Think about it
Senatoriables
By Jun Velasco
WE begin this column with a quote sent by our favorite academe star, AR, who loiters around our meditation room.
“A large jar full of water gets emptied by just a tiny hole. If a little anger and pride drains out the nobility of a good heart, how much more if unforgiveness is added. It will punch many holes and makes us drained fast and wasted. Let God heal us with patches of His mercy and love.”
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On a number of occasions when we sounded him out about this loose talk he should be drafted to the senate, Secretary Ping koy Duque was evasive.
“We are saddled with mountains of work, how can we talk of politics?”
Meantime, several groups have been pledging support. But he is consistent in his elusiveness. His brothers Cesar and Gonzalo are also elusive.
But the power brokers know their terrain. Pingkoy, they say, will make a very good candidate . . . and later, good senator. They refuse to give up the idea of a “Senator Duque.”
Pingkoy’s evolution into a senatoriable was slowly shaped by his high ratings (highest in most polls groups) Social Weather Station, Pulse Asia, anti graft leagues, and performance gallups, etc.
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Another senatoriable, businessman Joey de Venecia III, is taking it easy. At least, he, unlike Pingkoy, is using the opposition idiom.
So what of it? What matters is the public perception that he is one of the top senatorial timbers in the islands,
Last week, he spoke at a world youth leaders confab in Portugal. The audience was spellbound as he hammered out causes for the youth and good governance worldwide.
We’ve been talking to Joey and Pingkoy about leadership. Both are super fit for senator even if they are on opposite sides. Wish them both the best of luck.
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In San Carlos City, Mayor Ayoy Resuello’s leadership is being challenged by several wannabes, not knowing the guy’s careful and massive preparation.
His choice of younger brother Joseres as his vice in 20l0 has irritated those envious of the postion. Maybe, they will succeed a bit in scrapping some votes from his arsenal, but it will take miracle to defeat him, especially now that he is taking his job and his enemies seriously. This is why he shrugs off every report some people are after his postion, dismissing it “awey!”
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After the much celebrated “Get a life” article, we are printing an e-mailed contribution that seeks to enlighten and lift the cobwebs from our mind. Just the excerpts. Read on.
“Despite the anxieties of the times, happiness has been on the rise around the world in recent years, a new survey finds.
The upbeat outlook is attributed to economic growth in previously poor countries, democratization of others, and rising social tolerance for women and minority groups.
“It’s widely believed that it’s almost impossible to raise an entire country’s happiness level.”
Denmark is the happiest nation and Zimbabwe the the most glum, he found. The United States ranks 16th.
Researchers have asked: “Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?” And, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”
A Happiness Index created from the answers rose in 40 countries between 1981 and 2007, and it fell in the other 12.
Inglehart said. “The belief has been that no matter what happens or what we do, basic happiness levels are stable and don’t really change.”
So Inglehart’s team was surprised that happiness “rose substantially.” They speculate reasons for the sunny outlooks include societal shifts in recent decades: Low-income countries such as India and China have experienced unprecedented rates of economic growth; dozens of medium-income countries have democratized; and there has been a sharp rise of gender equality and tolerance of ethnic minorities and gays and lesbians in developed societies.
Previous research has found that happiness is partly inherited and that money doesn’t buy much of it.
Yet the new survey finds people of rich countries tend to be happier than those of poor countries. And controlling for economic factors, certain types of societies are much happier than others.
“The results clearly show that the happiest societies are those that allow people the freedom to choose how to live their lives,” Inglehart said
(Readers may reach columnist at junmv@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/think-about-it/ For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)
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