Dysfunctional Narrative

Former president Joseph Estrada's assertion that he may "have committed mistakes" in his public career but "corruption is not one of them", is an example of what American author Charles Baxter calls the concept of "deniability," or the political culture of finger-pointing."

The idea, which he discussed in his book on writing fiction, Burning Down The House, creates what he termed a "dysfunctional narrative."

"One of the signs of a dysfunctional narrative" he wrote, "is that we cannot leave it behind, and we cannot put it to rest, because it does not, finally give us the explanation we need to enclose it...Instead of achieving closure, the story spreads over the landscape like a stain as we struggle to find a source of responsibility."

In other words, the buck doesn't stop anywhere. No one takes responsibility for mistakes made and the public is left to conjecture who erred.

This is where our country's story is in now. Like Baxter, I also long for the delineation of characters where we can clearly see the division between the "despicable and the admirable," a distinction now obliterated by the Arroyo administration.

Fortunately, we see who wears its own abominable mask.