Must we?

Written on Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 3:23 am | by Rom

On April 17, Cocoy wrote ‘Because we can.’ The following day, the Jester-in-Exile wrote ‘Because we must.’ Now, without meaning to be contrary, I ask: Must we?

On the one hand, Cocoy says stop wasting time with protests and such. Just prepare for the elections. But isn’t that where all this hatred really started to boil over? Remember the 2004 elections? Despite Solita Monsod giving the 2007 elections a ‘7-out-of-10,’ I don’t really see that it was much of an improvement. I mean sure, we gave the likes of Chiz and Peter a free ride to the Senate, and they haven’t bombed as totally as Joker has, but have they really turned out to be everything we had hoped? So, despite Jester’s many sensible suggestions, I don’t see the 2010 elections as being particularly significant in terms of bringing about a change in the way our government is run.

On the other hand, the Jester says there is value in protesting every injustice, every step of the way (i’m paraphrasing, ok?). I hope he means just us, and that refers only to those little aggravations we can give to government - like vandalizing money and slowing down a convoy just a tad.

Because if he means elected officials should be up in arms at every perceived wrong, if he means government officials should resign en masse in protest at perceived mismanagement, well then we’d be in something of a pickle, wouldn’t we? We already know what it’s like when the Senate adopts a belligerent stance (which when questioned, they rationalize by saying - although not in so many words and with so many different nuances - “sino ba na-una?”). They end up questioning everyone’s integrity but their own, and they end up having to work over-time to race through a legislative agenda that could have benefited greatly from extensive debates which would have been a much better use of the hours and hours they spent instead asking repetitive questions in this or that hearing in aid of legislation.

And I’m pretty sure Jester doesn’t mean we should go beyond those petty aggravations a noted blogger talked about in OpEd piece. Because if he advocates sterner measures people could get in serious trouble. But then again, what will those little explosions of protest do? Or to put it more bluntly, who the eff cares if you drew horns and a beard on GMA’s teensie-weensie picture?

Seriously. The pettiness of those little acts of resistance(?) bowls me over. More than anything else, it just shows how immature we can be when piqued.

Of course this isn’t to say you shouldn’t, if the mood hits you, take a sharpie to a 200 peso bill. Heck, do it on a 1000 peso bill. Cross out GMA’s signature (because leaving it untouched means you concede she has the authority to sign the note) even. All I’m saying is, must we?

There are many other ways to express dissatisfaction with this government. Blogging is one. Plus, blogging has the added bonus of potentially being a very creative way to vent. Just ask jeni jen jen. But otherwise, must we go out of our way - and maybe even sour an otherwise fine day - just to fuel our hatred?

So, if I don’t think the elections will matter; and i don’t believe in a protracted, low-intensity protesting, what do I propose to do?

Well obviously, we need to go out and vote anyway. And we need to boost good candidates and actively campaign against the ones we want thrown out on their keisters.

But on a day to day basis, we need to work to improve what we can. Those of you who work in government for instance, you can try to influence your co-workers with your diligence and industriousness. And stop watching the clock!

Those of you who are in business for yourselves, do your bit by paying taxes on time, remitting SSS contributions for your employees promptly, and encourage other people to go into business as well. Help em out. Start mentoring programs to give budding entrepreneurs a hand up.

Those of you who work in the private sector, volunteer more. And not just for ‘cool’ things. Give back to your community by working with your barangays and SKs.

Those of you who work abroad (mabuhay kayo!) please relentlessly promote the Philippines. Not in the left-handed way I’ve seen alot of people do (it’s a good country with a rotten government). Talking like that turns potential tourists and investors off. If you must, consider this: don’t think of it as giving GMA more investments she can take credit for, think of it as bringing in investment money for our people.

There are many positive ways of working for the betterment of the country without venting our spleen at every chance we get. All I’m saying is maybe we should give those strategies a chance.

~

If we shadows have offended
think but this, and all is mended,
that you have but slumber’d here
while these visions did appear

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About The Author: Rom is the writer behind the blog Smoke. In her own words, "I write better when I smoke. Don't ask me to reduce it to a science."

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Comments

6 Responses to “Must we?”

  1. We Must Resist | Filipino Voices on April 19th, 2008 11:59 am

    […] article, “Must We?” summarizes the many opinions exchanged over the past week on the matter of […]

  2. Jon Limjap on April 19th, 2008 7:08 pm

    Amen, Rom, amen!

  3. grd on April 22nd, 2008 3:20 am

    Yes, amen to that too! bright people should really be focusing on the positive ways instead of this negative mindset.

  4. Manuel L. Quezon III: The Daily Dose » Blog Archive » It doesn’t compute (revised) on April 22nd, 2008 9:12 am

    […] got people thinking: see The Jester-in-Exile’s Because We Must, and Rom’s (aka smoke) Must we? Which, in turn, led to a riposte by cocoy in Because We Can Change the Dynamics of the Game. cocoy […]

  5. marc1a on April 28th, 2008 3:49 pm

    change. oh yes, because we can… sure, because we must. we owe it to this country. our people deserve better (whether they realize it or not)– far better than the fools these unscrupulous politicians who have the nerve and stomach to call themselves compatriots and leaders at that take us for.

    . . . AND because we want to. i am a filipino. an ordinary juan(a). i love this country. i care for my people… given the situation, only fools as those idiots make of us would be able to sit around and just let this come to pass. call it naivete but i take the insult that they let us bear personally (after all, what’s happening affects me. it breaks my heart to see people crying hungry; to see stray animals by the roadside dying because its owners do not have anything better to offer–they cannot cannot even feed themselves, etc.): yes, personal enough to do more (about it). “more” simply because, crises or not, in my own humble way i believe i should serve–though not necessarily the kind that needs an election; nor an organization for that matter. and i am… trying to live up to my ideals in all that i do and volunteering gave more meaning to this life. seeing somehow i’ve made a good dent in someone else’s life feels quite good actually…somehow made me a bit more happy =)… no, in re-think, i don’t believe i walked my talk (i didn’t really do much talking back then). i’d rather liken it to: i let myself dream… and i sÜre gave it a mighty chase ;).

    …but, of course, this is just me. to each his own bliss.

  6. J on May 3rd, 2008 10:37 pm

    take this to a more fundamental level, Rom:

    use the pedestrian lane when crossing the street

    dont beat the red light

    dont hire fixers when getting a drivers license

    etc.

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