So much hype had been given already to the 2010 presidential elections. I can’t blame anyone for it because choosing our next president is serious business, and that in many ways it will have an impact on our country for better or for worse. But then the hype once bugged me a bit, and now I am asking myself a question: After the elections, what now?
I did some thinking, and I realized that no elections can change our country unless we ourselves change our own attitudes. We are a democracy and that means the real power comes from the people, not the elected leaders. If dictators become powerful as a result of the people’s complacency, so does a good leader fail when the citizens themselves are irresponsible. I believe that it is more than just corruption in the government that keeps our country topsy-turvy; our real problem lies in our own laziness. Even if our new leaders are bonafide saints, our country will not go anywhere if we do not cooperate with the new government and perform our duties and jobs well. But does each of us do that after voting?
JF Kennedy meant it well when he proclaimed that, “Do not ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country”. Nation-building is a relationship between people and their leaders, and not simply the burden of the leaders alone. Good government exists just to provide opportunities and certain needs of the people. The larger part of our progress comes from our hard work, discipline, and initiative as citizens. Why, even history has proven many times that even if the leaders were bad, nations can still move on and prosper as long as the people themselves worked and held on to good ideals. So alongside a good government, we ourselves should also be good people and be good at our daily jobs. We, too, should also be the first to obey the basic rules and regulations of our community, and embody the values of love and care for our fellow men.
It is unfortunate that many of us do not heed the wisdom of JF Kennedy. Many of us think that our civic duties end after we have voted for our new leaders. We foolishly believe that they themselves will do all the work for us and no one would even lift a finger to help with their plans. What is worse is that there are also those who think that the only worthwhile thing left to do after the elections is to just sit in one corner and look for all the problems and faults of our government, and when some dirt is found there we go again with EDSA rallies and chaos. Hey, I know it is wrong to deny the anomalies and corruption in the high places, but isn’t it too much to see nothing but the bad in our leaders? Not only are we uncooperative, we also do not see the good efforts that our elected officials are trying to do. We like to protest all day but after protesting, do any of us practice excellence at our daily occupations? Are we ever grateful for the good things that some of our politicians do? Are we good workers in the office? Are we diligent enough as students in school? Do we love each other and care for our fellow men? Very few of us ever have the initiative to work hard and to put more effort in improving our nation and our own lives. And like spoiled brats we fuss, fume, and rally with hate in the streets over the pettiest issues or when we do not get what we want. Oh, we are so fast at denouncing the government when we think that they committed some mistake. But then we, too, break rules and regulations and bribe with impunity and call it “freedom”. It is like seeing the speck in the other’s eye while neglecting the log in one’s own. If our leaders are ever really bad, it may also be because the people from where they came cannot be good or pure, either.
So please, do some thinking. Our responsibilities as patriots and citizens do not end with our vote. Let us move on and give our full support to the officials we put in power. The factory for our progressive future lies in our daily responsibilities. The real work begins after the hoopla of the elections fall silent.
