Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Young Blood Article
TOTAL WRECK
Christian E. Rivero
2004
IN TIMES of doubt I always like to remember the trials of our heroes and the sacrifices they made for us.
Jose Rizal is foremost among my heroes. He was a man whose love for the country is unparalleled. Of course, many others died for the cause of freedom and democracy. But what I like most about Rizal was that he wrote, got hurt, fell in love, made mistakes and dreamt nice things for the country. Nowadays, it appears that his aspirations of having a great and independent country remain just that:aspirations. We are still a country weak and vacillating. Our leaders are at best a joke.They know nothing about real governance, but they have mastered the art of politicking that wins elections. Our elections are similar to fiestas. By route and by custom, they happen every three years.
Our politicians are little more than entertainers. Only a few deserve our respect. Most of them are people who are popular and bored with their lives, people who need to feed their insatiable hunger for power and prey on our weaknesses. They think that by securing seats in the government, they become better persons. Their delusion sadly costs us our future.
As for us, overwhelmed by all the campaign glitz, we have forgotten the need to remain critical. We are drowned in apathy. Platforms of government are treated as if they mean nothing. Many of us are bored by speeches. What is important to us is that the candidates can sing and dance.
While we are held in suspense by the latest controversy involving Kris Aquino, we neglect to examine the personal stand and views of the candidates on the different issues confronting us. Show biz is the rage, and sadly, we cannot distinguish what is real from fantasy. As a consequence, we troop to the voting precincts with fatalistic prayers that though the candidates we're voting into office are a bunch of walking mistakes, they will perform very well when they win. Such a hope always ends up unfulfilled. Politicians look after their own interests. Afterwards do we not feel like a prostitute, who has been cast away after the carnal act? In politics, ethics is esoteric while power and money mean might.
I do not think our politicians are giving the youth a good example. I see no Rizal in our midst. Very few among our leaders deserve our respect and confidence.
A few years ago an American writer said that ours was a "damaged culture." I disagree. Instead, I say that we are nothing less than a total wreck. With the quality of our leaders, it is hard denying what is obvious. For instance, our country is far from what a functioning democracy should be. We do not learn from our
past. How many EDSAs do we need before we get our act together? Let us face it, ours is barely a functioning state and our politicians are further imperiling our chances of recovery.
Is this the country Rizal wanted? I hope that our politicians ask themselves that question. It is also incumbent upon us, as citizens, to stop and look at ourselves. Consider what we have contributed so far to improve our lot. We were once a proud people. Now we just heap insult on ourselves, dismissing our faults as something embedded in our character. While this attitude helps us sometimes to survive, what
is more useful is for us to act in the interest of our country. In consonance with the dreams instilled in us by our heroes, we must realize that the term "Filipino" is not just a word, it is also a state of mind: revolutionary, proactive, responsible and conscious of his acts.
Our country is in disarray. Some things need to be done and fast. I doubt if we can trust our politicians alone to rectify the country's mistakes. Instead, let us think that we all can contribute positively. We must not remain impotent and accept things passively. Otherwise we will not make the country any better than it is today. By now we should have grown tired of engaging in wishful thinking. We must act now while we
still can.
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