Definitely I am not the first one to say that I am sick and tired of what is happening in our country right now. I do not actually want to sound like a damned whiner but things are really frustrating. Compound that exponentially due to all the election brouhaha. The air is thick not only of Metro Cebu's pollution but of pretension and falsity.
I woke up at 1am earlier and decided to surf my heart out. I remembered the HARAPAN: 2010 Presidential Forum which happened a week ago at ABS - CBN. I decided to download the videos and watch it again. What I thought to be a boring Monday dawn sickened me to the core by just listening to some candidates answers . I almost rolled on the floor laughing at Erap's answer when he was asked, "What is one vice or luxury that you cannot live without?" And the answer? "..... ang luho na maglingkod sa mga mahihirap" Hahahahahahaha... And let's save the world from cavities!!! Can't these people understand that this is not a joke that just cracked or a hide and seek game? This is a matter of national security. Good for them, they have riches to splurge into. Seeing such display of wealth, while knowing in the back of my mind that a very good number of the Filipino population does not even have pan de sal on the table that morning, agitated the radical thinker in me. Politicians promise the same things over and over again but assess life right now and you would see that there is no better life for the Filipino, save for the politicians themselves of course, when you see their mansions and luxury cars displayed everywhere...
The grand questions pop up: "When does the politicking stop? When does self gain stop and when does service start?” I remember one of my assertions during the last elections. I remember myself saying, “Screw politicking! Why can’t these candidates realize that running for any office is running for a position of service and NOT self-service at that?” I said those definitely with particular reference to all the issues that surrounded that occasion.
In about a few months time, we notch another mark in our history. I am to exercise my right to suffrage and I am just hopeful (even more idealistic) that my vote ushers in change. However, I am finding it hard to choose who I am to vote for. But yes, Im seriously eyeing on Dick Gordon, Noynoy Aquino, and Gibo Teodoro to be the strong contenders for the post. I were to choose one basing on the forum that I watched, I'd pick Dick Gordon. But still, just a few months before the elections and still, I see no solid platforms.
This makes me think twice about what a friend labels as “futility of circumstance.” She says that the national elections is just a toss-coin decision, either some movie actor wins or someone gets re-elected. It sounds too pessimistic for someone like me as I choose to hope. But in thinking about what is real, some courses of action are indeed futile.
Perhaps in Judeo-Christian tradition we are all hoping for some Messiah to come along. But there is no dice on that. Well, perhaps life really is a gamble. You cast a vote on someone hoping that that person would usher in the ideals that you hope for. In a lapse of three or six years, you would come to a thinking, “Shit, I just got suckered. Sucks to be me!” In that case, it sucks to be us. As a republic, we are all in this together, hell or high costs of living.
Every election time, we drown in every bullshit there is. Is it Utopian to hope for a cleaner and more hygienic governance? When do we stop electing self-serving politicians and start putting public-serving statesmen in positions that would spend taxpayer’s money on us, the Filipino people? But wait, do we even have public servants in the first place? I hope.
Lastly, I'd like to quote Dick Gordon in one of his statements in HARAPAN, "What this country needs is not just a change OF men but a change IN men... we must be a sincerely changed country." So help us God! But in the end, for me, if hope becomes futile, perhaps a revolution is a worthwhile substitute.
I woke up at 1am earlier and decided to surf my heart out. I remembered the HARAPAN: 2010 Presidential Forum which happened a week ago at ABS - CBN. I decided to download the videos and watch it again. What I thought to be a boring Monday dawn sickened me to the core by just listening to some candidates answers . I almost rolled on the floor laughing at Erap's answer when he was asked, "What is one vice or luxury that you cannot live without?" And the answer? "..... ang luho na maglingkod sa mga mahihirap" Hahahahahahaha... And let's save the world from cavities!!! Can't these people understand that this is not a joke that just cracked or a hide and seek game? This is a matter of national security. Good for them, they have riches to splurge into. Seeing such display of wealth, while knowing in the back of my mind that a very good number of the Filipino population does not even have pan de sal on the table that morning, agitated the radical thinker in me. Politicians promise the same things over and over again but assess life right now and you would see that there is no better life for the Filipino, save for the politicians themselves of course, when you see their mansions and luxury cars displayed everywhere...
The grand questions pop up: "When does the politicking stop? When does self gain stop and when does service start?” I remember one of my assertions during the last elections. I remember myself saying, “Screw politicking! Why can’t these candidates realize that running for any office is running for a position of service and NOT self-service at that?” I said those definitely with particular reference to all the issues that surrounded that occasion.
In about a few months time, we notch another mark in our history. I am to exercise my right to suffrage and I am just hopeful (even more idealistic) that my vote ushers in change. However, I am finding it hard to choose who I am to vote for. But yes, Im seriously eyeing on Dick Gordon, Noynoy Aquino, and Gibo Teodoro to be the strong contenders for the post. I were to choose one basing on the forum that I watched, I'd pick Dick Gordon. But still, just a few months before the elections and still, I see no solid platforms.
This makes me think twice about what a friend labels as “futility of circumstance.” She says that the national elections is just a toss-coin decision, either some movie actor wins or someone gets re-elected. It sounds too pessimistic for someone like me as I choose to hope. But in thinking about what is real, some courses of action are indeed futile.
Perhaps in Judeo-Christian tradition we are all hoping for some Messiah to come along. But there is no dice on that. Well, perhaps life really is a gamble. You cast a vote on someone hoping that that person would usher in the ideals that you hope for. In a lapse of three or six years, you would come to a thinking, “Shit, I just got suckered. Sucks to be me!” In that case, it sucks to be us. As a republic, we are all in this together, hell or high costs of living.
Every election time, we drown in every bullshit there is. Is it Utopian to hope for a cleaner and more hygienic governance? When do we stop electing self-serving politicians and start putting public-serving statesmen in positions that would spend taxpayer’s money on us, the Filipino people? But wait, do we even have public servants in the first place? I hope.
Lastly, I'd like to quote Dick Gordon in one of his statements in HARAPAN, "What this country needs is not just a change OF men but a change IN men... we must be a sincerely changed country." So help us God! But in the end, for me, if hope becomes futile, perhaps a revolution is a worthwhile substitute.
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