SOMETHING is out of line in the way the current political campaign is moving.
I could foresee in the way our political aspirants and would-be candidates are going on the hustings that they will do things on their own and not as it used to be when it was one for all, and all for one. Now, each candidate is not sure he or she would be carried by his/her group in the campaign.
Politics in this time and age is different. I do not know, but political aspirants seem to be an unusual bloodline, to use the language of the cockfight aficionado. Ideology no longer matters. Neither does political philosophy, or personal principles. If one wants to get political power and influence, he should go for it regardless of how he does it.
And the political struggle appears to have gone down to the level of unprincipled man-to-man competition. Candidates look for whatever group would take them, just so long as they would have an organization which is registered with the Commission on Elections, or is accepted by the public as a political group with a semblance of following and a bloc of supporters.
One wants to be part of a political group not due to ideology, political philosophy or platform of government but simply because one wants to be in a position to wield political power and influence. To be able to do that, one must be identified with a political party or faction to project an image of being part of a political support group.
Right now, it has become gravely difficult for one to pick a particular lineup as his choice of local and national leaders on the basis of a platform of government, or of an ideology, or political principles. He has to sort out one by one the candidates for a particular position and then “develop” his own line up, composed of various names picked from different political line parties, whether national or local, and then hope that most of those he picks would make it to the winning slate.
The point is that one votes now more for luck than for wisdom, hope and faith that what he is doing would redound to the good of his town, province, and country. There is really no assurance that what the voters will get would be good for the country.
Who was the American politician that said, when it was his turn to vote for their independence: “I do not know what course others may take, but as for me, give me freedom or give me death.” In our case, what choice is there for us to take?