BY EDISON MARTE SICAD
“What’s true is what the leader says is true. The obliteration of the line between truth and a lie is fundamental to grasp because it is so elemental to a functioning democracy…” – Steve Schmidt, Fmr. GOP strategist
FOOL THE people once, shame on the politicians. Fool the people twice, shame on the people.
Every election period, the shame is on us.
I dare argue that the widespread perennial corruption of government officials is no longer their fault. We can no longer blame them because we have voluntarily made ourselves an integral part of the problem — again and again.
In a democratic society, the power to govern is, first and foremost, the power to choose. It means that the immense power of our politicians to decide and act for the country had its legal validity from the equally immense and sacred responsibility of the people to vote wisely.
I dare argue that the brazen and nauseating illegal activities of our government officials are no longer their fault, regardless of any conviction — if any. Of course, the justice system, being a manifestation of a functioning republican democracy, has its redeeming factor.
But even then — modifying a legal maxim — the fruit of a poisonous tree is nurtured by its roots. In a dictatorial system, we can at least reasonably blame the despotic ruler for his or her actions. But in a system of democracy—from the Greek words “demos“, meaning people, and “kratos” meaning power — the blame is on us. “Democracy can be thought of as ‘power of the people’: a way of governing which depends on the will of the people.”
In a sense, we, the people, have willed our own demise. The democratic system has been corrupted because there are corrupt public officials who are elected to office (again and again), which could ultimately mean that we have corrupt voters. Corruption is a state of a nation.
This “conspiracy of corruption” is even more embarrassing today since the voters now have all the means and opportunity to fact-check and learn the political history of a candidate. It is not that we don’t have the needed information to guide us to vote wisely. It is just that we choose not to vote wisely.
Does anyone really believe that campaign speeches are honest and sincere?
Can we really believe that political lineups and party affiliations are for the common good?
Is public service really a public trust?
I only have two success indicators of a true public service: good roads and excellent public transport system.
We, the people, must consider our public officials as an extension of our personal accountability as responsible citizens. They are but the accessories and we are the principals, so to speak. It can then be argued that our state of corruption is a self-induced oppression. We conspire with our public leaders by giving them the power to abuse us, betray our trust, and desecrate our democratic principles.
Somehow, those in power have taught us not only that we have the right to express ourselves — without regard to universal values, virtues, and inherent human dignity — but also, unfortunately, that we have the right to believe whatever we want to believe and impose such belief on others.
In a sense, these so-called committee hearings and investigations in aid of legislation are nothing but social media showmanship: to make a good impression to the people for the upcoming election.
Our politicians have become social media influencers.
On a positive note, since we are the root cause of our social and political problems, we are also the solution. And this can begin with personal integrity. Our actions that may seem small and inconsequential, our decisions that may seem personal and powerless, our honest work that most likely will go unnoticed, these are the intangibles that can make a nation truly democratic.
But then, this coming midterm 2025 election, I guess we will be fooled again. Shame. Shame on us.
*Suggested reading: The Philippine presidents: memoirs of Carlos P. Romulo with Beth Day Romulo
This 1988 booklet (160 pages) made me realize how corruption and politics are of the same side of the coin. From Aguinaldo to Marcos, the author shared his experiences as to the challenges of Presidential leadership./PN
