Books we should read to understand humanity today
By Rev. Fr. Ramon Echica
Dean of Studies of the San Carlos Major Seminary
Cebu City
To encourage especially my students to read, let me summarize some books I have finished reading within the last month or two:
Rev. Fr. Ramon Echica
1. Toward a Bai Theology: Catholic Feminism in the Philippines. Edited by Virginia Fabella and Agnes Brazal (Claretian Communications, 2023).
Many Christians refuse to even utter this F-word. No, it is not what you reader may be thinking now. The F-word refers to feminism. We often associate feminism with pro-choice and bra-burning. But is there a feminism which is Catholic and Filipina? The contributors of this selection would answer yes. (I was asked by one of the editors to write a book review and so this summary would suffice for now).
Toward a Bai Theology, Catholic Feminism in the Philippines
2. The Marcos Era: A Reader. Edited by Leia Castaneda Anastacio and Patricio Abinales (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2022).
This is a collection of articles coming from scholars belonging to different fields. Contributors include historians, (Patricio Abinales, Felimon Aguilar, Vicente Rafael) economist (Jan Carlo Punongbayan), journalists (Sheila Coronel, Maries Vitug Manuel Quezon III, Glenda Gloria), lawyer and legal scholar (Leia Castaneda Anastacio), scholars of Mindanao history (Patricio Abinales and Thomas McKeena) literary critic (Caroline Hau) etc.
This book is useful to answer the romanticization of the Marcos era done by those who are hopelessly nostalgic of our experience of authoritarianism. But it can also be a material for introspection among scholars: Why was there a failure to write history in understandable terms immediately after the euphoria of 1986?
The Marcos Era. A Reader
Silence A Christian History
3. Silence: A Christian History by Diarmaid MacCullough. (Viking, 2013).
I bought this book since I like the previous works written by the author. He writes history without the usual boring prose of academic language. Another factor that enticed me to read it was that this book arose from Gifford Lectures. (Such lectures have often produced classics, like The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James.)
But the weightiest enticement was the title itself, which made think that this was a history of monasticism and mysticism. Well, while indeed a great part of the book contains the history of mysticism, it was also so much more. It also includes the attempts of the establishment to silence those whistle blowers whose noise can be embarrassing. As the author writes, “As we know from many walks of life, the powerful often have a lot to hide, and they strive to regulate the right to silence.”
4. The Tyranny of the Minority by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (Crown, 2023).
The book, written by two Harvard University professors, may not be as urgent now since Donald Trump won both the electoral and the popular votes. But a closer look at the results would reveal that Trump won only by a slim margin in the popular vote although he won the electoral vote comfortably.
It was different in 2016 when he lost the popular vote but won in the electoral college. That a loser in the popular vote eventually became a president also happened in 2000 elections contested by Al Gore and the younger Bush. It also happened three times in the 19th century.
The Tyranny of the Minority
The two authors suggest some amendments to the current system. Among them are: 1. Abolish the Electoral College. As things now stand, the United States is the only presidential democracy that allows a loser in the popular vote to win the presidency. 2. The number of Senators for each state should be proportionate to the number of citizens. As things now stand, big states like California and Texas have the same number of senators as small states like Vermont and Wyoming. 3. Abolish the Senate rule that requires two-thirds vote to end a filibuster. In the composition of the Senate for the past several decades, two-third majority is difficult to achieve and thus the minority can filibuster for an unlimited period, ensuring that the debate would never end and a given measure would not be put into a vote. (NB: This proposed change does not require constitutional amendment.) 4. Establish term limits for Supreme Court justices.
But let me go beyond this latest book. One helpful idea, the relevance of which is not limited to the United States, is that any responsible political party must be the gatekeepers of democracy. This is the idea discussed in How Democracies Die, an earlier work by the same authors. It means that those in a political party who are close enough to the candidate would know whether he or she is simply a demagogue who has endeared the majority of the population. The party would know his or her authoritarian tendencies. It is therefore the responsibility of the party to keep this candidate far from the centers of power. After all, it is not simply about winning. It is also ensuring that democracy will thrive.
(Editor’s Note: I came across this essay on the social media account of Fr. Ramon, and immediately took a liking, another opportunity for learning. Published here with permission. Fr. Ramon is the author of the award-winning Jesus for Filipinos: Reflections on Philippine Social Issues in the Light of the Gospel. He obtained his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of Leuven in 1998.)
