[Filipinism Homepage] The kind of politics we have

[josephdream]

Here in the Philippines, the euphoria over the announcement of a popular candidate for the presidential elections, untainted by corruption and a source of hope for many, especially the students, could easily be flushed out into oblivion with the taunting, jeering, and sour graping of politicians from various angles.

This penchant for criticizing fellow Filipinos below the belt is what's further causing our country's fragmentation, which is based on the battle among personalities rather than really seeking what is good for the country.

This is further complicated by media's choice of sensational titles and issues that seek attract attention rather report what is for the best interest of the country.

Back during Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton's battle for the Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, mudslinging also emerged, with Clinton revealing a string of tirades against Obama. But when she knew she was losing the battle, Clinton backed out and threw her overwhelming support to Obama. Will this kind of scenario also apply in our country? I don't think so, with the kind of politics we have in our country.

The cause of this problem may be traced in the obsessive, inordinate attachment to power. This is what is killing the hope that the ordinary citizen longs for - that one day, we may be united under one common cause, i.e., to curb corruption and give our people the opportunity to live.

Our traditional politicians may already be carrying too many baggage arising from every corrupt transaction or shady deal that would make them liable; the only means to be immune to lawsuits is to continue holding on to power. These politicians know their way around and could easily plan to quell the threat of another person who wants to take power away from them.

This kind of damaged politics is precisely the one eating away the people's hopes for a better future like cancer eating away a healthy body. This is not an issue of a neophyte entering the world of Philippine politics, but of concerted unconscious desire to maintain a corrupt lifestyle coming from those who benefited through corruption. Be forewarned, these people are coming from both administration and the opposition.

Would we still maintain the "status quo" and entrust the care of this country to time-tested politicians who knew they way around or would we rather invest in a new candidate, whose family was subjected to harassment, whose father was assassinated and whose mother stuck to her vision to restore democracy back to the country?

It is true that Noynoy Aquino should stand on his own instead of banking on the popularity of his parents; but at least we have some idea of the travails the whole family went through only in the name of Philippine democracy, including his own involvement in this sacrifice as their son. This would not be taken away from him. For him to stand apart from his family background would be tantamount to force him to lose his own identity. The very fact that his parents were the late President Corazon Aquino and hero Ninoy Aquino is enough for him to run for the Presidential race, no more, no less.

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Posted By josephdream to Filipinism Homepage at 9/11/2009 04:00:00 AM