Think about it
Making the system survive
By Jun Velasco
“Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people,” Abraham Lincoln
WE should be able to learn a few and probably obvious lessons from the recent barangay elections.
No doubt, the exercise was full of holes. Some critics say democracy got shot again in the head.
In some parts, it was a farce.
The nation was thrown on a spin again, with many wondering if with the bashing, it was worth it at all.
But it made the winners feel triumphant. Congratulate them.
To some who would call for the elections’ abolition because some of the practices were flawed, should reflect a little.
The Comelec did right on the SK. But will it be justified in doing so in the adult’s world?
It is still matira ang matibay thing.
If you don’t have the stomach for it, better shun it, rather than cry shouting “I was robbed.”
From the start, you knew what it was “anything goes” game.
* * * *
We have reports of vote buying – massive in some parts, in others, the usually ‘accepted practices made the common folk salivate for the bribe;’ there were some forms of violence, misrepresentations, and other outright foul practices.
The Comelec and police authorities were tasked to guard the polls, but the smart Alecks were always able to beat the odds and win.
You see, in spite of its bad points — democracy is still better than dictatorship or communism; but it has plenty of pitfalls.
Beneath the malpractices lurk the power of money.
You say, why does the Comelec look the other way when abuses were being committed?
Again, we bring you to areas where even the epitome of good governance get shot down by abuses.
You all know what’s going on in the Pork Barrel scandal that has crashed on the most senior of our national officials, one even voted as a national hero.
But the victim of that heroic exercise has lately become a victim, a martyr, a hero, rather than a heel.
So, we are now witnesses to the temporariness of our presumptions. It takes time for history to hand down its judgment.
In point of fact, there are known heroes in our books who would later turn out to be villains.
Methinks, what matters is a political approach that allow a most viable and doable exercise that’s approved by the majority, sans use of force or violence.
It remains an ideal in a democracy that we have yet to achieve.
Meanwhile, we should practice the art of accepting defeat as a bitter pill to make the system work. Congrats to the winners, and the losers, too, for their role in preserving a democratic ideal.
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