|
Friday, October 10, 2003
Roperos: A political phenomenon
By Godofredo M. Roperos
It’s political season once again. A season that could be a bleak “winter” of our lives, or an autumn with our politics renewing itself to give us the spring of our democracy that we never had before.
Or it could be a summer, the natural temper of the tropics that portends of normal circumstances, a neutral situation that could be freely maneuvered to be either good or bad for the prevailing condition. The latter should be the democratic ideal for us—a circumstance that is neither good nor bad, but can be made to be either.
But it depends upon the temperament of the people involved in the political exercise. At least, it is a situation that is not predictable, that has not earlier been condemned or seen to be violent-prone, or possibly one that could be marked with fraud and terrorism and death.
Our country has been through this circumstance before. In the early ‘50s, there had been heroic victims like the slain mayor Moises Padilla of Negros Occidental that forged a president of Ramon Magsaysay, then defense secretary in President Quirino’s Cabinet.
Philippine politics is a bit too raucous to insure a stable democracy—one that projects a more comforting maturity rather than a childish emotionalism that has been the general feature of Philippine politics since the 1946 Independence.
Political power and influence have become the priced “pie” of political movement and struggle. And where the effort to hold to power through the normal, legitimate means becomes too risky and untenable, the use of the so-called three “Gs”—gold, guns, and goons—is instantly resorted to.
But there is a new feature that has in the past decade surreptitiously moved into the political portrait of our country. And this is the ascendant power of media as epitomized in the show business industry. The politics of the current decade has been largely fought in or through the use of the media.
Riding on the still unsaddled back of the sophisticated, yet totally amazing communications technology that ushered in the so-called information revolution, the showbiz industry blatantly altered the set patterns of our politics.
The industry, without really meaning to, has given the nation’s politicians a lesson or two on how to become a senator, and then, president of the nation. Too late the people who have truly a political vocation realized that one could be a successful politician without meaning to.
That is, be a successful and lovable pet of the show business industry, and one can become a politician without really wanting it from the start. In fact, one can just be a successful motion picture hero, and presto, one can be president of the republic.
Take the persistence of the popularity among our masses of a rookie senator as a raw, frightening example. The rookie senator has suddenly become a presidential timber in his own right, simply because he anchors a popular television program, even if he did not write or thought out the materials of his program.
The consistent phenomenal high ratings he is getting in the survey is more earned as a “visual” star, rather than as an intellectual figure that has gained for him the respect of the citizenry.
This reality brings into focus a serious question about the social and political values of our masses. Indeed, as reflected in one reported national survey after another, the phenomenon surrounding the rookie senator’s top rating makes us seriously wonder about the credibility of the surveys, the effectiveness and reach of the nation’s media, and more gravely, the values—or perhaps, the sanity—of our average citizen.
The rookie senator, as well as another movie star who is a popular silver screen hero, are said to be contemplating on vying for the presidency of the nation in next year’s elections.
I am not blaming them for allowing themselves the luxury of aspiring for the presidency. It is a democratic right, and the option has been offered them practically on a silver plate, just like the head of John the Baptist as price for their popularity in the show business industry.
No one could blame them if they think they can be president of the country. But I pity the country and our people. We have had the sad experience already at the hands of a macho movie star. But it takes more than acting savvy to run a nation or a government.
But truth to tell, this is a political condition that a democratic nation like ours, appears helpless to do anything about. What we could all probably do is undertake a collective prayer to the Lord that He enlightens not just the would-be presidential candidates, but also the masses to have more sense than to believe a mere showbiz personality can ably manage a democratic republic.
It is even more so if the country has long been beleaguered with graft and corruption, is economically crippled and socially debased with a staggeringly high poverty level.
(October 10, 2003 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[ return
to top ]
[ home
]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
