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20 Organization and Organism

Still on the question of organization, the peasants often refer to the Biblical analogy of the people as a body or an organism.

Philippine society, Mang Kiko says at a meeting, can be compared to a human organism. A healthy body is a compete set of organizations, be says. You all know that if I should cut my finger, which I won’t do, I would cut at least four or five organizations: an organization of the veins, one of the nerves, another one of the muscles, stills another one of the bones, and so on – which all work to the total organism.

Those of us who had some opportunity to have a little bit of formal schooling were told that cells organize into a tissue, into a muscle, and something else I can’t very well remember.

At any rate, Mang Kiko continues, a big part of the problem in our society now is the fact that this social body is sick; many of its organs, feet, etc, are not organized.

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Take the cells of the hand, for instance: if they are isolated from one another, in other words, if they are not organized, they could not unify the sensation of touching this plough, for instance. A cell would say, “Well, I felt something cold here,” and another cell would say, “I feel something smooth here...” The organ cannot identify and unify the sensation because the cells are not connected with one another.

It is like our own situation: before we overcame our isolation and organized ourselves, each one of us had all sorts of notions about what was bothering us.

Even the good people who approached us individually in our homes to tell us what our problems were could never get a picture of our situation that was concrete, complete, and realistic. Because, like in the body, there are certain sensations which only the cells of the hand can feel and transmit.

There are certain problems of women, Aling Tiba almost shouts, which only women can feel and express. I suppose, she continues, there are certain problems which only the landlords can feel and express.

Certainly, there are numerous problems of which only we ourselves can feel and express. But from our experience we know now that only when we organize ourselves can we realistically feel and express these problems, interests, and aspirations.

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At this point, Mang Kiko introduces .another note. He says, it is in the nature of the bird to fly and of the snake to crawl. Do we ha»e a right to tell the bird: “Don't fly, I forbid you!” “1 command you not to crawl!”? I don’t think so.

It is also in our nature, I think to need each other, to associate with each other, and to gather. Can the government, then, have the right to tell us. “You are hereby forbidden to need each other, and to associate together, you are prohibited to organize yourselves.” My friends, I say, that this urge in us to form our own associations is a right belonging to us as humans. It is a human right, and we shall exercise it.

The shouts of agreement from the whole gathering are almost deafening.