A handful of rice and a pinch of salt is all what they have for supper. Bayani,
a squatter-farmer, looks forward to the coming May elections 2007 full of hope.
The time has come again when politicians aspiring for a position in the
government will remember his family and more important, his vote. Everytime
elections come, Bayani feels he and his family are remembered and this enhances
his self-esteem, at least during election time. Of course the usual political
rallies, campaign platforms and promises made to be broken are known to him.
Nevertheless, sacks of rice will be distributed and some pesos for viand can be
earned without toil. It is like Christmas-time. Does he ever think of the
consequences if he votes for the traditional politicians? Hopefully ...
Wake up, Bayani! Don't just go with the current of the stream. Think of your
future and use your "coconut" (reason). Remember you are born with natural
gifts of reason and free will. Think of your children and your children's
children. They need subsistence and a good education to give them chance for a
better future. Are they destined to be like you, a farmer without his own land,
dependent on the grace of his landlord all these years and maybe forever? A
hand-to-mouth-existence is not your fate. To toil and till the land which is
not your own is surely not your life's dream. The patriots of old seem tired
and weary setting examples and working out plans to help you out of your
misery. You are envious of your neighbors who live comfortably since they have
a relative abroad - their milking cow - whom they can depend on. Maybe it
matters for them less whoever will lead our nation. Others fear to be branded
as activist which is easily equated to a terrorist, if they assert their human
rights or voice out their opinion. We read in the newspapers and other press
releases how human rights are violated and trampled upon in our country. You
can.t just stand by and see the lives of your contemporaries wasted and offered
for your cause.
The change must come from within, in our heads, our voices and not through
arms. We need idealists and patriots as leaders and followers in our country.
Men and women who have the courage to pursue defining the ideals of democracy
and peace patterned to our culture and needs with the common good as an end.
The means toward this goal need not be fought with arms and lives of our
countrymen. This is an appeal to our reason and will to change, peacefully.
Politics they say, is a dirty play. We need capable politicians and we are
thankful for such men and women who are genuine, responsible, honest, and have
the best interest of the people they serve at heart, not necessarily giving
them what they want, but always seeking to provide, wherever possible, what
they need. Unfortunately, the word "politics" has become a dirty word because
of those politicians who are more interested in serving themselves and doing
all they can to stay in power by catering to the wants and special interests of
the majority of their constituents. Personal gains and power-play are written
in big letters and that's what they are up to. Sad to say, this type of
politician is on an endless witch-hunt looking for all the dirt he can find and
dig up. And if he can't find any, he'll twist the truth to make it match his
"deception of reality." And we are not sure that so much of the news media that
we are dished up on a daily basis is too much different.
Perhaps, many of the rest of us are like that too. We're like "two birds that
fly over our nation's deserts: One is the hummingbird and the other is the
vulture. The vultures find the rotting meat of the desert, because that is what
they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds ignore the
smelly flesh of dead animals. Instead, they look for the colorful blossoms of
desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill
themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They
seek new life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds
what it is looking for. We all do."
What we see is what we get??? The fact remains, we see exactly what we want to
see, hear what we want to hear, find what we want to find, and do what we want
and choose to do.
"Two men look out from the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars."
With a heart full of hope and a firm determination, you need to be honest with
yourself and in what you believe, so that you may see more clearly the truth as
it is, and not as you want it to be. And, while not being blind to deception,
you may strive to look for the stars and not for mud. Bayani, let your voice be
heard, this is your chance, the choice lies in your own hands!!!
