The truth and nothing but…

Netnet Camomot

OPRAH Winfrey was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, given on Sunday night (Monday morning here in Pinas).

It was a historic event—she’s the first black woman to receive this lifetime achievement award. But it was her speech that went viral on social media, convincing many this served as a hint she would run for president in 2020, and of course prompting Pres. Donald Trump to react: “Yeah, I’ll beat Oprah. Oprah would be a lot of fun.”

Trump was not as convinced, though, as the madlang pehpohl: “I don’t think she’s going to run…I know her very well.”

I guess it’s safe to say that Trump and Oprah are friends. Or were friends once upon a time when he focused on his multibillion empire instead of occupying the US presidential throne which has been the target of imaginary tomato-and-egg missiles from the madlang pehpohl, and of nuclear-missile threats from North Korea.

Robert de Niro, for one, has been vocal with his anti-Trump thoughts, with the most recent delivered at the National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala held in New York City last Jan. 9: “This f***ing idiot is the president. It’s the emperor’s new clothes! The guy is a f***ing fool!”

And De Niro continued: “Our baby-in-chief—the j***off-in-chief, I call him—has put the press under siege, ridiculing it and trying to discredit it through outrageous attacks and lies.”

He was introducing Meryl Streep who, together with Tom Hanks, was honored at the gala. Streep and Hanks are Washington Post’s publisher Kay Graham and editor Ben Bradlee in “The Post” which is about the Pentagon Papers, the history of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967 as documented by the US Department of Defense.

There’s that period in the life of a newspaper where the publisher and editor will have to decide whether to publish a particular news item or not. I’ve not watched the movie yet but I’m guessing Graham and Bradlee had to make the crucial decision: To publish or not to publish. Yes, much like Shakespeare’s “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

The awkward moment comes when only one newspaper has remained mum on that particular news item while all others—TV, radio, print, social media—are talking about it. People will start to ask why. And then, they find out why. Kaya pala.

Graham and Bradlee definitely didn’t want to have that awkward moment.

It was The New York Times that first revealed the Pentagon Papers but since the movie is titled “The Post” and not “The Times,” critics noticed the script somehow omitted the latter’s larger role.

Anyway, now you know the reason behind De Niro’s anti-Trump statements at the National Board of Review gala when he was supposed to only introduce Streep. Her Graham role and Trump’s seeming war with the press provided fodder for his speech.

Trump versus CNN is already evolving into a cockfight—Sa pula! Sa puti! JaDine versus KathNiel pales in comparison.

Oprah’s speech at the Globes, however, had a more positive voice, i.e., it didn’t call Trump a “f***ing idiot” and a “j***off-in-chief.”

She thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group behind the Globes, and added, “We know the press is under siege these days. We also know it’s the insatiable dedication to uncovering the absolute truth that keeps us from turning a blind eye to corruption and to injustice. To tyrant and victims, and secrets and lies. I want to say that I value the press more than ever before as we try to navigate these complicated times, which brings me to this: what I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.”

She writes that column—“What I Know for Sure”—for her O magazine. But this one at the Globes must be the best of all: “what I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.”

That truth has brought down Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Bill Cosby, and many others who used their money and power to abuse women and men who finally found their voice and revealed their plight. Even those with no money and no power tend to compensate for that lack by bullying and abusing others. Tsk tsk.

Oprah added that she’s “especially proud and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories. Each of us in this room is celebrated because of the stories that we tell, and this year we became the story… For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up.”

Yay! Oprah for president!

Well, not that easy. But Trump did win.

We are Pinoys, we’re not allowed to vote in the US elections, but it will be interesting to see Oprah versus Trump.

Still, what do I know for sure? Hmmm. There’s this quote from “The Little Prince”: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”