1. When I was young, I used to be an idealist.

I would believe that good always

triumphs over evil; that there is no grey area in something that can be delineated
between black or white; that what I believed to be right would always trump
something that is inherently wrong. Growing up, I would realize that becoming a
realist makes more sense than living in a bubble, or a fairytale.

I agree with Ric that the truth should be told to children, even at a fragile age. It’s
just a matter of breaking it down to them gently. In the movie, we see Day’s
apprehension of exposing Kip to the outside world. However, we eventually see the
parents giving Kip a choice to experience the real world, and eventually, a choice to
live outside the bubble he lives in. This is how parenting should be done. Parents
should give their children a choice. If the latter makes the wrong choice, then the
former should be there to make them realize the consequences and gravity of their
choice, and encourage them to discern better next time. If the latter makes the right
choice, then the former should continue watching over the latter in the hopes they
would always make the right choice. Kip, I believe, realized that family was always
the right choice.

Sugarcoating the truth isn’t always the best route to pursue. In a world full of
purveyors of fake news, the youth can benefit more from parents instilling the value
that the truth, no matter how hard to swallow, will always prevail in the end. It is
only when we embrace truth that we can continue to live in an orderly society.

2. At the onset of Martial Law, its declaration may have seemed reasonable to quell
the alleged threat posed by rebels. However, during its validity and even upon the
lifting of the proclamation, that era was marred by human rights abuses, extra-
judicial killings and disappearances, political persecution and incarceration. The
1987 Constitution saw to it that the abuse of power shall not be repeated again. The
1987 Constitution was a by-product of the EDSA revolution. It is when society
stormed the streets, and found it their moral obligation to depose a dictator whose
actions seemed reprehensible even to his former allies. It was a revolution marred
by peace and prayer, wherein society decided to terminate the rule of one who used
the law to consolidate his power and plunge the nation into darkness.

The morality of the conduct of Martial Law cannot be considered separate from the
legality of the proclamation for the very reason that the law was used to subvert the
most sacrosanct rights of a human being. The rule of law ends where the law rules
in contravention of life and natural law.

In his separate opinion in Republic vs. Sandiganbayan, Justice Puno highlighted

Henry Campbell Black’s natural law point of view, that “the right of revolution has
been defined as an inherent right of a people to cast out their rulers, change their policy
or effect radical reforms in their system of government or institutions by force or a
general uprising when the legal and constitutional methods of making such change have
proved inadequate or are so obstructed as to be unavailable.” If morality is to be
considered separate from the law, then we risk plunging the Philippines again into
an era wherein a despotic would be allowed to destroy a country hungry to recover
its status as a great nation. Finally, to quote Justice Puno, “without respect for natural
rights, man cannot rise to the full height of his humanity”.