We Have A Long Way To Go

Hearing how the recent election was labeled ‘peaceful’ (relatively) gave me but little comfort about the condition of our nation. They say technology and more vigilance from the people have made it more difficult for fraudulent schemes to succeed. But then I watch the news, I read the news paper, and I hear of controversial ballots, flooding of counterfeit money in the provinces, bombs going off, a school getting burned, teachers, watchers, and even some officials getting killed, ballot-counting by candlelight, the never-ending count update of our utterly slow canvassing system (when, oh when will we be automated?), and how the partial senatorial tallies reflect what the people think of the administration.

There may be a few fresh winds blowing our way—a priest wins as Pampanga governor and vows a jueteng-and scam-free term, a positive alternative to the Senate presenting itself in the form of the Kapatiran party (yes, even if they’re trailing far behind), the Stars are fading, and most of the not-so-deserving did not really make it to the Top 12. At least we have that. (And maybe a few more that I am not aware of and so fail to mention here.) But I think these little sparks of hope are still in a big struggle to keep from getting snuffed out by the darkness. I strive to stay hopeful for my country, but sometimes the pessimism tries to strangle my dreams for this nation, and I cannot help but lament. We are still a corrupt people.

Let me share this vision for the nation that I am holding on to. Our church pastor was the one who wrote it, and he shared it with us a year ago (I can’t remember if it was during a worship service or a teaching session). The piece of paper got buried in the clutter on my desk, and I got reminded of it when I went on a mission to clear up that clutter. =) I hope this becomes your vision too.

What kind of PHILIPPINES do I long to see?

A land that is PEACEFUL. Where Muslims and Christians and animists and those with no religion at all can live together as friendly rivals but not as enemies. Where disputes are resolved by discussion and debate and not with the barrel of the gun. Where one may walk the streets at night unarmed and remain unharmed.

A people who are FREE. Free to think even the unthinkable, free to worship God according to one’s best light, free to elect rulers and to replace them, free to argue one’s case in the media, free to travel wherever one pleases, free to live and work anywhere in the islands.

A territory that is SOVEREIGN. Friendly with all her neighbors, and working in solidarity with them in promoting regional interests. Cordial with all nations in the East and the West, the North and the South, but sovereign in her foreign policy. Free to chart her own destiny for Filipinos have the special duty to promote the welfare of their nation.

A nation that is JUST. Every man and woman and child receives his/her due. The poor are not discriminated against because of ignorance or lack of access to legal services. Judges and justices cannot be bought but dispense and apply the law with impartiality. Equal pay is given for equal work. Everyone has equal opportunity for education, housing, employment, medical care, and other social services.

A community that is PARTICIPATORY. People taking responsibility for their lives, and increasingly empowered to do so. Making decisions that affect their families and neighborhoods, their towns and cities, and the entire country. Being responsible for one another for “each man is his brother’s keeper.” Political in the broadest and best sense. Our stewardship includes the care of the planet Earth, God’s appointed habitat for mankind.

A country that is PROSPEROUS. Not prosperity at the expense of freedom, but a progressive economy that grows from wise policies, efficient, government, and honest business practices. Prosperity that does not merely make the rich even richer, but one that benefits all the people, reaching to all parts of the countryside, finally breaking the back of centuries of feudalism.

A society that is RIGHTEOUS. Only through the Christian gospel are people “put right with God,” so we evangelize as vigorously as we can. However, there is a public righteousness that Christians can promote as salt of the earth and light of the world. As an “overwhelming minority,” we can influence the rest of society to minimize graft, tax evasion, violence, prostitution, and other expressions of a corrupt society. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

(Sgd.) Ida Ingrid Rocha
Date: June 25, 2006

IBOTO ANG KAPATIRAN

Martin Bautista, Adrian Sison, Zosimo Paredes II.

We need people like them in our Senate.

http://www.angkapatiran.org
http://www.kpkcommongood.blogspot.com

Make a difference.

Spread the word. And vote for them.

THERE’S THE RUB
Again, the ‘wasted vote’

By Conrado de Quiros
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Last updated 01:14am (Mla time) 04/18/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The last time I spoke with Ang Kapatiran [The Brotherhood] party candidates, they were saying that having gotten this far was already a victory in itself, independently of whether they actually barge into the Senate or not. It’s true. As I’ve written on several occasions, no good thing really goes to waste. Small things are stepping stones to great things. Their accumulation is what makes historic things happen.

But I’m still hoping for a miracle to happen: for the voters of this country to be stricken by light like Paul of Tarsus and convert to wisdom. The only resistance against them comes from a couple of arguments I myself have heard from friends over the past month or so. One, let’s face it, the political realities in this country are such that the voters will vote for the strong candidate -- and the Kapatiran candidates are far behind in the surveys. And, two, the votes for them are therefore likely to be wasted, might as well lend them to those who stand a better chance.

I’ve heard the exact same arguments raised before against candidates who were completely meritorious but who were not as popular as their benighted rivals. And I’ve written many columns to answer those objections. Two of them in particular, “The heroic vote,” and “The wasted vote,” I’m reproducing here in cut-and-paste form (some things can never be sufficiently belabored):

Yes, we do need to see political realities. But doing so does not mean we should resign ourselves to them, or worse perpetuate them. We have in fact two options when faced with a harsh reality, such as this country’s lack of political maturity. We can resign ourselves to it, or we can try to change it. We can perpetuate it or we can try to stop it. We can make it worse or we can make it better.

We can say, “Well, there’s nothing I can do about it, I might as well do as everybody does.” Or we can say, “This is unacceptable, I must do something about it. Maybe my one voice is not loud enough, but it will be so if it finds an echo in the voices of others. Maybe my one vote is not dazzling enough, but it will be so if it lights the fires of others. But I do not raise my voice now, and I will perpetuate the silence. I do not light the fire now, and I will deepen the darkness. I do not try to make things better, and I will make things worse.”

Heroes do not become heroes by thinking, “I will do the heroic thing.” Heroes become heroes by saying, “I will do the right thing.” Which became heroic because doing the right thing is the hardest thing of all. You don’t always have to die for your principles, you can always live for them. The second is often more heroic than the first -- in this country more than others. We’ve always been willing to die for democracy, it’s time we started being willing to live for it.

I do not buy the notion of the “wasted vote.” The only wasted vote I can see is the one you give to a candidate you do not believe in simply because you think he or she has a chance to win. That is boundless waste, not least because it stands to waste the country. To this day, I do not regret not voting for Joseph Estrada in 1998. To this day, I do not see that I wasted my vote voting for somebody else. If there was any “wasted vote,” it was the one that went to Estrada. That is so not just because he never got to finish his term but because people voted for him simply because “he was going to win anyway” whatever they did. People who do not want to appear like fools by voting for a “weak candidate” are on a straight path to it.

Correspondingly, the wasted vote is the one you withhold from the candidate you deem deserving because “he is not going to win anyway.” That is a self-fulfilling prophecy, guaranteeing doom -- and not just for your candidate. The only thing worse than being disempowered is having the power and not knowing you do. Or worse, knowing you do and abdicating it. The vote is a great power, and it is something we hold in our hands. The victory of candidates is not written in the stars, it is written in our hearts. The victory of candidates is not foreordained, it is decided by us. We do not vote for candidates, they do not win. We vote for candidates, they win.

Even if the candidate you believe in is not a popular one, what of it? Voting is not just something you do for a candidate, it is something you do for yourself. Or to yourself. Elections are a test of character, but it is not just a test of character for the candidate, it is a test of character for the voter, too. It’s not just the candidate who’s on trial in elections, it is you, too. When you vote, you do not just decide the kind of life you want for the nation, you decide what kind of life you want for yourself. You can choose either the life of a lemming and throw yourself off a cliff because everybody is doing so or the life of a human being and act as reason and conviction tell you to.

At the end of the day, you do not just have to live with the candidate you have inflicted on the nation, you have to live with yourself and the wound you have inflicted on yourself. You can’t be true to yourself, you can’t be true to the nation. Stop complaining about this country going nowhere. There is no vote that is wasted on a candidate you believe is fit to run this country, whether he wins or not. You do not win when you vote a fool or a tyrant to office because he or she is the “strong candidate,” you lose -- even if he or she wins. Above all when he or she wins. And you do not lose when you vote for a candidate as your conscience bids, you win -- even if he or she loses. Above all if he or she loses: It is but the beginning of struggle.

The “wasted vote” is a stupid concept. You keep worrying about it, you’re wasting your time, your energy and your life.

Balik Tanaw

Nawindang-windang man ako sa nakaraang ISCF LCDC (subukan mong maging Camp Secretary, Camp Doctor, at counselor nang sabay-sabay), bale-wala ang pagod kumpara sa kaluwalhatian, katapatan, at pagmamahal na ipinakita ng Panginoon. Sa magagandang tanawin, sa mga ate't kuya na naging kaagapay, sa buhay ng mga campers, pinaramdam Niya sa akin na hawak Niya kami lahat, at hindi kami pababayaan.

Nung huling araw ng camp, pakiramdam ko dinaanan lang ako nang mabilis ng isang linggo na tinagal namin sa Lord's Garden... pero puno 'yon ng aral (ang iba'y bago, ang iba nama'y paalala) kung paano Siya dapat mahalin at sundin. Puno ng trabaho, maging ng pahinga. Puno ng tawanan, maging ng luha. Puno ng pagmamahal, ng pag-uunawaan, ng pagiging sandigan para sa isa't isa. Lahat ng ito, para sa kaluwalhatian ng ating nag-iisang Diyos na walang kasing-buti.

Salamat, Panginoon, sa LCDC 2k7. :)