Of Horses and Men
One of my favorite American authors is John Steinbeck and one of my favorite novels is his Of Mice and Men. In deference to this well respected man and his great literary work, I am replicating the title of his novel for my most recent column.

What is happening these days? Are you hearing and feeling something unusual? If you raise the level of your sensitivity to your surroundings, you would probably feel a light tremor coming from a distance. You might even hear a rather indistinguishable clatter of hooves, building up and becoming clearer each day. Your senses are not deceiving you. There is in fact a cluster of horses from a distance all coming at different paces towards the direction of us men. Some horses are merely trotting; others prefer to canter; still others are getting keyed up to gallop. This tremor and clatter of hooves will culminate in one historical event sometime in June of 2010. Let the horses come to us men.

A horse is an imagery that has been much exploited in epics and novels, in songs and poetry, in dreams and fantasies, in inspirational anecdotes and advertising with sexual undertones. It has also been used by us men as a tool to win wars and enhance commerce. Every man’s best friend is his horse, so goes the song. But what are the qualities of a horse to deserve such honor? A horse is the symbol of sinews, speed, and the alacrity to do many things for the people it serves. A horse, therefore, becomes a fitting symbol of a true servant of the people who should possess adequate physical capacity to do many things, a sense of urgency to act, and the right attitude and moral disposition to serve.

And who are we men that the horses will come to in June of 2010? We men are endowed with intellect to discern right from wrong, bad from good, better from mediocre. Our whole life as men is a long series of choices we make which eventually determine the kind of intellectual human beings that we make of ourselves. Come June of 2010, we men will make one big choice and we are expected to make one big right decision. Our bet should not be based on the popularity of the horse, or on the peso ante being called for. Remember to base our choice on the sinews, speed, and alacrity of the horse. If we don’t, we will be less of men.

Here in Paniqui, it will be easy to spot the real horse with fine qualities. One mayoral candidate stands tall while inadvertently exhibiting sinews, speed, and alacrity. Investigate and analyze the qualities of the horse and this public servant. Activate your imagination. But don’t let your imagination soar or you may get too physical.

Want a clue? His name rhymes with “horse”. For comments / reactions, please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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