dan
02-23-2007, 10:50 AM
A friend told me last night too much politics is bad. I disagreed.
I strongly believe that too much politics is not at all bad. I am of the strong belief that we should have more of it. One thing that is really holding us back as a nation is the belief that politics is bad, divisive, dirty and should be avoided.
I agree that politics in the Philippines is downright distasteful and dirty, but one big reason for the outrageous state of politics in our country is that we have not yet learned good political discourse and compromise, as a result of the oppressive and extreme political censorship that was imposed upon us during almost four centuries of colonial rule. One reason our colonial masters were so successful in making us subservient is that they were able to make us believe that politics is evil and is the realm of only a few elite men.
The last thing we need, therefore, is more political censorship or avoidance of political discussion. More of political censorship, I believe you will agree with me, will make us more politically immature or worse, abnormal.
As history has shown, nations can only move forward after a war, or through politics. Between the two, I think we all prefer the latter. Politics is talking with, or even arguing, with your neighbor; war is killing him, so you'll get what you want. The common claim that too much politics results in war is simply not true. Engaging your neighbor more can result in a more harmonious relationship. Treating him as if he does not exist -- less politics -- will likely result in either one of you killing the other.
Politics is about expressing one's aspirations and dreams, though they may be different from your friend or neighbor's aspiration and dreams. It is about finding solutions and reaching consensus on which solution is best. It is about making right compromises and getting united behind an ideal that a nation or a group of nations should pursue.
Politics is about finding the leaders among us who can best guide us to where we want to go. It is about kicking out corrupt politicians.
Politics is about determining whether the primary function of the government is to create jobs, or to create and keep the right environment so that entrepreneurs can create jobs. It is about convincing our leaders to spend more on education than on debt-servicing. It is about convincing one’s compatriot to pay a more taxes so that universal health care can be more affordable to all, like in the UK and here in Japan.
Politics is about convincing all of humanity that our planet is endangered because of global warming and that something should be done about it. Politics is about charting a better future for our children and their children.
For all these reasons, I believe that there is nothing wrong about being passionate about politics. To forget politics -- to just let politicians do their thing -- is to forget about our children’s future.
I think the real issue when we say that too much politics is divisive is the issue on how should politics be discussed, considering our diverse backgrounds and political persuasions.
What I admire most with TF is how the discussions are moderated. There is discipline and members are "more than" encouraged to be polite and civil to one another. With this discipline, political discussion -- whether it be expressing one's political belief or campaigning for a certain politician -- can, therefore, be enlightening and made in good taste. If TF sticks to this discipline, it can become a, if not THE, pioneer of enlightened political discourse and compromise among Filipinos.
Nakikiusap po ako sa inyo na sana masimulan natin sa ating mga sarili ang pakikipag-usap nang maayos tungkol sa pulitika. And let's have a lot of it. Para sa ikabubuti rin natin ito.
Given such discipline, TF can also serve as the forum where Filipinos, not only Filipinos in Japan, can exchange ideas on how to best minimize political abuse and where we can be mobilized to stop political abuse in our country, sans sloganeering and the other antics that have turned off a lot of our compatriots from participating actively in politics. Frankly speaking, I am really bothered that we are all very good at coming up with a very long list of what our political leaders should do for us, yet very few among us are willing to take on the responsibility of ensuring that we elect good leaders. The possibility of fraud happening with the OAV right here in Japan is real, yet very few appear to have the courage to do something about it. Sa Panloloko, may nanloloko at may nagpapaloko.
Thus, when my friend told me that politics is nothing without hard work, I readily agreed with him. Perhaps, the title of this post should have been then “More Politics and Hard Work?”
I strongly believe that too much politics is not at all bad. I am of the strong belief that we should have more of it. One thing that is really holding us back as a nation is the belief that politics is bad, divisive, dirty and should be avoided.
I agree that politics in the Philippines is downright distasteful and dirty, but one big reason for the outrageous state of politics in our country is that we have not yet learned good political discourse and compromise, as a result of the oppressive and extreme political censorship that was imposed upon us during almost four centuries of colonial rule. One reason our colonial masters were so successful in making us subservient is that they were able to make us believe that politics is evil and is the realm of only a few elite men.
The last thing we need, therefore, is more political censorship or avoidance of political discussion. More of political censorship, I believe you will agree with me, will make us more politically immature or worse, abnormal.
As history has shown, nations can only move forward after a war, or through politics. Between the two, I think we all prefer the latter. Politics is talking with, or even arguing, with your neighbor; war is killing him, so you'll get what you want. The common claim that too much politics results in war is simply not true. Engaging your neighbor more can result in a more harmonious relationship. Treating him as if he does not exist -- less politics -- will likely result in either one of you killing the other.
Politics is about expressing one's aspirations and dreams, though they may be different from your friend or neighbor's aspiration and dreams. It is about finding solutions and reaching consensus on which solution is best. It is about making right compromises and getting united behind an ideal that a nation or a group of nations should pursue.
Politics is about finding the leaders among us who can best guide us to where we want to go. It is about kicking out corrupt politicians.
Politics is about determining whether the primary function of the government is to create jobs, or to create and keep the right environment so that entrepreneurs can create jobs. It is about convincing our leaders to spend more on education than on debt-servicing. It is about convincing one’s compatriot to pay a more taxes so that universal health care can be more affordable to all, like in the UK and here in Japan.
Politics is about convincing all of humanity that our planet is endangered because of global warming and that something should be done about it. Politics is about charting a better future for our children and their children.
For all these reasons, I believe that there is nothing wrong about being passionate about politics. To forget politics -- to just let politicians do their thing -- is to forget about our children’s future.
I think the real issue when we say that too much politics is divisive is the issue on how should politics be discussed, considering our diverse backgrounds and political persuasions.
What I admire most with TF is how the discussions are moderated. There is discipline and members are "more than" encouraged to be polite and civil to one another. With this discipline, political discussion -- whether it be expressing one's political belief or campaigning for a certain politician -- can, therefore, be enlightening and made in good taste. If TF sticks to this discipline, it can become a, if not THE, pioneer of enlightened political discourse and compromise among Filipinos.
Nakikiusap po ako sa inyo na sana masimulan natin sa ating mga sarili ang pakikipag-usap nang maayos tungkol sa pulitika. And let's have a lot of it. Para sa ikabubuti rin natin ito.
Given such discipline, TF can also serve as the forum where Filipinos, not only Filipinos in Japan, can exchange ideas on how to best minimize political abuse and where we can be mobilized to stop political abuse in our country, sans sloganeering and the other antics that have turned off a lot of our compatriots from participating actively in politics. Frankly speaking, I am really bothered that we are all very good at coming up with a very long list of what our political leaders should do for us, yet very few among us are willing to take on the responsibility of ensuring that we elect good leaders. The possibility of fraud happening with the OAV right here in Japan is real, yet very few appear to have the courage to do something about it. Sa Panloloko, may nanloloko at may nagpapaloko.
Thus, when my friend told me that politics is nothing without hard work, I readily agreed with him. Perhaps, the title of this post should have been then “More Politics and Hard Work?”