For Art's Sake

These are two of my godchildren---

Charlize dreams of becoming a ballerina.

Dudi dreams of becoming a visual artist.


Please, God... End the travesty that the government is making out of the arts in the Philippines now, so that my godchildren may become happy, fulfilled artists when they grow up to realize their dreams. I love these kids dearly and I don't want them to suffer the tremendous humiliation and heartbreak that I, together with the rest of the Filipino Artists Community, am experiencing now. I don't want them to lose faith in the arts and be disillusioned the way a lot of my peers are, right now. I want them to become real "artists"-- those whose works are propelled by life and not by politics. I don't want them to be part of the dreadfully shameful system that they are starting to create.

Please, God. Please.