INTROSPECTION: LOOKING INWARDS
by Donald Sevilla
Our politics is as messy as it is noisy. Real progress is hindered by constant bickering and blaming, that breed division rather than foster unity.
While all politicians profess to promote the people’s welfare, we miserably fail as our interests prevail. To begin with, we start out with different versions of our own hypocrisy. How else can we justify spending a lot more money than what could possibly be legally and morally earned in public office?
While true public service is anchored on a sincere intention to serve our people do we make the cut? Not everyone is in it for the money but we all have our reasons. Fame, power and glory may motivate some but at the end of the day, realism outweighs our idealism.
The adage that ” politics is not for the faint of heart ” and “if you don’t want to get your hands dirty, don’t enter politics” can never be more true. Yet someone must do the dirty work to keep society clean and our lives comfortable.
This is the irony of a system we were born and bred into. A utopian society is far from ideal and impossible to achieve. But we must go on and live a life of order amid the chaos.
Yet our politics is only as good or bad as ourselves. It is the not so ideal means to a noble end. While we have to wrestle with our inner demons we must not lose sight of our lofty goals.
There is no perfect politician but we muat let the leader in us break out and evolve. To be successful we must balance our weaknesses and strengths. Remember the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
So how then must we lead and survive? While history and our legacy will judge us, we must constantly look at ourselves from time to time. Great leaders spend time meditating and reflecting upon themselves.
As we humans are frail and weak we must find and develop our inner strength to make a difference in the lives of those we serve. We must learn to walk the extra mile and not be content with superficial manifestations of a good leadership.
While we admire the visibility and approachability of our politicians, it is much more. Our success as leaders is not merely determined by the quantity of infrastructure we built but by the number and quality of lives we changed and improved.
This said, it is indeed a tall order. Not everyone is cut out to the task.Yet our choices reflect us. Did we make the right choice?
Only time will tell.