by Donald Sevilla
A DAUNTING CHALLENGE
We cannot compare apples to lemons nor puddings to pies, yet, as a society we can’t help but admire the level of maturity and responsibility that others display more than us.
Looking back in time, we once were the pride of Asia. Manila the capital city was dubbed “the Pearl of the Orient” in the 1950’s extolling its beauty and characterizing it as a hidden gem.
Well, today, that moniker is consigned to history and in our elementary textbooks. What happened?
While the rest of our Asian neighbors were lagging far behind and nowhere near being economic powerhouses, we were already in the forefront leading the pack.
But now it seems we are the ones catching up. We are struggling, trying our best to keep with the pack.
Sadly what we gained, we lost to the inefficiency, incompetence and corruption of our leaders. But no country’s politics is clean and perfect. We would be hypocrites to say so.
Yet the level of dedication and commitment to public service varies from people to people determined in part by cultural values and traditions.
Those who suffered more and endured them, tend to value lessons learned and try their best to refrain from committing the same mistakes. While those who had it easy may take things for granted and feel a sense of entitlement.
In the Philippines politics play a major role in our lives whether we like it or not. It affects our society greatly and we are heavily politicized. It reflects in our conduct towards it and how we live it.
Politically motivated killings and violence are not uncommon. But what drives us to do crazy things to be in power?
If public service is the main goal, why resort to such dirty tricks of the trade?
We could be better off than others and that’s for sure as we were then.
Yet we ended up in this quagmire. How do we get ourselves out of the rut? Jose Rizal posed to us this challenge long ago when he faced the muskets in Bagumbayan field. He sacrificed himself for love of God and country.
Are we up to the task or should we let his legacy be in vain?
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