THE heat of the election fever is increasing, and this will be the situation up until election day. This is the perfect time of the year for politicians to put their best smile and wave their hands more frequently. This is also the best time for politicians to make promises and for people to either be both hopeful and foolish in their aspirations.
But let’s admit it, no politician is not ambitious. All politicians are ambitious. All of them would like and love to climb up the ladder whether in the name of genuine or authentic service or plainly for the sake of money making. It was the Italian Renaissance political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli who said that in its entirety politics is nothing but the acquisition, retention, and expansion of power.
So there is no point looking for an immaculate or spotless politician. Outside of the theoretical sphere, politics is irreconcilable with ethics. Despite Aristotle’s assertion that politics is nothing but an extension of ethics, his idea was more of a norm analyzed and understood in terms of conceptual abstraction.
It is important to remind ourselves of the truth about politics. It would be more consoling for us not to be deluded in our search for spotless candidates. Choosing political leaders is not a process of beatification or canonization.
So who should we vote for? I have a few realistic tips, which people may or may not consider. First, instead of saying that we should go for someone who is not “mukhang pera,” we better look for a candidate who believes that money is important in politics. However, this candidate must be skillful enough to make use of the money in order to produce or create tangible structures that best benefit the people.
I would also go for someone who believes in the power of science and technology. This is much needed in order to transform people’s lives and pull them out from ignorance.
I will not vote for a candidate who keeps on talking about poverty. That person does not know what poverty is all about. A politician who keeps on talking about poverty is like a doctor who makes a wrong diagnosis of a person’s sickness. Poverty is like a monster with many hearts. No politician can put an end to poverty in its entirety. The important question though is what specific measures or steps can be taken in order to gradually end the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
We need politicians who are willing to capacitate people. I am yet to hear from any of them say that it is his or her dream to increase people’s capacity to accomplish their long-term economic desires. Truth to tell, politicians are instead prodding people’s inabilities. It appears that they want people to remain in where they are. It is sad to think that politicians would not want people to move out from their misery because miserable people are warm bodies needed for this entire political drama to perpetuate.
In the field of environmental protection and climate change, I am looking for a candidate who would say that he trusts in the power of science to change. I won’t vote for a candidate who would merely promise to make laws that would stop this or that. We better slap ourselves and wake up to the fact that we have made laws that are not effective because they are all words and nothing more. Law is a component of governance. But are we creating laws that facilitate the increase of scientific knowledge, or are our laws reflective of our ignorance in matters of science.
Oftentimes, we miss the point when we choose politicians. Instead of focusing on their spiritual purity and neatness let us be realistic with the given, i.e. all of them have the propensity towards achievement, self-gratification, and thirst for popularity. But since we will give them power and authority anyway, let us choose the more skillful, i.e. the more knowledgeable in the practical realm of governance.
I still believe though that even if we remove morality from our criteria of selection, some candidates do not possess the needed track record in order to govern this country. Apparently, experience in boxing and acting are irrelevant preparations for a post in governance. Not even an experience in the PNP as “tokhang chief” would qualify for the same.