Wherever I look, I see this fast-becoming hackneyed word ‘change’. Every candidate professes himself and herself to be an agent of change. In following Newton’s law of action and reaction, for each candidate owning up change, there is an equal but opposite candidate claiming change too. And that will leave us, the electorate, in a static state. No movement, just status quo.
When he ran in 2008, US President Barack Obama ran under the platform of change. Change against eight years of unilateralism. Change against eight years of State-sponsored terrorism against its own people. Change against eight years of excesses under Bush. But he was honest enough to clarify and qualify the ‘change’ he is peddling to the electorate.
As our country prepares for the May 2010 elections, thousands are expressing their intentions to run for various positions, from the presidency down to municipal and city councils. And from these thousands, a good 80 percent are expected to run under the platform of change.
The question is: Change from what?
The problems plaguing our country are deep-rooted and historical. These are borne out of a flawed social structure that is been both enduring and systemic. No President, Senator, or Member of the House can promise to institute change within the span of their respective terms. Not even elected officials in local governments can promise change and guarantee to make it in three terms!
To mouth the word ‘change’ and guarantee the same qualifies a candidate as a traditional politician out only for the sound bite. And from the looks of it, almost all candidates are professing themselves as ‘change makers’. Enough said.
When everyone is for ‘change’, then no one is.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Ironic, aint it?
Hi, Jayson,
The Filipino people might not want a “Gloria Forever” sitting there considering her overwhelming unpopularity so wants to change the leadership. Isn’t that enough for now?
Are you for, or against, change?
I am for change… for the better.
It’s a call to be more circumspect about people/candidates calling for change. Change for what, I ask them. People who do not qualify the word, and just say it as it is are nothing more than traditional politicians.
Yes and no. It cannot, hould be change for change’s sake.
It in itself can become hackneyed unless a pathway, a vision is laid.
But placing the discussion in the context of our own situation, which has beem described as either miserable or colored with the prospect of GMA extending her hold on power beyond 2010, then the goal becomes somewhat clearer… to prevent such term extension.
If in the other aspect change in 2010 is to restore a previously discredited leader to power the ‘change’ is also onerous.
So change for change’s sake?
Nah.
Filipino culture is deep-in-the-bones. One part historical, part attitude, part ignorance, part religious. Mix them together, change becomes difficult that one honest president cannot put them asunder.
What good an honest president if he/she has Filipino relatives;
What good an honest president if, even bloggers here, would rather have GMA ousted instead seeing intellectually that the Senate was at fault in bungling the ZTE invistigation which we could have booted GMA out of office thru rule-of-law, also, thereby, effectively changing the Senate, too;
What good an honest president, if pekeng-peryodistas cannot even logicially explain and point out the reprehensible failures of Failon invistigation, much so, ZTE invistigation;
What good an honest president, if NOT ONE saw the fault of Joey de Venenta’s run to pekeng-peryodistas instead to the NBI. If he did not trust the NBI he could have wired himself instead of us mired in he said/she said gossipy justice …
What good an honest president if pekeng-peryodisitas and people believe that Ces Drilon News Blackout was the way to go and pipol out of intellectual bankruptcy believed that it was the right thing to do
What good an honest president if peekng-peryodistas cannot know that terrorism is not good for the economy: Read: Ayala’s insistence that Glorietta bombing was an act by terrorist …
What good an honest president if purveyors of information is so low-iQ and the purveyors protect their gung-gonness like Muslim people do ….
THERE CANNOT BE CHANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES UNLESS WE OUTSOURCE OUR GOVERNMENT TO BURMA … WE ARE DEMOCRATICALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY IRRESPONSIBLY AND WE DON’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF OUR LOW-IQ AND OBLIVIOUSNESS
Just my opinion, this is not a ‘yes and no’ matter, only ‘yes’, there should be change. This is a gamble…and pure gut feel. Because we can never tell from the personality of people out there vying for the position what they will do after the election basing from their ‘talks’ and records.
Gloria was clean before we elected her president, isn’t that true?
I agree we must scrutinize, but me? More of gut feel for me.
I am sorry but I simply hate this level of desperation to have to be expressed in public of an author who thinking that everything is change, thinks that nothing is change.
Neither should one fall on the trap of thinking that problems as we are now faced are borne out of anything deeply-rooted, historical or systemic. This is just not the way to think if one has any healthy regard of other people who can bring about change.
We have models – Marikina, Davao, others. Leaders, we have them too, though not too many but never less effective but we hasten not to have to name them here.
This kind of social predeterminism must be a kind of mental sickness that already affected not too few.
And these models are done in the local level.
Yet the ballgame when you go national is different.
Take the case of Gov. Panlilio. He may have reformed Pampanga. But if he tries to replicate it in the national level, surely, he will stumble.
Our national problems are deep-rooted and historical. Power relations between the governed and the government are rooted in old-feudal ones, now transformed into ‘rent-seeking’ behavior.
Jayson,
Please don’t forget that what is local is national and vice versa.
This means that even a wholesale approach in social engineering is actually a piecemeal one.
Going national is simply like a spider’s web – there is a network, there is a system of interfacing, there is a gestalt.
Something good can be done by a well-meaning new president. The recruitment process has just begun.
Change is the way you look at it. The more things change, the more
they stay the same. The saying goes. Change, evolution, metamorphosis
are parts of our lives. We were young. We marry, have families. Then,
we are old. The world will change and things will surely change.
The only unfortunate thing for us is for us to:Stagnate in our beliefs, views, knowledges, informations, lives, etc…We need to accept changes to become better people.
Evolution is Real…they are part of human history.
HA!HA!HA! Flips cannot change. They only change when they are abroad. HA!HA!HA!HA! There cannot be Filipino 3.0 because our genetics creates only factory defective Filipino 1.0 HA!HA!HA!
Corrupt Flips becomes not corrupt abroad. You know the answer. Because abrod, in the civilized countries, they don’t have “those who has no sin cast the first stone”; they don’t have “gift of gratitude”; If ever they do, they always found out … HA!HA!HA1HA!
The only way we can change Flips is send them abroad and sell Philippines to Burma!!!!
HA!HA!HA!HA!
I believe in “change” even in the grandest scale of it. It all entirely depends on how serious a person or a nation wants to commit to change. Were the likes of Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio doodled around for a change on how my country needed to be liberated from oppression either by Spanish conquistadores or politicians. They had a lot more in their hands to overcome than we have now. Sadly I think, there are things that are preoccupying the people’s mind nowadays and that is I believe something to do with convenience. Even some of the Filipinos overseas for the most part lost their patriotism and treat each other so horrible. What went wrong…
pATRIOTE fEMELIE, that is what we call crabbing. Crabbing is the national past time of Flips. They may be in your American backyard, in Europe or here, in my dear FlipLand …. LET US STOP BLAMING THE CONQUISTADORES because the conquistadores brought Jesus Christ to our heart …. LO AND BEHOLD, JESUS CHRIST LEFT PHILIPPINES 480 YYEARS AGO because he cannot stnad Flips ……
Yet, until now we are still praying for Hesu Kristo ….
ha!ha!ha1ha1ha!
i completely agree with your observation that “change” is overrated especially the vague, generalized kind. “change” is a popular word nowadays just like “hope.” as some would say “uso na naman ang pagasa.”
the way i see it, these calls for ordinary citizens to start the process of change by starting from within themselves will not really amount to anything. people especially those belonging to the older generations cannot be expected to change. as the saying goes “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” let’s not kid ourselves. as long as we see that we can get away with something (such as bribing a traffic enforcer or intimidating them using ids etc) we will exploit it.
the best those of us belonging to the older generations can do in this regard is to ensure that the younger generations will grow up with the right values and belief systems.
if we want real change we should focus more on fixing the system, by plugging the loopholes that make it weak.
take the case of graft and corruption. can we, the governed, put a stop to it by simply coming together to air a collective rejection of the problem? will graft and corruption stop if a million filipinos commit to pay their taxes correctly and refrain from offering bribes to traffic enforcers etcetera etcetera?
from a realistic, pragmatic standpoint, these things will not put a stop to the problem. the obvious reason: the grafters and corruptors in government will not heed calls for change especially when the system continues to be conducive to their evil ways.
what if we instead exercise our right and duty to be part of the legislative process. instead of just issuing calls for change or launching change movements, we should take a more active approach. specifically, we should come up with our own legislative proposals and force our lawmakers to look into them and tackle them in congress. i, for one, would like to see a law enacted that would make the government a really dangerous place for grafters and corruptors.
as it is today, there is no law that effectively addresses graft and corruption. and why is that? because our laws were formulated by people with vested interests. it’s not that hard to imagine that our lawmakers are not really plugging all the loopholes. it’s either that or they’re just stupid and don’t know what a loophole looks like.
some may point out that the laws are there the problem is implementation. perhaps that is true but if the problem is implementation then maybe we also need more laws thsat would punish those who fail in this regard.
let’s help correct the flaws in our dysfunctional systems.
There cannot be changge in the FlipLand …. FlipLand is necessary evil to other countries …. FlipLand is the index that other countries try to beat …. HA!HA!HA!HA! … we are pre-destined to be … HA!HA!HA!HA!
For Flips to change is give them Visa and send them to thy kingdome come and they will be law abiding citizen as long as you don’t put them in one community …. HA!HA!HA1HA!
PAGMASAKIT ANG SINABI KO THAT MEANS NA INTENDIHAN MO …. ha!ha!ha!ha!ha!
hindi masakit!
I think we’re talking apple and orange here. We are all accountable for this country’s future, one may not understand that cliche if they’re just looking for an instant gratification. I don’t ever find a use to point fingers it’s not known to accomplish a thing unless that’s how one makes a living. Talk is cheap, my father once said everyone makes mistakes it’s what you do after really counts. You like how you’re government is treating you then don’t just tell or blog or write about it, instead do something. Unless you’re comfortable where you are, and I can see why, because it would take some guts and I mean an inmmense size of guts and freaking imagination to bring or start a change. It’s not overrated, this is what I call a necessary evil because it going to get seriously ugly before it gets better. I remember at one time not so long ago when people got together for a change, and I’m not talking about millions or tens of thousans of people in the street. It’s not even the number of people that really counts but the elements they took with them, it’s what they stood for and it’s a cause worth fighting for. Somehow with that attitude made other inconceivable things really possible and the rest was history. I can look back and wish for that same energy again with a momentum that not even a train or tsunami could stop. As much as Filipino people can read and write, know some math, science and history, whatever, but what actually lacking is the education or inclination in choosing a sound leader that would lead this country. Filipinos are very emotional beings..more often than necessary causing a lot of bad choices. But really, if one want to seriously commit to change…….it’s going to be a long dark tunnel ahead. Either you’re okay staying in the dark or… make the initial step to see the light at the end of this long ugly tunnell. Escaping to another country does not make my country disappear from the map if you know what I mean.
The Philippines do change (for the better), but only five percent at a time.
I see that someone stayed up all night and did some homework. That’s crazy talk, your data did not even account for those who actually moved out of the country so they can do this “change for the better” thing. I would want to know if there is some truth why most people rationalized that a better country makes a better citizen or is it just the other way around. I wonder is this one of those jokes like which came first the egg or the chicken.