Thanks to Plethora, a lesson on euphemism
Imagine a song that can make you remember many things, even if some of these things have nothing to do with the song.
I was reviewing – or rather, refreshing my knowledge of – the different figures of speech when I came across the news of a looming power crisis in Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines, where the National Capital Region and some of the country’s most prosperous cities and provinces are located. (I studied most figures of speech in the first semester of my junior year in college – just weeks before I heard “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance and “Stolen” by Dashboard Confessional.)
I had gone through the chapters on simile, metaphor, personification, allusion, metonymy, hyperbole, and many others until I arrived at the chapter on euphemism.
What is euphemism? The author (a Jesuit priest) of the book on figures of speech (that I photocopied) defines euphemism as “the use of a pleasant or pale expression instead of an unpleasant, harsh or depressing one.”
“Euphemism may be cowardice when it is used to veil the harsh realities of life that disturb,” the author-priest says. “It is decency when it serves to avoid the crude expressions that describe certain physical aspects of human nature. It is kindness when it spares others the shock of painful reminders.”
How to explain euphemism? “It suffices to point out what the pale of fine words really stand for; thus the words, ‘When your father was away,’ may discreetly refer to the time he was in jail or in the mental hospital.”
What are the examples of euphemism? The author-priest gives a few examples. Dull or lazy children are called underachievers; old people, senior citizens; janitors, custodians; hard times, a depression; the jobless, the unemployed; and vomit bags are labeled “For motion discomfort.”
Politicians often use euphemism cleverly. Sukarno, the late President of Indonesia, called his aristocratic regime “guided democracy,” in which he disbanded the parliament and replaced it with a new parliament where half the members were appointed by him, imprisoned his political opponents, closed down newspapers that were critical of his policies, became president for life, developed a personality cult, and neglected his country’s economy.
Perhaps the most chilling example of euphemism is the use of “final solution” in Nazi Germany (Hitler’s Germany) to mean the cold-blooded murder of six million Jews in gas ovens.
While going through the aforementioned examples of euphemism, I recalled another example: the “bagong lipunan” or new society (under the cloak of constitutional authoritarianism or dictatorship) of Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., the father of the current President of the Philippines Bongbong Marcos. Marcos Sr. is infamous for his corruption, crony capitalism, abuse of power, display of extravagance, and human rights violations.
Thanks to Plethora, a throwback to Marcos evils
Thanks to the examples of euphemism, the recall on the evils committed by the Marcos family also led me to recall a song I first heard on Reddit: “Bagong Lipunan” by Filipino rock band Plethora.
Plethora was just one of the many celebrities that supported the Bongbong Marcos-Sara Duterte ticket (UniTeam Alliance) in the last election. They are, however, less popular than their fellow UniTeam supporters, such as Andrew E. and Toni Gonzaga. Plethora is even less popular than the artists that supported BBM’s opponent Leni Robredo, such as Ogie Alcasid, Ben&Ben, Regine Velasquez, Ely Buendia (of Eraserheads), Jose Mari Chan, Kim Chiu, Yeng Constantino, Ebe Dancel (formerly of Sugarfree), The Dawn, Gloc-9, Moonstar88, Gary Valenciano, and many, many others.
“Bagong Lipunan” by Plethora is the modern version of the anthem, which also goes by the same name and is also known as “Bagong Pagsilang” (New Birth or Rebirth) and “March of the New Society.” Written by National Artist Levi Celerio and composed by National Artist Felipe Padilla de León, the song was commissioned during the regime of Marcos Sr. to promote his constitutional authoritarianism, which lasted from 1973 to 1986.
From Wikipedia, “According to the composer’s eldest son, Felipe Mendoza de Leon, two days after the declaration of martial law, at 2 a.m., two military trucks came to their house asking for a “hymn and a march for the New Society” as requested by First Lady Imelda Marcos to be delivered by Sunday.
“Felipe asked his son for help, with the father focusing on the hymn and the son working on the first 16-bars of the march. After the hymn was finished, he completed the rest of the march his son has started. The composer is said to have put subversive elements to Bagong Pagsilang, just like he did on his 1942 “Awit sa Paglikha ng Bagong Pilipinas.” According to his eldest son on a lecture, the composer secretly quoted a portion of the protest song “Bayan Ko” in a part of the song.”
How did I come across “Bagong Lipunan” by Plethora on Reddit? Well, it was just a few weeks ago when the province of Occidental Mindoro (just one of the many provinces where Bongbong Marcos won over Leni Robredo) was placed under a state of power crisis due to shortage of power supply, affecting thousands of residents.
A redditor shared a TikTok video about the rally that affected residents held to demand the government to resolve the power crisis. The TikTok video played excerpts of “Bagong Lipunan” by Plethora. After I understood the context of the video and post and hearing the lyrics of “Bagong Lipunan,” I laughed too hard internally. I then listened to the whole song on YouTube.
The 31 million people who voted for BBM believe the son will bring back the golden age of economic prosperity, to how life was great during the conjugal dictatorship of his father and mother Imelda Marcos.
Almost all 31 million Marcos voters deny that the Marcoses stole billions from public coffers and received kickbacks from their cronies during the dictatorship. They downplayed the gross human right violations the Marcoses, their cronies, and their allies committed during the elder Marcos’ 20-year rule.
Many of the 31 million people believe the Marcos family owns tons of gold, which, they claim, is the source of their immense wealth. They believe the Marcoses deposited the gold bars abroad and will withdraw them to pay off the Philippines’ debts. They believe that with these gold bars, the son will revive the golden age of economic prosperity of his father, who once held the Guinness World Record for greatest robbery of a government.
The “Bagong Lipunan” of Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. during his and his wife Imelda Marcos’ conjugal dictatorship was the golden age for human right abuses, corruption, plunder, crony capitalism, edifice complex, abuse of power, and other forms of evils. The Marcoses lived lavishly during a period of economic crisis and civil unrest in the Philippines.
Imelda spent taxpayers’ money on extravagant parties, shopping sprees, and her personal art, jewelry and shoe collections. Bongbong Marcos’ sister, Senator Imee Marcos masterminded the torture and murder of student activist Archimedes Trajano in 1977. These are just some of the many crimes the Marcos family committed during the constitutional authoritarianism.
Plethora sang “Bagong Lipunan” amidst the campaign of Bongbong Marcos, whom the British media network BBC says is trying to revive a corrupt dynasty. The YouTube users among the 31 million BBM stream the “Bagong Lipunan” music video amidst the country’s socioeconomic problems:
- High inflation rate
- Weakening Philippine Peso
- Soaring gas prices
- Shortage of sugar, salt, and white onion
- Educational crisis
- High crime rate
- High external debt
- High poverty incidence
Is “Bagong Lipunan” by Plethora a euphemism for the revival of the corrupt Marcos dynasty?
Is “Bagong Lipunan” by Plethora a euphemism for the return of Bongbong Marcos to the partying days of his youth?
Is “Bagong Lipunan” by Plethora a euphemism for any of the following: kleptocracy, corruption, crony capitalism, abuse of power, display of extravagance, and human rights violations?
I wonder how much Plethora had been paid by the Bongbong Marcos-Sara Duterte campaign.
One thing I know is that the “Bagong Lipunan” of both Marcos Sr. and Marcos Jr. is despicable.
Thank you, Plethora, for reminding me how evil the Marcoses are.
Recommended readings:
Five things to know about Martial Law in the Philippines | Amnesty International
Human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship | Wikipedia
Marcos’ martial law: Golden age for corruption, abuses – Inquirer.Net
No evidence of ill-gotten wealth? MONEY TRAIL: THE MARCOS BILLIONS | Philippine Star
WikiLeaks: Imelda Marcos was a ‘pest more than a guest’ in US
Music and Memories 