Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III: And to be honest with you, amongst the books that I was truly interested in, were a lot of the books by an author called Leon Uris, who talked about the Jewish struggle. And of course, the movies—like Exodus, and Cast a Giant Shadow, which I tend to watch every now and then—they tell of the struggle; they tell of doing with very little and accomplishing so much. Also later on, probably when we were already in Boston, I got to see a film talking about the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto.
Especially in the darkest moments of the Martial Law Era, when I, at some points, I asked my father, “Why is it that if we are fighting for the truth, and for that which is right, there seems to be too little of our countrymen joining us?” And we do see in the experience of people facing oppression a commonality of what they have to undergo, the sufferings that they have to undertake, and the strengthening of the character and the resolve that eventually leads to the triumph of right over wrong. And perhaps I can say publicly, that it is all of these books, these movies, these discussions, truly were very significant influences on me and perhaps it also gives me insight on how to govern these days.
For instance, in the film on the Jewish uprising in the Warsaw ghetto, the very significant portion of the film dealt with all of the conflicts between those who were pacifists, those who were aiming or agitating for armed uprising, and everybody in between who couldn’t decide which way to go to. It does tell me that our process of consensus building really is the process that we have to undertake, if we are to have the solid foundation to have long lasting changes in this country.
