History, the nation builder, and an Empire of false memories
A lot of fake histories are making a surge in popularity across different social media platforms. They boast engaging and near-convincing content of our country’s potential to greatness had we honored and continued the legacy of the late dictator, saying that this is the real history that was not recorded by scholars because it doesn’t follow their self-ambitious, elitist-driven agenda.
A lot of us are quick to storm the net, readily armed with well-vetted textbooks from prestigious and well-respected historians both locally and abroad. Tirades of arguments backed with the necessary materials (with proper citations even) in hopes of educating misinformed apologists. But it didn’t seem to convince nor deter any of the supporters, taking to their own truths because they believe the published ones to be stained with yellow-propaganda, and arguing that the lived experiences of their families during that time trump the written text.
It’s not wrong to say that lived experiences carry truth to them. After all, they’re unaltered memories of a past they were a part of. But it’s also correct to say that they’re an inaccurate, or rather, incomplete depiction of the past.
A sizable portion of those reading, might not have experienced the brutish and sadistic force of Duterte’s tyrannical drug war, but it wouldn’t be correct to say that we lived in peace and prosperity, nor has illegal drug usage significantly lessened (one might even argue it exacerbated). Quite the opposite, we lived in equal parts fear and outrage. The lot of us who haven’t experienced its horrors, lived under stable and relatively comfortable middle to upper-middle-class lives, in homes within quiet neighborhoods that would not be suspected nor targeted as a drug den, watching the horrors unfold as reports of people gunned down in the slums became a recurring story in the news. (Sadly, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that years from now, Duterte will be remembered as a strong president whose bloody iron fist of terror has brought the Philippines towards peace, our History once again, distorted.)
So no, it wouldn’t be accurate to say we lived under clean governance at all, despite our relatively stable lived experiences.
And yet, despite the abundance of data showing the number of human rights abuses and suppression of democratic freedom during the Marcos dictatorship, why are people still adamant on wanting another Marcos in the seat of power? Why are lies the leading driving force of our politics?
I find that the problem wasn’t just about proving the legitimacy of textbooks but rather, the status they hold as educational material. Foregoing the claims loyalists spout that they’re written by biased “dilawan” scholars, I think the reason why so many refuse to read these important books, is because of how the overall discipline is seen and treated, from different parts of our educational spectrum.
History, especially in Primary and Secondary school teaching, were often (not always but often) hinged on the convenience of providing raw data but with no explanation as to why they’re relevant. Other than being part of the required course outline. I’ve had the good fortune of having good teachers who taught the subject in both an engaging digestible manner and helped provide perspective, as what the subject was intended for.
There’s this recurring stereotype that history is all about memorization. That it’s all just a matter of remembering this and that, from there and when, but little else. Admittedly, I was one of those who fell towards that stereotype. I was a poor student of history during that time and only saw it as a necessity to pass with a decent grade (which is a separate issue I’d like to tackle for another time).
Paired with the teaching of Philippine History being severely limited to almost into a single academic year, with a discipline so vast and complex to handle, one cannot unpack a millennia's worth of phenomena in a single academic year, leaving our historical awareness, half-baked.
In college, the current condition is that those who legitimately appreciate history as a subject or a social science related to history, are going to be primarily, dare I say the only ones who are going to respect and understand its value, which are typically History majors or those within the social sciences. A poor parallel of this is my relationship with cars. I’m not the biggest car enthusiast so it doesn’t really matter to me as much which model is the most fitting for me or which is the better transmission, as long as it gets me from point A to B and gets the job done, that’s all that matters.
That’s exactly what history is for trolls: getting the job done conveniently, regardless of what the facts are. But misinformation isn’t the sole issue. Academia in itself is perceived as an elitist circle. With its jargons and methodologies so daunting they are only understood by the trained few, studying credible articles from credible journals, digestible only to the people in that particular field, barely reaching outside the confines of academic studies.
Despite its attempts to expand its reach, it also wouldn’t be wrong to say that academia is an echo-chamber, with limited reach to the outside world. However, its use has been less of expanding the pool of general knowledge, and more keen on using it as ammunition for sophisticated, but unintentionally alienating rebuttals and corrections. Titles are often the forerunners of sharing data rather than the data itself. The value of prestige often overshadows what is really needed to be said. Evidently, I see this as the equivalent of just making a grammatical correction to someone. It’s you’re not your.
So, given all these factors, how do you convince people of a false past?
You make it digestible enough to be convincing.
What history has become, lately is a gold mine, malleable enough into bastardizing the truth with generalized, outlandish, and irresponsibly unfounded claims.
Using trivia-esque approaches and sensationalizing people like something out of a long-running telenovela, it has enticed audiences into a false semblance of being better informed, if not, reassured. In these bursts of TikTok and YouTube content, history is presented as equal parts interesting and accessible for its underground conspiracy-like feel, despite its absurdity.
But underneath it all is really a marketing ad. It shows how our country can supposedly rise above our unsatisfactory living conditions. Depicting cities with less-congested roads and filled with modernized buildings that boasts “culture” and “innovation”. It even brings about the idea that we have, and could again, compete economically against other developed countries in Asia, and reclaim itself into being a Tiger-economy similar to that of the United States.
Hearing all these like a genuinely attainable possibility became much easier to be drawn towards more of its lies.
Even when they purposefully leave out the parts of the abuses, the expense of human lives lost just to erect edifices that are ultimately fruitless. What is often untalked about is how the Marcos dictatorship great contributed our economic decline despite what’s being spread across the different platforms, devaluating our currency and diminishing the wages of workers.
The problem is however, their approach works. Not just for its festering group of unwavering trolls, but also towards other people. The readily curious but uncareful of where to look.
Like a lot of the loyalists proclaim, the lived experience trumps the written work. Intertwine it with fake history and it undoubtedly becomes a recipe for murdering truth altogether.
Despite my cynical tone for the past paragraphs, I’m not saying that academia nor history in itself is hopeless against an army of the ignorant and the misguided. Far from it, I still firmly stand by the idea that the overall populace are not beyond being better informed, and that one day, generations ahead of us will have a better and more critical appreciation of our History. It’s undeniable that at times it feels discouraging and futile to even try, myself included in those instances. But we keep trying anyway.
We always say History lays the foundations of our country and heritage today. But in order to realize that, it first starts into both learning and teaching why all of these should matter, and where does it fit into the bigger picture. That the discipline is not just a platform to bolster one’s fake achievements in the spirit of self-importance, but rather a glimpse into what development could actually look like beyond the boasted infrastructure.
