I'm currently in an on-off relationship. With my blog. Tsk. Hiatus every now and then. Why are my brain cells deteriorating? I always get a lot of insights but whenever I face the blogpad – zilch! They’re gone before I even knew it. And sometimes, I don’t even understand how it happens. I think so to prevent from this sudden outflux of ideas, I’ll just continue typing until I can finally locate my thoughts. I have a lot to blog actually. Politics. Mass media. Nature. Dreams. Literature. Because a LOT happened. I'll be posting the other issues on my next posts. So first stop, politics.
Elections 2007 came. And passed. It’s funny how politics flow nowadays. I can’t see the difference between it and the reality star-searches network channels embed in our mindsets. Photos of candidates swarm OVER us. Everyone is doing everything to win.
Yes, this IS politics. Politics was never clean. It’s all about competition. But do we really have to be THIS dirty? Politicians aiming to IMPLEMENT rules when they themselves BREAK them. Try reading the COMELEC’s Rules on Campaign Materials, some line there says that “no campaign material should be POSTED on GOVERNMENT PROPERTY and private properties, if and only if, the owner desires to do so.” I was roaming around during the campaign days and I see all sorts of violations. Posters EVERYWHERE. Electric posts, TREES, even on the ASPHALT ROAD. And if you, poor concerned citizen would try to report this on COMELEC, you’ll be so lucky if the COMELEC would not SUE you instead. Rampant killings everyday. And some candidates spend a lot to be on public office.
How noble. Isn’t Philippines amazing? Where else can you find people willing to sacrifice their life and their living just to SERVE THE PEOPLE. Har har.
I’m not generalizing all politicians here. I speak for what I observe, and I say MOST people running for public office have “evil thoughts” in them. The good apples are RARE.
Raised in a politically-active environment, I do know how filthy Philippine politics can get. Corruption is just a side-issue here. The idea of combating corruption is laughable. Because, corruption is not a political disease in the first place. It is societal. It has sipped in our nerves.
A friend’s mom was running for public office and I’ve been helping them distribute leaflets. We were wandering on some rural area passing print-outs AND telling people to VOTE. Then a man came up to us. He asked whether the folded leaflet contains some “palaman” in it. My friend just smiled and said “smile lang kuya, atsaka SERBISYO.” So you see, the problem is not the dirty politicians ONLY. It includes the people. You can’t fool someone if he/she is not willing to be fooled anyway.
Corruption has planted its roots in our system. And I tell you, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to give it up. Another thing is the APATHY of the people. Especially the YOUTH. I know a lot of people who have given up with this dirty game. What's worse is that they think that EVEN if they vote, nothing would change. And who are these people? They are the well-off and the poor. Why? The rich does not carry whether their next-door squatter neighbor eats roaches for breakfast; because that is not their problem. What the hell – they can afford to eat fifty times a day! So they don’t give a damn whether a lot of people starve. And then there are the people on the lowest strata of the societal pyramid: the poor. Because of insufficient knowledge and NEED, majority of the people have lost hope. They are the primary customers for vote-buying. They don’t think of the long-term effects. Their mindset goes like this: “as long as this politician hands me money, I give him my vote.” They don’t care if the said politician would then loot their goods in the future, who knows if they’re still alive by then from starvation! They live for today. That’s why they see their future blurry. Some aren’t even sure if they would still live tomorrow.
So this leaves me with the middle class. The THINKING CLASS. The middle class is the thinking class because they are coerced to think. They care and SHOULD care because they are those directly involved. They are not extremely poor not to think of tomorrow. And they are not extremely rich to be so sure of it either. So the least they can do is something to keep their situation stable.
So what is the problem? The problem is that, the middle class is starting to lose hope also. This should not be. This should NEVER be. The youth is VERY, VERY PASSIVE nowadays.
We.Need.To.Change.This.
No matter how hopeless the case may be.
See? Philippine politics IS problematic. To the deepest core. And there are quite a lot of answers regarding this problem. Such includes COMMUNISM, suggesting CIVIL WAR, and my personal favorite, conducting mass killings. Haha, I kid.
But seriously, I still believe there’s this teeny-weeny ray of hope left for our beloved country. The answer is on the young people. And I mean it.
What we need is to hear fresh ideas. Because honestly, this generation is booming with opinions. Smart opinions, as a matter of fact. The only problem is that, we are not given enough avenue to support this. And also because, majority of the youth are so apathetic to what is happening around them. This may be very cliché-ic, but we do have the world in our hands. We just need to work on it. And we can start by being responsible. Responsible enough to choose for our future. Responsible enough to vote. Wisely.
And with this, I salute those who participated in the past election. To those who braved the long lines of registration in the COMELEC. To those who thought carefully. To those who made THE choice. I would do that too! But unfortunately, I can't.
So, I pour my sentiments in this blog. For not being able to help hone a helpless country. For being helpless myself.
Just for being underaged. Grr.
Elections 2007 came. And passed. It’s funny how politics flow nowadays. I can’t see the difference between it and the reality star-searches network channels embed in our mindsets. Photos of candidates swarm OVER us. Everyone is doing everything to win.
Yes, this IS politics. Politics was never clean. It’s all about competition. But do we really have to be THIS dirty? Politicians aiming to IMPLEMENT rules when they themselves BREAK them. Try reading the COMELEC’s Rules on Campaign Materials, some line there says that “no campaign material should be POSTED on GOVERNMENT PROPERTY and private properties, if and only if, the owner desires to do so.” I was roaming around during the campaign days and I see all sorts of violations. Posters EVERYWHERE. Electric posts, TREES, even on the ASPHALT ROAD. And if you, poor concerned citizen would try to report this on COMELEC, you’ll be so lucky if the COMELEC would not SUE you instead. Rampant killings everyday. And some candidates spend a lot to be on public office.
How noble. Isn’t Philippines amazing? Where else can you find people willing to sacrifice their life and their living just to SERVE THE PEOPLE. Har har.
I’m not generalizing all politicians here. I speak for what I observe, and I say MOST people running for public office have “evil thoughts” in them. The good apples are RARE.
Raised in a politically-active environment, I do know how filthy Philippine politics can get. Corruption is just a side-issue here. The idea of combating corruption is laughable. Because, corruption is not a political disease in the first place. It is societal. It has sipped in our nerves.
A friend’s mom was running for public office and I’ve been helping them distribute leaflets. We were wandering on some rural area passing print-outs AND telling people to VOTE. Then a man came up to us. He asked whether the folded leaflet contains some “palaman” in it. My friend just smiled and said “smile lang kuya, atsaka SERBISYO.” So you see, the problem is not the dirty politicians ONLY. It includes the people. You can’t fool someone if he/she is not willing to be fooled anyway.
Corruption has planted its roots in our system. And I tell you, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to give it up. Another thing is the APATHY of the people. Especially the YOUTH. I know a lot of people who have given up with this dirty game. What's worse is that they think that EVEN if they vote, nothing would change. And who are these people? They are the well-off and the poor. Why? The rich does not carry whether their next-door squatter neighbor eats roaches for breakfast; because that is not their problem. What the hell – they can afford to eat fifty times a day! So they don’t give a damn whether a lot of people starve. And then there are the people on the lowest strata of the societal pyramid: the poor. Because of insufficient knowledge and NEED, majority of the people have lost hope. They are the primary customers for vote-buying. They don’t think of the long-term effects. Their mindset goes like this: “as long as this politician hands me money, I give him my vote.” They don’t care if the said politician would then loot their goods in the future, who knows if they’re still alive by then from starvation! They live for today. That’s why they see their future blurry. Some aren’t even sure if they would still live tomorrow.
So this leaves me with the middle class. The THINKING CLASS. The middle class is the thinking class because they are coerced to think. They care and SHOULD care because they are those directly involved. They are not extremely poor not to think of tomorrow. And they are not extremely rich to be so sure of it either. So the least they can do is something to keep their situation stable.
So what is the problem? The problem is that, the middle class is starting to lose hope also. This should not be. This should NEVER be. The youth is VERY, VERY PASSIVE nowadays.
We.Need.To.Change.This.
No matter how hopeless the case may be.
See? Philippine politics IS problematic. To the deepest core. And there are quite a lot of answers regarding this problem. Such includes COMMUNISM, suggesting CIVIL WAR, and my personal favorite, conducting mass killings. Haha, I kid.
But seriously, I still believe there’s this teeny-weeny ray of hope left for our beloved country. The answer is on the young people. And I mean it.
What we need is to hear fresh ideas. Because honestly, this generation is booming with opinions. Smart opinions, as a matter of fact. The only problem is that, we are not given enough avenue to support this. And also because, majority of the youth are so apathetic to what is happening around them. This may be very cliché-ic, but we do have the world in our hands. We just need to work on it. And we can start by being responsible. Responsible enough to choose for our future. Responsible enough to vote. Wisely.
And with this, I salute those who participated in the past election. To those who braved the long lines of registration in the COMELEC. To those who thought carefully. To those who made THE choice. I would do that too! But unfortunately, I can't.
So, I pour my sentiments in this blog. For not being able to help hone a helpless country. For being helpless myself.
Just for being underaged. Grr.
7 comments:
To those who braved the long lines of registration in the COMELEC.
*tsar* thank you. At least.. someone knows the effort of trying to be registered in that filthy place that smells like cat's poo + rotten beef + stinky B.O.'s and a fart. Yeah.Thanks. Hehe.
Anyway.. im not losing hope about Philippines overcoming these STUFFS in the future. I know it has a bright future... and as long as there are few people like US who believed it would. It would. At least.
Anyway.. I was listening to an audio book.. and this guy was talking about DESERVE.
Most people feel guilty about their success because they feel like they dont deserve it. He says we don't need to be guilty if we succeed because...
Deserve comes from 2 latin words meaning FROM THE SERVICE. Those people who serve other people (most "not all" of the rich people does this in their own ways) deserves every penny they get from serving a lot of people. That's part of the sowing and reaping law.
Anyway.. he mentioned.. that if you DONT want to SERVE PEOPLE... you look for a JOB in the government. He also says that Civil Service is an oxymoron. lol. Which actually makes sense.. because people in the government does not really SERVE THE INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE if you really look at it closely. most of them have hidden personal agendas.
Sometimes I'd want to stand up and say "lemme do your job you freakin politicians". but i think otherwise.. there are other ways to serve the Pinoy people.. and Im going to look for it. Hehe. :)
halu! yep, he was that guy in Awitenista. haha! small world eh?
nwei, i have lost my faith on both local and national politics and governance. i voted. but nothing seems to change.
btw, i'll be on blog leave. take care. :)
oh well,im just glad that you`re back blogging :)
and what do you do for your beloved country? :)
aside from [err...] bash the FUCKERS in showbusiness?
But yeah, that bashing was big help. *nods* :)
i haven't registered yet in comelec, but if it's like what Tina says, then I'm dreading to go there. haha. anyways, ndi naman siguro no? kase sa batangas ako magpaparegister. hehehe.
anyways..AWESOME POST. it's relief na meron pa mga kagaya naten sa mundo na nagiisip tungkol sa kalagayan ng Pilipinas.
Politics is a dirty game, they say. Yea.. I have a relative who did everything to win... ayun, his car was bombarded not a year ago by his rival.. (allegedly) buti na lang he's still alive.
even my lola, grabe. she does everything for the sake of the barangay. and im not saying that she's that goody-goody because, if truth be told, she's not one of those rare apples that you mentioned.
nakakalungkot at nakakagalit isipin na ung mga tao pa mismo ang nagddrive sa mga politicians to be corrupt, kase nga nagpapaloko sila... if only we stand up and be brave and fight.. but then, it's not an easy task..
well. you are right. we.have.to.change.it.
:]
gudluck sa ating lahat. at sana bumalik ka sa na sayong paghahiatus. it feels nice reading ur posts. :)
take care bammy whammy. :p haha.
ciao!
it's nice to see young people who are not hopeless and indifferent.
hey bam,
the mere fact that you have the willingness to help is more than enough. that willingness will surely go a long way. meantime, there are other things a bright, energetic young person like you can do for our country.
i agree with ami, it is nice that young people like you do not lose hope and are ready, able and willing to do something for the sake of the country's future.
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