Beware of Promises

By Johanne R. Macob

 

AT too many points in our lives, we have received more than a few promises, and have given perhaps nearly the same amount of pledges, as well. From our most personal relationships, to the practical, and to the social ones, promises are important. Some were kept, some were forgotten while the fate of some are still unknown.

Last February 9, the campaign period for national candidates for the May 9 elections has started, and on March 25, our local bets will officially start wooing voters although our local politicos have actually long started their campaigns, already making promises early on. Every candidate is swearing to give us all a better life.

I just realized that we’re a society of promises-lovers. We’d rather hear empty promises than confront the harsh truths. We love a make-believe world. No wonder a politician’s promise of a good governance despite the glaring reality of bad administration could still mean something.

This is a clichè call, but let us beware of our politicians’ promises.

I’d like us to think of the political bets as commercial products. Each one’s advertisement promises to give us the best product there is in the market, the one with the highest quality but the most affordable, one that will give value for our money. Some of these products we have already tried. Some of them we haven’t tried. And only a few of them are actually too good to be true.

So, think of which and how to choose the commercial products we should trust for our families. We should not consider who endorses the product initially nor the packaging or the ‘look’. We should first check the label, the ingredients that make the product. Let’s read more about the products in the market to know which product has what it takes to fulfill what it promises. We should not just believe that “Brand X” is better than “Brand Y” all because the former says so. We can choose to keep the products that we have already tried and tested them, if they have been providing us the services they have promised. Or, we can go and change them.

This is also how we should choose who to vote for. Let’s go beyond who endorses the candidates. More importantly, let’s check their credentials and experiences. If they were already elected before, let’s look into what they have accomplished for us. Let us be an involved society of voters that seeks to know more about the candidates before we make our choices.

Everyone is capable of making promises but sadly, only a few are true to their words. We need to know about the platforms, how these can be achieved. However, we should simply believe that he/she can do certain things without providing a concrete plan of action. We should stop believing or even listening to someone who has been lying all along. We must do away with pathetic politicians whose only skill is employ dirty politics, to make the other candidate/s look bad in order to look better. Let us not be deceived by someone’s wealth because good leadership does not require it. Let us seek out that candidate that has the knowledge, the experience and the sincere passion for public service, a leader who is respectful and who we can be proud to call our very own ‘representative’ who shares our values.

Unlike picking out best commercial products, choosing our candidates is a far more serious and daunting task. If we are disappointed with our soap or food, it’s easy to replace them but once we elect a candidate, it’d take us a lot of time and resources to get rid of them. So, let’s vote wisely by checking on them this campaign period.

(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)

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