Life, according to Sally Field

‘Life is like a box of chocolates,’ Sally Field’s character in ‘Forrest Gump’ wisely told her simple-minded son, ‘because you never know what you’re gonna get.’ True, life is full of surprises, pleasant and otherwise. Just a few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to the sound of rain, something that has not happened in months. I looked out my window and saw that the clay-tiled verandah is wet and slick with rain. So I promptly went out of my room, stripped off my shirt and frolicked in the rain, by myself.

Mind you, this is not the first rain of the year but this is special because it came in the middle of summer. I guess I have global warming to thank for this: freaky weather has become sorta the norm these days. Gone were the days when you can count on the calendar to anticipate weather. In any case, there I was, at seven in the morning, prancing on the verandah, unmindful that I might at any moment slip and break my head on the clay tiles. The rain brought back a deluge of happy memories, enough to wash away the taint of ennui that seems to hang over me like, well, heavy rain-clouds.

For a few minutes I was unaware of time, and of the fact that my neighbors, whose houses tower over our own, might be looking down on me and my ample body, perhaps wondering if they were indeed seeing what they were seeing. A beached whale or something to that effect. I only stopped when I saw the tips of my fingers were wrinkled; a sign–learned from childhood that I had bathed enough. I showered in my real bathroom before heading downstairs for coffee and breakfast.

A few hours ago, while I was awaiting for Ibuprofen to take effect on my aching head, I saw a change in a friend’s FB status. I clicked on the link that came with it and was pleasantly surprised (and relieved, actually) to learn that the Philippine Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) regarding Ang Ladlad, the LGBT partylist, who was rejected months ago by the COMELEC on moral grounds.

Moral grounds my ass. Whatever happened to the separation of the church and state? And the fact that morality cannot be legislated by the state? If I weren’t too busy here in Cambodia, I would’ve hailed Blossom and the other Pagoda Girls so we could storm the COMELEC and make them pay for such libelous pronouncements! So unbecoming of government officials! Tse!

Fortunately, the Supreme Court adheres to lucidity in thinking when they decided on this matter. I quote: “As such, we hold that moral disapproval, without more, is not a sufficient governmental interest to justify exclusion of homosexuals from participation in the party-list system.  The denial of Ang Ladlad’s registration on purely moral grounds amounts more to a statement of dislike and disapproval of homosexuals, rather than a tool to further any substantial public interest. Respondent’s blanket justifications give rise to the inevitable conclusion that the COMELEC targets homosexuals themselves as a class, not because of any particular morally reprehensible act.”

Congratulations to the LGBT advocates who tirelessly worked to achieve this. Life is full of surprises, indeed. Sometimes we need to have darkness so we can better appreciate the light. The pink lights of Ang Ladlad. Together, we can take Ang Ladlad to congress. After congress? The Senate? Ay andami na bading at biyaning doon! And who knows, maybe the Presidency itself.