The elections are over. Most of the candidates I supported lost in the balloting. I don’t know whether this was because of digital cheating or massive vote buying or not. But I take it that ultra-right thinking is still dominant in the country, especially among the masses. I thought we would go the way of the United States in this election, with the voters there finally getting rid of Donald Trump, although his kind of thinking can still be felt there.
Although they lost, I say the forces aligned with Vice President Leni Robredo have shown a willingness to stay the course, this time as a foundation, a non-government organization or NGO. I think this is the correct way to go. The spirit of volunteerism and the propagation of liberal democratic values by the pink movement during the campaign period should not be wasted. But that needs a strong leadership that Robredo seems to be willing to provide.
I was a youngster brimming with idealism when Ferdinand Marcos Sr. established his dictatorship by declaring military rule in 1972. In this, the second coming of the Marcoses, I am already a sickly senior citizen and family man. I could no longer do the things I did when I was younger, which means that my participation in nation-building is already very limited. But I can still help an NGO succeed. I still have some talents to contribute.
But I would no longer bother myself with how the government is run. The majority deserve the leaders they vote into office. Let these leaders do their thing while I shut off and do things mainly for me and my family. I don’t want to be stressed out in the next six years. This, after all, is what retirement is all about.
But I would like to join the planned Angat Buhay NGO especially if it focuses more on the idea of helping one another. Bayanihan, after all, is what our country urgently needs. The bayanihan that was at the core of the pink movement should be put to good use. I hope its purpose would not be diverted by the influence of trolls. Let these trolls focus on helping the government that they voted into office. The pink movement must not be distracted or stressed out.
On July 1, the details of what the Angat Buhay NGO will look like will be divulged. I am excited mainly because we haven’t seen a kind of movement like this before. A self-help group that embraces the whole nation, one that espouses liberal democratic values, is unprecedented. I really hope that it succeeds.
Moving on from an electoral defeat is difficult. But if the losers do not tarry long from the anguish brought about by the defeat and find ways to speedily rechannel and refocus their energies, the pain would be momentary and the wound won’t be deep. Moving on won’t be difficult.
I am more excited now on what the future holds for the pink movement and no longer worrying about what will happen to the country in the next six years.