The Ego Episodes

Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005

Politics. Headache.

Some lazy thoughts to get out of my chest.

Politics. Headache. A few weeks ago I was wondering whether politicians really started out as corrupt and as rotten as most of them are now. I'm sure (or I hope) that some of them were really good people. People who, out of the goodness of their heart and their desire to serve the people to alleviate them from proverty and who truly believes that they can make a difference wanted to run for office. I'm sure there were some who started out with that kind of spirit. That is their motivation for being a leader.

I remember back when I was little, I used to watch daytime variety shows and they have this contest with kids vying for the title of Little Ms. Philippines or the like, and they have this portion where they ask the kids what they want to be when they grow up. Coached by their parents, some would answer they want to be doctors, while some would say they want to be the president of the Philippines. And the interviewers would ask why. Then they will say, "Dahil gusto ko pong makatulong sa mga mahihirap." (Because I want to help the poor people.)

Huh.

They're kids, I know. I wonder if adults going into politics have that same mentality. They're not naive, I'm sure (I hope so). But I am just confused why someone with that selfless a goal would become obsessed in the end with retaining power and amassing more wealth to the point of going against his duty and eventually doing ill-will to the very people he was supposed to help and who voted him to power in the first place. It's just sad.

It led me to question that maybe politics itself changed these people. Who was once good-natured and makamasa (for the masses) became greedy and ever hungry for more power and more wealth. I don't know for sure what's going on inside but maybe politics is like the reverse of a washing machine. You go in, and instead of making you clean, it's making you dirty.

Why do good people go bad once they enter the world of politics? Is politics always dirty? I read somewhere that you have to blame the political system that candidates have to cheat and bribe people in order to win. What kind of system is that? The government is supposed to be credible but in my country, it's a well-known fact that it's as corrupt as any brothel. At least the latter is not trying to hide its purpose.

Do politicians have a choice? I would like to think that they do. I believe that there are still politicians out there with outstanding records, not only in terms of economic achievement, but also of their solid integrity. Sure, we can blame the system. But is the system that powerful that we don't have some sort of control over it? Who made the system in the first place? Maybe the problem is not the system per se, but the people running it.

The Philippines is a big country. And with a ballooning population every year, it gets harder to serve the people. We are big. We are blessed with rich natural resources--we are self-sufficient. We do not need to import. In fact, we are earning on exports. College degree holders go to other countries like Singapore to become domestic helpers. Imagine that. They have degrees for God's sake! We have a lot of educated people and yet, YET why are we still suffering from poverty? Our schools are becoming redundant, I suppose. So what then is the point of having a degree when you can't get a job? What is the point of having our parents toil day and night just to bring their kids to school when they will only end up jobless or get an overseas job where they are overqualified? Why go to school then?

There are a lot of things to be revamped in order for things to work in my country. Our culture plays a part but if some countries could do it, why can't the Philippines? A good leader with integrity is just one element, but we need more. We need the people. We need to change how things get done. It's a lot of work. And if somebody could figure out how to go about making all this happen, he should be the next president.

{ joycie at 11:50 a.m.}