be a highly-speculative exercise, needless to say, but one that could be the basis of a more scientific study.

I mentioned before that the word can be directly traced to 'chorva'. It's easy to see why the Pinoy male steeped in a macho culture would reject it. It's too soft. The use of the R-V combination makes it so. The R sound itself is soft, but the V and its related F sound--an unvoiced version of V--is typically associated with gayspeak. It would make sense therefore for a heterosexual male to replace those sounds with the clunkier, harder K sound in churky.

Before 'chorva'--and Ive never heard a heterosexual male use the word--was 'chuva'. Again not a word Ive heard used by a heterosexual male for the same reason as above. Too soft, and too close to gayspeak, particularly to 'chuvachuchu' which probably spawned it. And here the trail ends it seems. Where did 'chuvachuchu' come from?

Here is my hypothesis: There is a more traditional word, still in use in everyday, normal language, that is used as an all-purpose word. That word is 'kuwan'. "Nakuha mo na ba yung kuwan, Juan?" It's a high-context word like churky and chuva, in that one needs to know the context in which it is used to be able to ascertain its meaning. "Kaka-kuwan ko lang e" in itself doesnt give much information. One has to know the circumstances in which 'kuwan' is used for the sentence to have any meaning. The steps from 'kuwan' to 'chuvachuchu' is not as farfetched as it seems. The K sound and W sound in kuwan morphed into the CH and V sounds respectively. The transitional words 'kuvan', 'kvan', 'chuwan', 'chwan', 'chuvan' and 'chvan' are our missing links. If we find records of the use of any of these transitional words in any Filipino language, then the search area is considerably narrowed. For now, we will assume that these transitional words existed, albeit briefly. And given that a lot of Filipino languages arent written languages, records of their use could be hard to come by. We could also speculate that these transitional words occurred at random; from a random speech impediment, for example. This would make the transition words even more impossible to track down, but for now we'll postulate their existence.

You may ask, "What if the word 'chuvachuchu' didnt directly descend from any of the transition words at all but is a result of some homosexual guy's creativity?" I would have to say that is highly unlikely because the evidence we now have, albeit circumstantial, point to a gradual transition from 'kuwan' to 'churky' and therefore, any hypothesis that involves creativity by an unknown gay person is probably not true.

In any case, I prefer the word 'ek-ek'.

Asian Domme, Part I

Note: Although this post isnt particularly sexual, it does contain unconventional practices of a sexual nature, which I will try to treat as clinically as I can. It also contains language not suitable for polite conversation.

A little over a year ago, performance artist/tour guide/art gallery owner Carlos Celdran featured one Domina Jane in his Manila gallery, whom he billed 'Mistress of fetish/BDSM/Disciplinary Arts', and this sentence has more slashes than a Friday the 13th sequel. This was the first time I heard of this sort of thing described as art, and we'll come back to that in a bit. Anyway, the reason I was reminded of this post of Celdran's is because of a recent conversation I had with a long-time friend via Yahoo messenger.

"Im into cyber-domination," she told me. Now to put things in proper perspective, my friend, whom we'll hide under the pseudonym Eilís, is not the type, if one looks at her. She's pretty in a mestiza sort of way, intelligent and has a sunny, bubbly personality that people find attractive, but she looks 'normal'--no tattoos, no body piercings, her hair isnt dyed purple. She doesnt do anything that would scream 'different'. In fact, she lives a quite normal life. But since Ive never been one to judge a person by how he or she looks on the outside, I wasnt really surprised. And when I met her, she did have an adventurous vibe about her. I was, instead, curious. "Does it involve video cameras?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. And no she doesnt record them. I suppose that would be against her sense of propriety, which is an ironic thing to say at first blush, but only because we have preconceived notions of what constitutes propriety, but anyway, she said she doesnt record them, although judging by what she showed me later (a message) some of her clients probably dont mind. Again, more later.

"Im not into extreme BDSM," she said. Of course from where I stand, even if there were mild forms of the whole bondage and submission thing, to me they would seem extreme. "I like newbies." Newbies are easier, she said. They meet in some BDSM website and the prospective 'bitches'--my term; theyre technically called subs/slaves--'Slaves' seems so... incorrect since theyre doing this willingly; we'll stick with bitches--the prospective bitches sends her a message.

"What message? ASL please?"

"That won't get them anywhere with me. I won't be impressed. They should show respect and deference. Im superior to them."

"How about, 'If it pleases the dominatrix, may I, a maggot, have the honor of being whipped by your superior cat-o-nine-tails?' Like that?'"

"Something like that."

She sent me a file. It was a copy of a message sent to her, which I reproduce in full below, blocking out certain items to protect the not-so-innocent.

Hello Asian Domme [not her real nick], first at all: thank You for taking the time to read this message, i feel honoured being read by a Real Dominant Lady.

I have just read Your profile and i would like to introduce myself, kneeling at Your feet:

This is [name] a 32 years old, male, slave-sub (as needed), Latino, (from [South American country]). I would like to be trained/enslaved, under Your authority and ownership. I am into bondage, discipline, humiliation, light to mild torture, being treated and trained as a puppy and ponyboy, bootlicking also enjoy verbal and physical humiliation

You can humiliate and degradate me for Your only entertaiment, i have a digital camera and a webcam. i am also curious about consensual blackmailing. I thank You sincerely Your time and i beg You to apoligize me if i had been bothering You at anyway.

Worshiping You:

slave [name]

Notice the capitals of the second person pronouns while the first person pronoun I, if not at the beginning of the sentence, uses a deferential lower case most of the time. This guy's good. Notice also that part about consensual blackmailing, which is a subtle message meaning "Go ahead and record this on video. You could use it to humiliate me some more in the future." It turns out the bitches get addicted to the treatment they get from Eilís, and they keep coming back for more.

"What do you do to them?," I asked.

"Stuff. I make them fuck their butts with a tampon. Or make them use the tampon at work."

Believe it or not, not once was I judgmental about this whole conversation. I was interested in it not because of some perverse curiosity, but because of just everyday, plain-vanilla curiosity. "That's so creative," I said. I thought it was creative. I wouldnt have come up with something like that, anyway.

"It's all about being creative," she said. What an interesting concept, I thought. This whole thing is all about creative expression, which reminded me of Carlos Celdran's post on Domina Jane. This was performance art for both dominatrix and her bitch for their mutual entertainment, and dare I say, for their need for edification. I still can't tangibly figure out what they get out of it, though.

"What do you get out of it?"

"I feel powerful, of course. And I enjoy the creative challenge. I dont really get sexually turned on by watching these men play with themselves."

"And what do they get out of it? What makes them want to be dominated?"

"That's the mystery. Some enjoy the feeling of being 'dirty'."

I need to do some research on the psychology of the need for being someone's bitch. Like Eilís, Im sure most of them lead fairly normal lives and would not stand out in a crowd. Although I would hypothesize that they get some kind of endorphine rush out of it, similar to what prolonged exercise can give you. Or perhaps another neuro-chemical is involved. One that is similar to endorphine.

I was curious for more information but she cut our conversation short. "That's enough for now. I'll tell you more later."

It's not everyday that your friend tells you her deepest, darkest secrets. She knows Im going to make a blog entry out of it, too. In fact she encouraged me to do so, even telling me to register with Pinoyblog.com so more people can read it. But Im not really much of a joiner. So here it is, Eilís. Im looking forward to Part II.

The flight of Flew

As with Albert Einstein, there has been a tug-of-war between atheists and theists over the beliefs of Antony Flew. In 2004, news first came out that this former starter for the atheist first team has switched sides and decided to play for the opposing team, something he has denied in subsequent interviews, asserting instead that what he believes in is closer to Deism, which he shares with such luminaries as Thomas Jefferson. I speculated that the new atheists (Dawkins, et al.) decided to come out with their polemic against the existence of God as a response to Professor Flew's alleged switching of sides--they had to do some damage control. Such was the impact of their loss of Professor Flew.

I myself withheld any conclusions as to where Professor Flew's true position lies. I thought that to be fair to him, I would interpret his beliefs as, not really deism, but a position that the existence of a God could no longer be categorically denied, that is, one cannot reasonably eliminate the existence of a God from the realm of the reasonable.

But it turns out he has written a book (with Roy Abraham Varghese) with a rather straightforward title: There Is a God (How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind) due out in October this year. Such a categorical statement! One that would no doubt ruffle feathers among the Scarlet Letter crowd. From the Harper Collins site:

In one of the biggest religion news stories of the new millennium, the Associated Press announced that Professor Antony Flew, the world's leading atheist, now believes in God.

Flew is a pioneer for modern atheism. His famous paper, Theology and Falsification, was first presented at a meeting of the Oxford Socratic Club chaired by C. S. Lewis and went on to become the most widely reprinted philosophical publication of the last five decades. Flew earned his fame by arguing that one should presuppose atheism until evidence of a God surfaces. He now believes that such evidence exists, and There Is a God chronicles his journey from staunch atheism to believer.

For the first time, this book will present a detailed and fascinating account of Flew's riveting decision to revoke his previous beliefs and argue for the existence of God. Ever since Flew's announcement, there has been great debate among atheists and believers alike about what exactly this "conversion" means. There Is a God will finally put this debate to rest.

This is a story of a brilliant mind and reasoned thinker, and where his lifelong intellectual pursuit eventually led him: belief in God as designer.

I expect either of two things from the militant atheist camp (not from the reasonable atheists--yes, there is such a thing as a reasonable atheist): 1) War drums; a concerted effort to discredit Professor Flew's arguments, if not his person or 2) Spin. "See? Flew doesnt really believe in the Christian god. He's still on the side of reason." (For reason, read: He's still one of us.).

Abangan.

Ang mga Liham ni Screwtape ni C.S. Lewis, Liham Blg. II

About this project.
Preface (Paunang salita)
Letter No. I

Notes: This letter was particularly difficult for its use of imagery and figures of speech which have no equivalent in Pilipino and I had to do the best I can to keep the mood and tone of Screwtape's letter, which was both of a loving uncle who speaks familiarly with his nephew, but also at times a higher-ranking operative of Hell, thereby sometimes writing in a more or less official manner.

I tried to keep the imagery intact. There is a part where the letter uses 'Gothic' to describe a church building, and I debated whether or not to use Gothic as-is, but in the end opted for Ang tanging nakikita ng iyong pasyente ay ang mga gusali, mga moog, mga di-pa-halos-tapos na magarbong simbahang batong itinatayo sa bakanteng lote for 'All your patient sees is the half-finished, sham Gothic erection on the new building estate.' For 'His mind is full of togas and sandals and armour and bare legs...' I added a phrase that says that this imagery is from patrician Rome which isnt in the original: Ang kanyang isip ay puno ng toga, mga sandalyas, mga baluti't kalasag at hubad na mga binti ng mga senador o heneral sa Roma. Without ng mga senador o heneral sa Roma, the image wouldnt be there. I also used 'day care' to translate 'nursery'-- as in nursery school. Day care would be more familiar to more Filipinos since the Department of Social Welfare has decided to call its pre-school program in the barrios day care centers instead of nursery schools.

I expect to be returning to this letter, as I will no doubt do with the other letters, for some tweaking here and there.

Mahal kong Wormwood,

Labis kong ikinasama ng loob na ang iyong pasyente ay naging Kristiyano. Huwag ka sanang umasa na hindi ka mapapatawan ng parusa dahil dito; tunay ngang ako'y umaasa na sa iyong masusing pagmumuni-muni sa bagay na ito, ikaw mismo'y magnanais na ika'y mapatawan ng parusa. Samantala, gawan na lang natin ng paraan upang hindi maging lubos na trahedya ang pangyayaring ito. Di natin kailangang maghinagpis; daan-daan nang mga nilalang ang nabawi natin matapos nilang saglit na mamasyal sa kampo ng Kalaban kahit na may sapat na gulang at pag-iisip na ang mga ito--sila'y nanumbalik na sa atin sa kalaunan. Lahat ng gawi ng iyong pasyente, maging sa isip niya't sa gawa, ay pabor pa rin sa atin.

Isa sa mga pinakamasigasig nating kakampi dito ay ang mismong Iglesiya. Hayaan mong ipaliwanag ko ito at baka magkamali ka ng pang-unawa sa sinabi ko. Hindi ko tinutukoy ang walang hanggang Iglesiya na siyang laganap sa lahat ng panahon, kumukupkop sa buong sansinukob, kakila-kilabot na parang isang hukbong mananakop, mga bandila'y nagsisiwagayway. Sa harap ng Iglesiyang iyan, kahit ang pinakamagiting nating mga taga-tukso'y tinatakasan ng tapang. Nguni't sa kabutihang palad, hindi ang Iglesiyang ito ang siyang nakikita ng mga taga-Lupa. Ang tanging nakikita ng iyong pasyente ay ang mga gusali, mga moog, mga di-pa-halos-tapos na magarbong simbahang batong itinatayo sa bakanteng lote. At kapag pumasok siya sa loob, ang makikita niya ay ang nagtitinda sa palengke na bakas sa mukha ang pagka-ipokrito, na lalapit sa kanya't bibigyan siya ng isang nagniningning na aklat ng liturhiya na ni isa man sa kanila'y di nauunawaan, isang munting gusgusing aklat na puno ng mga talata't bersikulong nagmamalinis sa pagkarelihiyoso, walang kwenta, at di halos mabasa sa liit ng pagkakasulat ng mga titik. At kapag nakahanap na siya ng mauupuan, lilingon siya sa paligid, at ang tatambang sa kanya ay ang kanyang mga kapit-bahay na pinagsisikapang niyang iwasan. Siguraduhin mong maisaksak mo ng maigi sa kanyang kukote ang mga kapit-bahay niyang yaon. Ipagpalit-palit mo sa isipan niya ang mga katagang tulad ng "ang katawan ni Kristo" at ang pagmumukha ng mga nasa kabilang upuan. Hindi na mahalaga, siyempre, kung anong uri ng tao ang nandoon sa kabilang upuan. Maaring siya'y isang dakilang mandirigma sa panig ng Kalaban. Di bale. Ang iyong pasyente, salamat sa ating Ama sa Kailaliman, ay isang tanga. Kung isa man sa mga kapit-bahay niyang ito'y disintonado, o may maingay na sapatos, o dalawang baba, o kasootang tila wala sa hulog, madali mong mapaniniwala ang iyong pasyente na ang kanilang pinaniniwalaang relihiyon ay katawa-tawa. Kasi sa ngayon, nililinlang niya ang kanyang sarili na kapag nasambit ang katagang "Kristiyano", ang ideyang nasa kanyang diwa ay purong ispirituwal na hindi maaaring isalarawan, subali't ang katotohanan, ang kanyang mga ideya patungkol sa 'Kristiyano" ay binubuo ng mga larawan. Ang kanyang isip ay puno ng toga, mga sandalyas, mga baluti't kalasag at hubad na mga binti ng isang senador o heneral sa Roma, at ang mismong katotohanan na pangkaraniwang kasootan lamang ang bumabalot sa katawan ng mga nagsisipagsimba ay isang tunay na suliranin para sa kanya, kahit hindi naman niya namamalayan ang suliraning ito. Dapat manatili itong hindi niya namamalayan; huwag mo siyang hayaang isipin kung ano ang inaasahan niyang anyo ng isang Kristiyano. Panatiliin mong malabo sa kanyang isipan ang lahat ng ito at sinasabi ko sa iyo na magdudulot ng walang hanggang kalibangan ang pagpapausbong sa kanya ng uri ng kaliwanagan na tanging Impiyerno lang ang makapagbibigay.

Pagsumikapan mong ipagpatuloy niyang maramdaman ang pagkabigo at panghihinayang kapag hindi niya nakamtan ang inaasahan niyang bunga ng kanyang pagiging Kristiyano, na siguradong mararamdaman ng iyong pasyente sa kanyang mga unang linggo sa iglesiya. Hinahayaan ng Kalaban na salubungin ang tao ng pagkabigo sa bukana ng bawat pagpupunyagi. Tulad ito ng nararamdaman ng isang paslit kung saan matapos niyang mamangha sa aklat na Mga Kuwento mula sa Odyssey nung siya'y nasa day care pa lamang ay pinag-interesan and seryosong pag-aaral ng wikang griyego. Nangyayari rin ito sa dalawang magsing-irog na nagpakasal at sinimulan ang di birong gawaing mamuhay sa iisang bubong. Sa lahat ng aspeto ng buhay, ang pagkabigo ang nagsisilbing tanda na ika'y nakatawid na mula sa larangan ng pangarap at panaginip tungo sa larangan ng nakapapagod na paggawa. Kaya ng Kalaban na ipagsapalaran ito pagka't mayroon siyang pantasiyang di ko mawari na tila baga nais Niyang malaya siyang mahalin at paglingkuran ng mga nakasusulasok na pesteng mga taong ito--"mga anak" ang tawag Niya sa mga ito, gamit ang nakasanayan Niyang obsesyong bulukin ang daigdig nating mga ispirito sa pamamagitan ng maanomalyang pakikipagrelasyon sa mga hayup na ito. Sa kagustuhan Niyang maging malaya ang mga ito sa kanilang mga gawi at kagustuhan, ayaw Niya silang palayawin at hinahayaan Niya silang madapa, tungo sa mga layuning inihatag Niya para sa kanila: hinahayaan Niyang hanapin nila ang landas patungo dito. Narito ang puwang upang tayo'y makapasok. Subali't tandaan mo, narito rin ang peligro. Sa oras na malampasan nila itong pasimulang pananabang, mas hindi na sila aasa sa emosyo't damdamin, at dahil dito, mas mahirap na silang matukso.

Ako'y sumusulat sa iyo sa pag-asang ang mga tao sa susunod na upuan sa simbahan ay walang makatwirang dahilan upang makaramdam ng pagkabigo. Siyempre kung mayroon man--kung alam ng iyong pasyente na ang babaeng yaon na may katawa-tawang kalo ay isang panatikong manlalaro ng pusoy o yaong lalaking may maingay na sapatos ay saksakan ng kuripot at mangingikil--mas mapadadali ang trabaho mo. Ang kailangan mo na lamang gawin ay huwag hayaang pumasok sa diwa niya ang katanungang, "Kung ako, kung ano man ako, ay maaring maituring na isang Kristiyano sa kung ano mang pakahulugan nito, bakit ko gagawing dahilan ang kung ano mang bisyo mayroon ang mga taong yaon sa kabilang upuan upang ituring kong kaplastikan o nakagawian lamang ang kanilang relihiyon?" Maaring maitanong mo kung posible nga bang hadlangan ang katanungang ito na umusbong sa pag-iisip ng isang tao. Oo naman, Wormwood, oo naman! Ingatan mo lamang siya at ang tanong na ito'y hindi mamumuo sa isipan niya. Hindi pa siya gaanong nagtatagal sa piling ng Kalaban kaya't wala pa siyang tunay na pagpapakumbaba. Kung ano man ang kanyang sabihin, kahit pa nakaluhod siya, tungkol sa kanyang pagiging makasalanan ay inuulit lamang niya na parang loro. Sa kahuli-hulihan, naniniwala pa rin siya na lamang pa rin ang kanyang kabutihan sa kanyang mga kasalanan sa talaan ng pananagutan ng Kalaban dahil hinayaan niya ang kanyang sarili na sumanib sa pananampalataya, at sa kanyang pag-iisip, nagpapakita siya ng ibayong pagpapakumbaba at kahigtan sa pagsisimba kasama ng mga suplado, "nakaismid", at pulpol na mga kapit-bahay niyang ito. Panatiliin mo siya sa ganoong pag-iisip sa abot ng iyong makakaya.

Lubos na nagmamahal,
Ang iyong Tito Screwtape

Giving elitism a bad name

In Kurt Vonnegut's novel The Sirens of Titan, there's this church congregation called Barnstable First Church of God the Utterly Indifferent where as a matter of faith, they handicap themselves so as to make sure that no one has an advantage over their fellows. The head of the congregation, a Reverend C. Horner Redwine carries about on his person 48 pounds of lead shot in bags on his chest, his back, his ankles and wrists. These weights represented "his handicaps in the race of life". Stronger persons would carry more weight, weaker ones would carry less, so that no one has an unfair edge in the race of life.

Everyone wore handicaps of some sort. Most handicaps were of an obvious sort — sashweights, bags of shot, old furnace grates — meant to hamper physical advantages. But there were, among Redwine's parishioners, several true believers who had chosen handicaps of a subtler and more telling kind.

There were women who had received by dint of dumb luck the terrific advantage of beauty. They had annihilated that unfair advantage with frumpish clothes, bad posture, chewing gum, and a ghoulish use of cosmetics.

One old man, whose only advantage was excellent eyesight, had spoiled that eyesight by wearing his wife's spectacles.

A dark young man, whose lithe, predaceous sex appeal could not be spoiled by bad clothes and bad manners, had handicapped himself with a wife who was nauseated by sex.

The dark young man's wife, who had reason to be vain about her Phi Beta Kappa key, had handicapped herself with a husband who read nothing but comic books. (Copyright © 1959 Kurt Vonnegut Jr.)

That fictional congregation has taken upon itself the responsibility of eliminating the elite. At this point in this blog post, I'd like to make a confession: I am an elitist. I say it not proudly nor shamefully, but only as a matter of fact. I believe this country should be ruled by the best and the brightest, and I do not believe that all men are equal--some people have more ability than others. In a blog post a few months back, I submitted that an elite, a moral and intellectual one, should have the sole authority to select our leaders, to try to wrest this authority from the amoral and unintellectual aristocracy who have been manipulating our electoral processes. Let me clarify something though. I believe that all men ARE created equal in that we all have equal rights given to us by nature and nature's God, that each human life is equally precious, that each human life is important. I just dont believe that we're all the same.

When I said I am an elitist, I take the word to mean a very specific thing which I mentioned in the last paragraph, that is, the belief that the best and the brightest should run the country. Also concomitant to that is the belief that the existence of an elite isnt bad, that it isnt something we can eliminate unless we can enforce the rules of the Barnstable First Church of God the Utterly Indifferent, or the rules of the Soviet Union and Red China. But over the years, elitism has acquired a distasteful meaning. The American Heritage Dictionary (via Dictionary.com) has this entry for elitism:

e·lit·ism or é·lit·ism (ĭ-lē'tĭz'əm, ā-lē'-) n.
1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.

2. a. The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class.
b. Control, rule, or domination by such a group or class.

These definitions are distasteful and is not the sort of elitism I believe in. (Dictionary.com gives 'practice of or belief in rule by an elite' as a definition, which is closer to mine.) In definition 1 of the AHD, it says the elite deserve favored treatment. No one should deserve favored treatment by virtue of being part of an elite. Definition 2a, it hardly needs saying, is the type of elitism demonstrated by a Manila Standard Today columnist for which she was justly pilloried. Definition 2b is slightly better, but not by much. It says 'control, rule, or domination', which is different from 'run' or in Filipino magpatakbo. Magpatakbo is different from control, rule, or domination; it is more like being a conductor of a symphony who allows individual sections of the orchestra to shine on their own.

The MST columnist I mentioned gave elitism a bad name. In fact, her attitude has debased elitism to the category of crime: Let us punish her for her elitism. No. Let us punish her for being a boorish--I was going to say bitch, but she has taken that term of opprobrium as something of a point of pride. Let us punish her for being a boorish, barbarian, wannabe-member-of-the-creme-de-la-creme. Your application for membership has been rejected, ma'am.

Another thing that gave elitism a bad name is the idea of class struggle. The noble, heroic proletariat against the predator elite. Granted, the elite has indeed been predatory. Parasitic even. Hence the idea of class struggle was born. But as history has shown, one predatory elite has just been replaced by another predatory elite in the era of class struggle. It is time we rescued society from predators, and we can do that via an elite that isnt waging class struggle, but via an elite that has the interests of the whole nation in mind and is willing to work together with other classes instead of exploiting them. One that recognizes that by helping the masses, they help themselves. There are those who have expressed doubts that such an elite exists, but I live in hope.

Towards the end of his book A Guide for the Perplexed, E.F. Schumacher wrote that whoever thought of the motto of the French Republic--Liberté, égalité, fraternité--was truly inspired. The first two words are opposed to each other and can only be reconciled by the third. Freedom unbridled will result in the strong lording it over the weak and would be remedied by equality enforced, such as the one in Kurt Vonnegut's novel, or in Communism. The two can only be reconciled by 'brotherhood' where the strong will look after the weak because they are brothers. That's the kind of class struggle that would save us all: The struggle to be brothers.

Ang Mga Liham ni Screwtape ni C.S. Lewis, Liham Blg. I

A big 'thank you' to Sparks for taking on the translation of George Orwell's Animal Farm. And linking to my little contribution. I hope more of us can find the time to take on this task.

About this project.
Preface to The Screwtape Letters (Paunang Salita).

Notes: I translated 'argument' as pangangatwiran, instead of pakikipagtalo wherever it appears in this letter. I think that's closer to what Lewis meant. 'It sounds as if you supposed that argument was the way to keep him out of the Enemy's clutches' I translated as Parang sa tingin mo kasi ang pangangatwiran ang siyang paraan upang hindi siya mapasakamay sa Kalaban.

'Philosophies' I translated as pilosopiya't paniniwala, instead of just straight pilosopiya. I think the way it's used in the original is all-encompassing. 'Doctrine' I translated as paniniwala, since the original doesnt have the religious connotation that the Pilipino doktrina has. I translated 'philosophy of the future' as ito'y isang paniniwalang umuusbong at lalaki sa kalaunan.

'Jargon' is translated nauusong salita. I take Lewis to mean the word in the same way we use 'buzzword' today.

I dont know of a Pilipino equivalent for 'train of thought'. The phrase occurred twice in this letter. I used a rather long-winded translation. For example, for 'Even if a particular train of thought can be twisted so as to end in our favour...' as Kahit na sabihin na nating nailigaw mo ang pinatutunguhan ng kanyang pangangatwiran upang pumabor sa atin... .

For the phrase 'immediate sense experience' I know of no equivalent expression in Pilipino either. I translated 'withdrawing his attention from the stream of immediate sense experiences' as mailayo mo ang kanyang pansin sa mga bagay na nakikita ng kanyang mga mata, naririnig ng kanyang mga tainga, naamoy, nadarama--mga bagay na nasa kanyang kapaligiran.

I took 'familiar' to mean mundane or ordinary or commonplace, so I translated it pangkaraniwan instead of pamilyar or kilala.

I

Mahal kong Wormwood,

Batid ko ang sinasabi mo patungkol sa pag-gabay mo sa iyong pasyente sa kanyang mga binabasa at sa paghihikayat sa kanya na ipagpatuloy ang pakikipagkita sa kanyang kaibigang naniniwala sa pilosopiya ng Materyalismo. Pero, hindi ka ba nauuto lang ng bahagya? Parang sa tingin mo kasi ang pangangatwiran ang siyang paraan upang hindi siya mapasakamay sa Kalaban. Maaring umubra ito kung ang iyong pasyente ay nabuhay mga ilang siglo na ang nakakaraan. Noon malinaw sa isipan ng mga tao kung kailan ang isang bagay ay napatunayan na at kung kailan hindi pa ito napapatunayan; at kung napatunayan na, pinaniniwalaan na nila ito. Para sa kanila, and pag-iisip ay karugtong ng paggawa at mas handa silang baguhin ang kanilang pamumuhay kung mapapatunayan ito sa pamamagitan ng katwiran. Subali't ngayon, sa tulong ng mga pahayagan, magasin, mga babasahing peryodiko, at iba pa nating sandata, mas nabago natin ang gawi nilang ito. Nasanay ang iyong pasyente, simula pa noong siya'y bata pa, na mayroong sandosenang pilosopiya't paniniwala na nagsasayaw sa loob ng kanyang kukote. Hindi niya iniisip na ang mga paniniwalang ito ay "totoo" o "hindi totoo," iniisip niya na ito'y "pang-teoriya" o "praktikal", "laos" o "uso", "naaayon sa palagay ng nakararami" o "walang pakialam sa palagay ng nakararami". Ang paggamit ng mga nauusong salita, at hindi ang pangangatwiran, ang pinakamatibay mong kasangga upang mapalayo siya sa Iglesia. Huwag mong aksayahin ang iyong panahon sa pagkumbinsi sa kanya na ang Materyalismo ay totoo! Hikayatin mo siya na isiping ito'y matibay, o kaya'y payak, o kaya'y magiting -- na ito'y isang paniniwalang umuusbong at lalaki sa kalaunan. Itong mga bagay na ito lamang ang mahalaga sa kanya.

Ang problema sa pangangatwiran ay inilalagay nito ang buong larangan ng pakikibaka sa teritoryo ng Kalaban. Kaya rin Niyang mangatwiran, kahit na sa larangan ng praktikal na propaganda na aking iminumumhgkahi, ipinakita Niya sa mga nakalipas na siglo na higit na mas mababa ang kakayahan Niya kaysa sa ating Ama sa Kailaliman. Sa pakikipagkatuwiran, pinupukaw mo ang iyong pasyente sa paggamit ng kanyang pangangatwiran; at kapag ito'y ganap nang nagising, sino'ng makakapagsabi kung ano ang kahihinatnan nito? Kahit na sabihin na nating nailigaw mo ang pinatutunguhan ng kanyang pangangatwiran upang pumabor sa atin, maaring maging gawi ng iyong pasyente na talakayin ang mga usaping nakaaapekto sa buong sangkatauhan at mailayo mo ang kanyang pansin sa mga bagay na nakikita ng kanyang mga mata, naririnig ng kanyang mga tainga, naamoy, nadarama--mga bagay na nasa kanyang kapaligiran. Ang iyong dapat atupagin ay ang itakda ang kanyang pansin sa mga bagay na ito lamang. Turuan mo siyang tawagin itong "tunay na buhay" at huwag mo siyang hayaang usyosohin kung ano ang ibig niyang sabihin sa salitang "tunay".

Alalahanin mo na siya'y hindi purong espirito tulad mo. Dahil hindi ka kailanman naging tao (Ang kasumpa-sumpang kalamangan sa atin ng Kalaban!) hindi mo maaring mabatid na sila'y alipin sa mga iginigiit sa kanila ng mga pangkaraniwan at pang araw-araw na mga pansinin. Minsan mayroon akong pasyente, isang maaasahang ateista, na dating madalas tumungo sa British Museum upang magbasa. Isang araw, habang siya'y nagbabasa may naulinigan akong isang diwa sa kanyang isipan na tila gusto sana niyang sundan subali't napansin ko na bumabaliko ito tungo sa mga bagay na hindi niya dapat isipin. Natural nandoon kaagad ang Kalaban sa kanyang tabi. Bago ko pa man nalaman kung anong nangyayari, nakita ko na lamang na ang pinagpaguran ko ng dalawampung taon ay namimiligro. Kung nagkataon na hindi ko kaagad naagapan ang mga pangyayari, marahil ay sinubukan kong itama siya sa pamamagitan ng pangangatwiran at tuluyan na siyang nawala sa akin. Subali't hindi ako tanga. Kaagad kong ibinaling ang kanyang pansin sa bahagi ng kanyang pagkatao na pinakamadali kong madomina at ipinasok ko sa kanyang isipan na panahon na upang mananghalian. Agad namang kinontra naman ito ng Kalaban (ito nama'y haka-haka ko lamang--alam naman nating hindi natin maliwanag na naririnig kung anong sinasabi Niya sa kanila) at sinabing mas mahalaga pa ito kaysa sa pananghalian. Pakiwari ko'y yun nga ang Kanyang sinabi pagka't nangg aking sabihing, "Tama. Lubhang mas mahalaga ito para talakayin ngayong tanghaling tapat na," agad na tumalima ang pasyente, at bago ko pa man naibulong sa kanya na "Mas maigi pang bumalik mamaya pagkapananghalian upang matalakay ito ng may sariwang pag-iisip," ay papalabas na siya upang umuwi. Pagdating niya sa kalsada, tapos na ang laban. Pinakita ko sa kanya ang nagtitinda ng pahayagan, ang Blg. 73 bus na dumaraan, at bago pa man siya tumapak sa huling baytang ng hagdan, naipasok ko na sa utak niya ang di matinag na paniniwala na kahit ano pa mang bago o kataka-takang ideya, palagay, o opinyon ang pumasok sa kukote niya kapag siya'y nag-iisa kasama ang kanyang mga aklat, kailangan lang ipakita sa kanya ang "tunay na buhay" (para sa kanya, ito'y ang bus at ang nagtitinda ng pahayagan) at sapat na ito upang ipakita na kung ano mang kuro-kuro ang pumasok sa utak niya, yaon ay malayo sa katotohanan. Batid niya kung paanong muntikan na siyang mapariwara at matapos ang ilang taon ay nakahiligan na niyang isalaysay ang tungkol sa "hindi masambit na realidad na siyang pinakapananggalang laban sa mga depekto na tanging dulot ng pag-iisip kahit lohikal man ito". Ngayon siya'y ligtas sa tahanan ng Ating Ama.

Ngayon, nakuha mo na ang aking tinutumbok? Salamat sa mga prosesong sinimulan natin sa sangkatauhan ilang siglo na ang nakararaan, tila imposible na sa kanilang paniwalaan ang di-pangkaraniwan habang ang pangkaraniwan ay nasa harap na ng kanilang mga mata. Ipilit mo sa iyong pasyente ang pagkapangkaraniwan ng lahat ng bagay. Higit sa lahat, huwag mong tangkaing gamitin ang agham o siyensiya (tinutukoy ko dito ang mga tunay na siyensiya) bilang argumento mo laban sa Kristiyanismo. Ang gagawin lamang nito ay ang itulak siya upang isipin ang mga tungkol sa mga bagay na hindi nakikita't hindi nahahawakan. Maraming malungkot na kasong ganito sa mga pisiko natin ngayon. Kung talagang hilig niya ang siyensiya, ituro mo siya sa Economics o Sociology; huwag mo siyang ihihiwalay sa napakahalagang "tunay na buhay". Nguni't ang pinakamagaling na paraan sa lahat ay huwag mo siyang hahayaang magbasa tungkol sa siyensiya nguni't kumbinsihin mo siya na sa kabuuan alam na niya ang lahat ng dapat niyang malaman at lahat ng kanyang mapulot sa pakikipaghuntahan at pagbabasa ay "bunga ng makabagong pagsasaliksik". Alalahanin mo na nandiyan ka upang guluhin ang kanyang pag-iisip. Kung mag-usap kasi kayong mga kabataan, aakalain ninuman na ang tungkulin natin ay ang magturo!

Lubos na nagmamahal,
Ang iyong Tito Screwtape

(Letter II next week.)

Preface to The Screwtape Letters

The preface is pretty short, so here it is.

About this project.

Notes: I used 'demonyo' to translate devil if there is no definite article for it. Therefore, devils was translated as mga demonyo. If the word has the definite article, that is, if it pertains to Satan, I translated it Diyablo, although it is quite possible that Lewis meant it to be translated demonyo as well, since he did not capitalize devil in the original even if he placed the definite article before it: the devil is a liar, I translated as ang Diyablo ay sinungaling.

The word 'materialist' in the original I translated as skeptiko and not materyoso since the word materialist was contrasted with the word magician, the idea being the contrast between one who believes in materialism as a philosophical worldview--not to one who is enamored with material wealth--with one who believes in magic, or one who is more spiritual. I don't know the Pilipino word for 'script' and the word is adopted as-is, instead of Filipinizing it by using iskrip. I dont know of an equivalent expression to 'wishful thinking' either and therefore used a rather long-winded approach at the end of the third paragraph.

I'll try to come up with a translation of the first letter by the end of the week, inshallah.

Paunang Salita

Una sa lahat, wala akong balak na ipaliwanag kung paano napasakamay sa akin ang mga liham na siyang tangan ko ngayon.

May dalawang magkapantay, bagkus magkasalungat na pagkakamali na kung saan ang sangkatauhan ay maaring matisod pagdating sa mga demonyo. Ang una ay ang hindi paniniwala na mayroon ngang mga ganoong nilalang. Ang isa nama'y ang paniwalaan ito nguni't magkaroon ng labis na interes sa mga ito--interes na nakasisira na sa kanyang sariling kapakanan. Sila mismo'y natutuwa sa mga pagkakamaling ito at ang pagbubunyi nila sa ang isang skeptiko ay kapantay ng kanilang pagbubunyi sa isang naniniwala sa salamangka--pantay lamang nilang tinitignan ang mga ito. Ang script na ginamit ko sa aklat na ito ay maaring makuha ng sinumang makasanayang ito'y matutunan, subali't ang nga walang interes dito at yaong mga madaling magpadala sa damdamin na may hindi tamang balak dito, sabihin na lamang natin na hindi n'yo sa akin ito natutunan.

Pinapayuhan ko ang mga mambabasa na huwag kalilimutan na ang Diyablo ay sinungaling. Hindi lahat ng sinabi ni Screwtape ay dapat nating ituring na katotohanan, kahit mismo sa sarili na niyang pananaw. Hindi ko tinangkang tukuyin ang sino mang mga tao na binanggit sa mga liham, subali't sa aking palagay, malayong ang pagsasalarawan sa mga ito, halimbawa kay Padre Spike o sa ina ng pasyente, ay tugma sa kanila sa kabuuan. Marunong din naman silang manlinlang ng sarili sa Impiyerno tulad ng ginagawa ng mga tao sa Lupa kung saan minsan ang mga hinahangad nila ay hindi naman tumutugma sa realidad subali't pinagpipilitan pa rin nila ito sa kanilang mga sarili.

Bilang pangwakas, hindi ko na binigyan ng panahon ang tamang pagkakasunud-sunod ng mga liham. Ang liham blg. XVII ay tila binuo bago pa man ipinasya ng pamahalaan ang pagrarasyon, nguni't sa kabuuan, ang paraan ng pagbatid ng oras at petsa ng mga demonyo ay tila walang kinalaman sa oras at petsa dito sa Lupa kung kaya't hindi ko na pinag-aksayahan ng panahon na malaman kung anong katumbas na oras at petsa dito sa Lupa ang tinutukoy sa mga liham. Sa mga pangyayari sa digmaan sa Europa, liban sa mga pagkakataon na may katuturan ito sa ispirituwal na kalagayan ng isang nilalang, si Screwtape ay walang pakialam.

C.S. Lewis
Magdalen College
Ika-5 ng Hulyo, 1941