Emata: In excess of politics

Sunday, January 22, 2012

MANY years ago during the time of Presidents Roxas, Osmeña, Quirino, Magsaysay and Garcia, excessive and dirty politics were unknown. Good and qualified people ran for various positions with nothing in mind but to serve. There was no vote-buying, no dirty campaign, no personal attack and other form of violence. There was nothing but respect, peace and friendship.

The country then was one of the best in Asia in terms of prestige, economic stability, development and growth. Some Asian nations envied our country the way it was ran and managed. Of course, there were still sporadic violence and petty crimes but they never reached a frightening magnitude. Politics were exercised with utmost care and friendship for which every after an election process, people and candidates forget everything and went on cooperating. The country grew up to a surprising extent.

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It was in the later years during the time of Pres. Marcos that our ways of exercising elections dwindled so much and with it went vote-buying, assassinations, ugly political campaign, private armies and so many others. After each election, political rivals went on with their fight and they never become friends again. That was true to their supporters who carried on the fight for years until they disappear from the surface of the Earth.

Such highly irregular handling of political exercises dragged on until today and uglier scenarios appear each time there is an election. Political vendetta became a regular habit of politician as accusations in court surface regardless if the matters had legal basis or not. Murder and all types of violence emerge every time there is political campaign and so many lives are lost in the name of politics.

This is not the kind of politics the Americans are having. Candidates after each election become friends and forget everything that transpired during the campaign. They never resort to violence during heated campaign. They fight on issues and matters that concern the country. Elections here are truly beautiful and a nice exercise of democratic procedure.

How we can change our habit of bad elections is the thing that everyone should think about? We have lots of prestigious organizations like civic, religious, professionals, etc. and all these groups can suggest of things to be done to straighten our kind of democracy. We need determined citizens to introduce new innovations to change our styles of exercising freedom.

For decades, our leaders and people have exercised a false freedom. We keep on passing into our youth such an ugly and distorted method of handling elections. The wrong practice have been accepted and considered a way of life, thus taken as normal and acceptable. It has been a long time that our people are hungry of the truth and the correct things to improve our understanding of freedom. We must get away with vote-buying, dirty campaign propaganda, violence and other ugly practices.