Impulses

By Herman M. Lagon The easiest applause line in politics is often the most dangerous one. Say “abolish the SK,” and many exhausted citizens will nod before the coffee cools. They have seen the lazy stereotypes: the endless basketball leagues, the beauty pageants with tarpaulins louder than the programs, the chairperson who learns the art …

By Herman M. Lagon There is something quietly telling about a boxer who says, almost casually, that a highly anticipated rematch is “not actually a fight.” It sounds different when it comes from Floyd Mayweather Jr., a master of control and “running” protector of his 50-0 record. So when his planned September 19 rematch with …

By Herman M. Lagon This letter did not begin with me. A lawyer friend posted a “Dear Uncle” letter on Facebook late one night. It was light on the surface, but there was fatigue underneath — another claim, another near-ending war. I read it and felt that quiet nudge. This was not just distant politics …

By Herman M. Lagon Sometimes it begins quietly — a joke that exposes bias, a post that corrects a lie, a knee taken in silence. Entertainment may be the stage, but the light often turns into something that reaches places power forgets. In those moments, stars stop performing. They become megaphones for those with none, …

By Herman M. Lagon A few years ago, I wrote about the “publish or perish” culture — the quiet pressure that pushes academics to keep producing, often at a pace that feels more mechanical than meaningful. That pressure has not disappeared. If anything, things have become smoother, almost too smooth. Complaints have faded, replaced by …

By Herman M. Lagon There was a time when you could tell a local home was alive even before you stepped inside. You would hear the kids first — running, shouting, laughing over each other. Slippers by the door never stayed in pairs. Meals were a bit tight, a bit noisy, but no one minded. …

By Herman M. Lagon In a time when truth can sound a lot like confidence, the most dangerous lies are those dressed in faith. We have seen it before. Leaders who sound so certain you start second-guessing yourself. Followers so committed they would endure anything if promised salvation. It is not a new story — …

By Herman M. Lagon There are days when the news feels more like noise than meaning. A headline flashes — loud, sharp — an insult here, a response there, and it all starts to feel familiar, almost predictable. But every so often, something feels different. Not louder, just steadier. The recent exchange between Donald Trump …

By Herman M. Lagon The first lesson about diskarte rarely comes from a classroom. It arrives quietly, often early, sometimes uninvited. It is learned while watching a parent stretch a week’s budget across 10 days, or while figuring out how to get to school when the last jeepney has already left. For many of us, …