WEAPONIZED NOSTALGIA Made of Memories

SOPHIE MIREILLE ECHIVARRE

LONGING FOR HAPPIER TIMES from the past seems to be one of the most harmless human experiences, but as the past national elections have unfortunately shown us, nostalgia ceases to be harmless once it becomes a tool in a fascist’s arsenal. We saw how the Marcos-Duterte ticket successfully used nostalgia to lure people into a promise of “the golden age” of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., former president and dictator. Months into the Marcos-Duterte administration, crisis over crisis have become the norm. Some say that we deserve to suffer because we voted for these butchers. Tempting as it may be to believe them, any analysis that blames voters alone ignores how those in power have always used mythmaking to distort history for their benefit and legitimize fascist rule.

The Marcoses have a long history of weaponizing nostalgia to suit their purposes, diving deep into the collective consciousness of the nation, primarily through the use of myths and extravagance to hide the skeletons in the closet. The father commissioned paintings depicting himself and his wife as Malakas and Maganda from ancient creation myths. The mother’s “edifice complex” created the illusion of progress funded by foreign loans our grandchildren will probably still be paying off. The father’s cult of personality was built on credentials as a Bar topnotcher and hero of the Second World War (still fresh in many Filipinos’ memories of when he first came to power) that were later discovered to be false like the golden age of his regime was later claimed to be. All of this set the stage for his son’s campaign, which was built on nothing but the manufactured memory of his father’s regime.

This manipulative strategy has also been wielded to deadly effect by the Dutertes. The father built his image as the iron-fisted mayor of Davao who brought the city peace and discipline, conveniently leaving out how many people were killed or disappeared at the hands of the so-called Davao Death Squad. He also played to our culture’s machismo, joking about shooting female rebels in the genitals and saying addicts deserve death. While the daughter claims the narrative of feminism when convenient, all she does is reinforce the same mold of masculinized, authoritarian power.

One narrative common to these families, given their origins in Ilocos Norte and in Davao, is that of the probinsyano ostracized by Imperial Manila. This also weaponizes nostalgia, as many Filipinos remember their roots in the provinces as members of the peasantry, and no doubt relate to being oppressed and othered, making us want to cast our votes for the underdog. But this story leaves out how both families were already power players back home before stepping onto the national stage. Far from being excluded, they forge alliances with the oligarchs they claim to hate once it proves to be politically advantageous.

Now, months into their leadership, Marcos and Duterte-Carpio have been proving themselves to be weak and corrupt leaders who only seek to protect their families from the judgment of history. Inflation keeps on increasing, as marked by the whooping PHP 600 per kilo of red onions and the recent 45% increase in the prices of eggs. The persistent learning crisis brought on by the pandemic still fails to be addressed by the Department of Education. And while many Filipinos have now been looking for ways to adapt to the ongoing health and economic crisis, the president is now on his eighth trip abroad just seven months into his leadership, carrying with him his family and other close friends enjoying leisure paid by our national coffers.

As proved by the history of authoritarian and fascist regimes, building power from false memory can only go as far. The Marcos-Duterte tandem would do well to enjoy it while it lasts, because it only takes one crisis to blow down the house of cards. There are now people who regret voting for the son of the dictator and the daughter of the fascist.

At this point, we should understand that blaming the voters for their choices while ignoring the corrupted information ecology of the country from which Filipinos can draw their decisions is a myopic point-of-view. It is even counterproductive to the movement and will cast a negative image on us should we continue to guilt people who are already beginning to see how they have been victimized by disinformation. While we have the responsibility to educate ourselves, what sets the blame squarely on the shoulders of these two families is the massive machinery they can access with their capital. The average Filipino can lie about their credentials, but without connections, they have a low chance of landing even a minimum wage job, much less the highest office in the land. The average Filipino can post a madeup achievement online, but without money to pay Cambridge Analytica, 31 million people will not believe them. That is the power asymmetry victimblaming narratives demonizing the masses don’t recognize.

The only way to take back control of the narrative is to recognize our nation is made of all our memories, which dictators can bury for a time but can never destroy. We must acknowledge that collective amnesia encircling people with false nostalgia exists and has even intensified, thus the prerogative to act now. Honoring our history is not nostalgia for a glorious past, but collective responsibility that listens to the purposely unheard and holds space for the ugly truth that our leaders are not the heroes we wish they could be. As we are beset by crisis after crisis during the Marcos-Duterte term, it is becoming increasingly difficult for these two dynasties to maintain the facade that their rule is a golden age. The urgency to stop state-sponsored violence from claiming more and more lives means that there is even less room for complacency, for finger-pointing, for “I told you so.” Now that those in power are threatened by the growing realization that the spell they cast on us is about to be broken, and want nothing more than for us to forget, the task laid out for us the next six years and beyond is clear: to open our eyes to the realities and remember.▼

AT LEAST