Transforming Philippine Politics - Crushing Fatalism, Apathy and Prostitution of the People"s Votes
When one is fishing for tilapia in a shallow pond, a sinker may no longer be necessary.
But in deeper waters with moving currents, this part of a fishing gear is indispensable.
The old witch, Deception, knows that very well.
She knows that comparatively speaking, the number of voters is actually way-way bigger than the number of her dedicated crooks in politics.
I strongly believe that the Philippines is not yet that poor in terms of the number of good men and women who are genuinely concerned for her well-being.
A vast majority may be ignorant victims, being self-absorbed in their struggle to keep both ends meet.
But I don't believe the predators have already outnumbered their prey.
They are still a small minority, only that they are the ones holding the political, economic, social and natural resources of our country - mostly with legitimate, legal mandate of the masses through their votes and docile subscription to Deception's schemes.
And as one statesman put it well, "The only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
" The summons is now more urgent than ever.
We need to see more and more Filipinos taking their stand for what is right and just and good.
In the ancient biblical story regarding two extremely wicked cities - Sodom and Gomorrah - the Bible records how God disclosed to His dear friend Abraham His plan of judging the two cities.
Whether Abraham was simply motivated by his concern for his nephew - Lot - and his family living in one of those cities, or was really and genuinely concerned for the people's welfare, the Scriptures did not care anymore to specify this detail.
Many of us are just familiar, however, with the somewhat tenacious bargaining process that followed: "Then Abraham approached him (the Lord) and said: 'Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing - to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike.
Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?' "The Lord said, 'If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.
' "Then Abraham spoke up again: 'Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?' " 'If I find forty-five there,' he said, 'I will not destroy it.
' "Once again he spoke to him, 'What if only forty are found there?' "He said, 'For the sake of forty, I will not do it.
' "Then he said, 'May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak.
What if only thirty can be found there?' "He answered, 'I will not do it if I find thirty there.
' "Abraham said, 'Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?' "He said, 'For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.
' "Then he said, 'May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.
What if only ten can be found there?' "He answered, 'For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.
'" (Genesis 18:23-32) End of bargain.
Perhaps you have personally heard more than one sermons having been preached from this text.
And more often than not, it is God's compassion for souls and the strategic role of an intercessor that get highlighted in this passage.
Both are valid and oh, so very true.
But one thing I can't avoid noticing is the repeated use of numbers.
I'm not into numerology per se and I'm not interested in bringing out hidden meanings of 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, and 10.
These are not magic numbers in themselves, as if they have a higher chance of winning if you bet on them in a numbers game.
The main idea that strikes me, however, is that God knows how to count those who are really on His side.
As we have seen for ourselves how important did this simple principle go in the history of Sodom and Gomorrah, judge for yourself whether or not this is worth considering in the socio-political story of the Philippines.
Is it worth exploring how we can appropriately apply this eternal principle in our present situation, or shall we just go on ignoring it and perhaps receive the consequences due our inaction or negligence? I can still recall a related scenario that took place during the 2004 National Elections.
When the campaign for presidentiables reached a critical mass at that time and the status of GMA against FPJ got blurred in the top portion of the surveys, an appeal toward the supporters of the other candidates circulated around: "Do not waste your vote any more to any candidate who obviously has no chance of winning.
Let's cast our vote for GMA, otherwise, we will have another president whose only credit to present is his popularity among the masses.
" And sure enough, the best choice of many a voter was set aside in favor of what at that time was presented as the choice for lesser evil.
But are we really supposed to include chances of winning in our criteria for choosing leaders? Are we really bound to the "reality" that if our best choice candidate does not have much money and strong political machinery, he cannot win? I dare say a BIG NO! Even our own Constitution emphasizes the fact that "the Philippines is a democratic and Republican State.
Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
" The Filipino people - especially the voters - do have such tremendous God-given power! And as God's people, we are commanded to base our choice on a clear conscience regardless of whether they prevail or not against the competing voices of those who disregard the will and the purposes of God.
Nowhere in the Bible are we told to choose the lesser evil! It's high time to say "Enough!" to the fatalistic and apathetic attitude being fostered by Deception among our potential voters.
The vote we cast will at least be reckoned for its prophetic significance of registering the vote of righteousness to say the least.
And in the realm of the unseen and the eternal, we have not only done what is right, and best and just.
On top of it, the power of our sacred vote will accordingly unleash the heavenly resources necessary for the unfolding of the destiny of our nation.
But in deeper waters with moving currents, this part of a fishing gear is indispensable.
The old witch, Deception, knows that very well.
She knows that comparatively speaking, the number of voters is actually way-way bigger than the number of her dedicated crooks in politics.
I strongly believe that the Philippines is not yet that poor in terms of the number of good men and women who are genuinely concerned for her well-being.
A vast majority may be ignorant victims, being self-absorbed in their struggle to keep both ends meet.
But I don't believe the predators have already outnumbered their prey.
They are still a small minority, only that they are the ones holding the political, economic, social and natural resources of our country - mostly with legitimate, legal mandate of the masses through their votes and docile subscription to Deception's schemes.
And as one statesman put it well, "The only way for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
" The summons is now more urgent than ever.
We need to see more and more Filipinos taking their stand for what is right and just and good.
In the ancient biblical story regarding two extremely wicked cities - Sodom and Gomorrah - the Bible records how God disclosed to His dear friend Abraham His plan of judging the two cities.
Whether Abraham was simply motivated by his concern for his nephew - Lot - and his family living in one of those cities, or was really and genuinely concerned for the people's welfare, the Scriptures did not care anymore to specify this detail.
Many of us are just familiar, however, with the somewhat tenacious bargaining process that followed: "Then Abraham approached him (the Lord) and said: 'Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing - to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike.
Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?' "The Lord said, 'If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.
' "Then Abraham spoke up again: 'Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?' " 'If I find forty-five there,' he said, 'I will not destroy it.
' "Once again he spoke to him, 'What if only forty are found there?' "He said, 'For the sake of forty, I will not do it.
' "Then he said, 'May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak.
What if only thirty can be found there?' "He answered, 'I will not do it if I find thirty there.
' "Abraham said, 'Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?' "He said, 'For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.
' "Then he said, 'May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more.
What if only ten can be found there?' "He answered, 'For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.
'" (Genesis 18:23-32) End of bargain.
Perhaps you have personally heard more than one sermons having been preached from this text.
And more often than not, it is God's compassion for souls and the strategic role of an intercessor that get highlighted in this passage.
Both are valid and oh, so very true.
But one thing I can't avoid noticing is the repeated use of numbers.
I'm not into numerology per se and I'm not interested in bringing out hidden meanings of 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, and 10.
These are not magic numbers in themselves, as if they have a higher chance of winning if you bet on them in a numbers game.
The main idea that strikes me, however, is that God knows how to count those who are really on His side.
As we have seen for ourselves how important did this simple principle go in the history of Sodom and Gomorrah, judge for yourself whether or not this is worth considering in the socio-political story of the Philippines.
Is it worth exploring how we can appropriately apply this eternal principle in our present situation, or shall we just go on ignoring it and perhaps receive the consequences due our inaction or negligence? I can still recall a related scenario that took place during the 2004 National Elections.
When the campaign for presidentiables reached a critical mass at that time and the status of GMA against FPJ got blurred in the top portion of the surveys, an appeal toward the supporters of the other candidates circulated around: "Do not waste your vote any more to any candidate who obviously has no chance of winning.
Let's cast our vote for GMA, otherwise, we will have another president whose only credit to present is his popularity among the masses.
" And sure enough, the best choice of many a voter was set aside in favor of what at that time was presented as the choice for lesser evil.
But are we really supposed to include chances of winning in our criteria for choosing leaders? Are we really bound to the "reality" that if our best choice candidate does not have much money and strong political machinery, he cannot win? I dare say a BIG NO! Even our own Constitution emphasizes the fact that "the Philippines is a democratic and Republican State.
Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
" The Filipino people - especially the voters - do have such tremendous God-given power! And as God's people, we are commanded to base our choice on a clear conscience regardless of whether they prevail or not against the competing voices of those who disregard the will and the purposes of God.
Nowhere in the Bible are we told to choose the lesser evil! It's high time to say "Enough!" to the fatalistic and apathetic attitude being fostered by Deception among our potential voters.
The vote we cast will at least be reckoned for its prophetic significance of registering the vote of righteousness to say the least.
And in the realm of the unseen and the eternal, we have not only done what is right, and best and just.
On top of it, the power of our sacred vote will accordingly unleash the heavenly resources necessary for the unfolding of the destiny of our nation.
Source...