Res Ipsa Loquitur and those things Non Sequitur

Ugh.

With the president’s SONA completed, people are once more going on endless political debates, discussions, ramblings and grand standings… But the bottomline is, will all of these heavily winded arguments and opinions really prove to be helpful for all of us? Well, maybe. Maybe not. Color me jaded, but I really do not think any of this is helpful. Which is why I have vowed not to make any political stands, express any policy opinions or to even rant about anything political in this blog. Yeah, yeah. You might be thinking that I’m beginning to sound like your average, apathetic 20 something person. You might be right, but I just refuse to join the circus. And quite honestly, I, unlike most other people (politicians, mostly), know that I really don’t know enough to begin talking my mouth off about all this. So there.

But then again... this topic is just too juicy to pass up on. So will I now break my promise? I don’t know yet. Let’s just see what I end up writing here, then we’ll both pass judgment on me.

First off, let me just applaud those house representatives and other politicians who so vehemently swear to the president’s being the child of Satan, the bringer of Doom and *gasp*… the oppressor of the masses! Oops. Masa pala. Its great the way they so eagerly condemn and criticize without a thought, how they just seem to keep boycotting everything the administration has been doing, all for the greater good of the masa. Just great. Hopefully, that is what motivates them. Hopefully. But we all know what goes on behind those not-so-closed minds. As Jinggoy once said, espouse the rule of law through civil disobedience. Define irony.

Quit grand standing, people. Tama na ang drama at pasikat. If its change you want, there are legal ways to get there. But apparently, you people still lack support and numbers. Does this have anything to do with the fact that you might not be representing the majority of the population as you so claim to be? I don’t know. But if you do, then the legal process will get you what you want. That’s what it’s there for. You just can’t point a finger at someone you don’t like, raise all hell, and kick her out. Point your finger and explain why she needs kicking out. Prove it. Prove it in the proper venue. Prove it through legal means. And most importantly, prove it convincingly and not implausibly—not through raw emotions and unthinking fervor. The evil intent must be properly shown to exist on its face. Without the legal process, you may inadvertently get what you want and have one hell of a violent overturning of power, but that won’t make it right. It won’t make the whole thing proper. It just won’t follow. And sooner or later, you’ll just be consumed the same way. And the cycle will begin anew. Show your sincerity to your so-called cause, show us that what you do have in hand is truthful, and show these to us properly, and you’ll be going the right way. Hey, I’d be willing to root for that cause. And that’s saying much for someone like me.

And if it’s not clear, all this presupposes that guilt is really in the air.


Oh, and of course, people, offer a viable alternative naman…. Waitaminit! What am I saying? There really isn’t any one out there who can lead this country. Anyone currently in position, that is. Yep, I believe that no one in government can save us. As I recently read in another blog, some of the best people are not in government (and they’re probably some of the best since they aren’t in government). And jumping off from that premise, I think that only someone who hasn’t been tainted with the grime and dirt of our current system can be capable of doing something actually helpful for the whole country. Plato had the idea of starting from scratch, of cutting off all the dead wood—and I think that’s what we need. Frankly, there is nothing more to do with the dead wood that we have. No, what we have isn’t dead wood but rotten moldy wood that spread disease. So, the only thing to do is cut them off since you really can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Leave them in position and they’ll just keep doing what they’ve grown accustomed to, and in some cases, what they’ve been trained to do(dynasties anyone?). Fr. B once said that there is a failure of growth in the maturity level of our system of governance, and I’d like to add that the system hasn’t grown, but those running it have grown old and far to secure and comfortable in it. They’ll prevent growth because they’re already okay with it—to the detriment of the whole country….

Wait, wait, wait. This is now turning out to be one of those posts that I hate. Sorry guys. It’s just all so frustrating. But there it is. What we need is new blood. And don’t give me the excuse that whoever that person is, he’d lack experience. Forget the traditional way of looking at the nation’s leader. No need for him to be a lawyer, an economist, a politician. We’ve been there and we’ve done that. And it didn’t work. Having traits and badges of these people do not ensure good leadership. It does not follow. So what does?

Inspiration.

As long as we get someone who can inspire us, it’ll be okay. It is a basic management principle that one of the best leaders are those who are transformational. The problem with the way things now is that we all expect our leader to be a superman who will do everything for us. But that just doesn’t work. What we need is a person who can teach us and inspire us to do our fair share of the work that needs to be done. We need someone to believe in. We need a rally point. It won’t matter if he can’t do the economics, the politics and the administration of the presidency. All he needs to be able to do is to lead. Because once he can do this, there will always be people who can do this for the rest of the country—and without the usual greed involved. Non sequitur? I don’t think so. Look at those transformational leaders we know. Just look at what Gandhi achieved, and to a much lesser degree, what Mahatir accomplished. Inspire us and we’d gladly follow. All of us.

Haha. This leads me to a rather peculiar little anecdote (and to get me off this boring topic). There was this kid who was so utterly stupid in Math. Really stupid. So stupid that he just kept on failing… and failing… and failing in almost all of his subjects that involved numbers. And when I say fail, I do mean faiiiiil. Be it Algebra, Geometry etc. Hey! He even took Accounting thrice! But guess what? He ended up as the president of the Ateneo Math Club! With no mathematical qualifications whatsoever. And that was the year that the Club became soooo cool! Hehe. Biased ba? But really now, the Club had such a great year because its members gave it their all. Of course the president couldn’t enter into competitions and other mathematical activities since he really didn’t know anything about these things(good thing the members were such nerds. Haha! Who am I kidding? Back then, no one was a bigger geek than I was!), but the Club still continued to win prestige for itself and enticed new members to join. All because of the conviction of the members. Until now, I get approached by members who I no longer remember and they tell me of the fun they had during that time. Maybe it’s because of the fact that if there was one thing I did contribute to the Club, it was the parties and social events that were integrated to the Club’s culture. Hey! I did what I could.

So there. I’m not really sure if that was helpful, but I do type these things as they come to me. Daloy ng kamalayan baga. But it did get me off that political topic. Sigh. This is why I don’t like coming up with political posts. But at least I didn’t say anything about GMA’s speech or the proposed charter change. However, I guess it’s rather obvious that I’m not for the parliamentary system, huh? But that’s a story for no other time because henceforth, I promise not to tackle politics here again. But the damage is done, and an hour of our time is gone(yep, real long post this time—if you’re still reading up to this point). So there, ready the eggs and tomatoes, people. I deserve your judgment.And I did talk my mouth off about something I know nothing about. Hehe. Sorry guys!

But at least I’m going to Zambales this weekend. Whew! Maybe a little sand and surf will get me thinking straight again. Excited! And my girl will be there with me! Thanks babe!