'Give peace a chance'

Remember the song and the movement that grew out of it?

- CITO BELTRAN

Who would have imagined that a handful of musicians that starred John Lennon and Yoko Ono could help light up a counter-culture and anti-war movement that built up over several years, led to thousands of protests, clashes and political turmoil that eventually dislodged "fascist" governors and ran a US president out of office?

In hindsight, it was not just the singers and the song. Americans and other people around the world had gotten tired of the Vietnam war that turned out to be all about sustaining a "war-time economy" that made the weapons industry rich and American families poorer.

They also grew tired of burying their young and innocent men who were dying in rice paddies as well as college campus protests. The song simply became the theme song to a counter-offensive already born.

Today, the Iglesia Ni Cristo or INC is scheduled to stage a "Peace Rally." The action conveys the message that Filipinos need to place greater value on national peace, national unity over political polarization, division and destabilization. When a group as big and as influential as the INC calls for Peace, there is cause for concern.

Regardless of political leanings or parties, there is no denying that the country started out having a politically united administration with great economic potential highlighted by peace and stability.