The Philippine Media, both old and new, whether traditional or trend-setting, is abuzz yet again with the usual discussions and “analyses” that tend to proliferate in value-crushing volumes. So I thought it’d be a good time to re-visit the fundamental process that underlies this hyped-up political exercise that is pitched to vacuous minds as some kind of miracle pill to cure society’s ills year after year after year.
When seen in terms of its four fundamental components, elections are quite simple. And the way we comprehensively miss the point of each one of these components is quite straightforward.
Campaign.
Campaigns in the Philippines amount to nothing more than organised insults on the Filipino’s dwindling intelligence. Empty slogans and populist buzzwords fill campaign speeches and paraphernalia creating a false perception of substance where there is none. Although there is some form of a “united opposition” in just about every Philippine election, there is no evidence that their members are “united” in any real sense of the word.
Elect.
Because of the vacuous nature of campaigns, voters have nothing but trivial name associations to guide them at the polling booths.
Appoint.
Numerous kibitzers are present during the counting of votes and proclamation of winners.With each kibitzing non-official “organisation” comes an unofficial outcome. As a result people are confused and divided over the results of the vote counting and the appointment process drags on for ages.
Govern.
Lack of or insufficient closure resulting from drawn out appointments and resolutions plagues every administration. Instead of focusing on productive work, politicians continuously stir up crises and issues of legitimacy. They interpret and pervert the letter of the Law to legitimise their personal crusades and vendettas and they spend the remainder of their time plotting strategies and forming alliances (such as organising themselves into the next “united opposition”) to undermine their respective opponents.
The antics of politicians distract, derail, and pollute the vacuous minds of the masses throughout a term. Every now and then “scandals” are exposed and street rallies are organised to demonstrate “indignation”. Groups with otherwise non-political charters issue official “statements” stating their positions on this and that issue on behalf of their members. The Philippine “intelligentsia” micro-scrutinise, micro-analyse, and micro-debate what are essentially trivial points spun by the very characters they revile.
For its part, the Philippine Media under the guise of “press freedom” profitably scoop and sensationalise all of this with glee while continuously invoking their tired old romanticised portrayals as heroes and guardians of “freedom”.
[The above framework is best viewed in slide show format. Click here!]
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The situation we are in year in, and year out is quite simple when viewed in this light, isn’t it?
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Exactly.
Have can of sardines and sexy girls? Will campaign.
Have money in envelope for me? Will elect.
He/she a relative (cousin twice removed)? Will appoint.
Dumbells dumb and dumber? Will govern.
Doing the same things and expecting new results.
Expecting new answers to recycled anachronistic questions.
Another recycled episode of the shallow, the tacky, the superstitious, the inept, and the corrupt in one big dysfunctional insanely horrific reality show called "The Philippines".
hohum, zzzzzzzzzzzz.
benigs,
Your paradigm above misses a "gathering storm" i.e. the automation of election voting, counting, and tabulation. Some pundits say that poll automation which would be 'fast tracked' in barely a year, untested, could result into a failure of elections.
A prime example of how technology could complicate things.
The bottom line of Benign0s blog is we need to lobotomize our literary-conscious columnists and pekeng-peryodistas ….
Like what BongV has said … election boils down to sexy gurlz, can of sardines and kilo na bigas … throw in pekeng-peryodistas which the gung-gong Flipazzes believe in adoration of holy pekeng-peryodiko … PATAY!
FV needs to have broadsheet comes election season. Let's give them the skinny of their idiotic reportage ….
Change our culture then let's talk about election. What good is election if the rest of the 99.99% Flip Monkeys are corrosively ignorants and corrupt….
Who ever sits in Malacanang is there not to change but to change how to corrupt and get rich quick. They get in…They get out … BAHALA NA KAYO D'YAN
A lot of speculations and scenarios will only aggravate our pessimism. If the Cheaters will be one step
ahead of the COMELEC. There will be chaos. If the COMELEC will be one step ahead of the Cheaters. Everything
will be okay. We hope for the best, but be prepared for the worse.
There will always be someone ahead of everyone at the other end of the line … "Hello …. ? COMELEC ba to"
This blog vis a vis blogs prior to it, again, carries however lightweightedly, more of the same – a reductionist ire that tends to malign a collectivity called 'Filipinos' called 'Philippines' in the best tradition of one who must be out of touch with reality in trying to concoct processes he thought are fundamental and yet departs from how concepts are ordinarily understood. This pretension, this hypocrisy always seeks its own level defined largely by its own logic, its ontology, its own wisdom.
Offhand, the diagrammed processes at least excludes 2 of 4 components but then again, everything has to be seen from the author's own colored lenses.
On and on, this chronic habit of labelling as vacuous, a perversion, a dwindling Filipino intelligence – ought to be seen as unfair, unkind, and unjust. No one has the right to speak for everyone as though he is the icon of substance (there is no fish in his pond?). From where I stand, I have serious doubt on the man than in his work.
Primer:
Benign0 is a good antidote to collective denial and myopia.
He is reiterating in layman's terns what has been said before by the likes of Peter Wallace, F Sionil Jose, Renato Constantino, Walden Bello, Jovy Tañada, Claro Recto and the like in a dumbed down WOWOWEE-esque Philippines.
I do not look at "this chronic habit of labelling as vacuous, a perversion, a dwindling Filipino intelligence" as "unfair, unkind, and unjust". Rather it is an admonition to the Filipino that talks so loftily, yet has nothing to show that backs up all the talk.
He is out of touch of the false reality that was created from a frequent repetition of lies. He breaks through the lies and bursts the bubble and the layers of lies that have calcified around the bone marrow of the Filipino psyche.
In presenting the fundamental process there is a perception that he departs from how concepts are ordinarily understood in a false reality to one that resonates with modern society.
For example, when the international community cites the Philippines for violation of human rights and killing of journalists, the knee-jerk reaction is one of denial – indulging once again in a false reality. Or when the WB cited the connivance of road contractors, the knee-jerk reaction was to run after the WB instead of the contractors – WTF! We can go on and on and on and on.
To a Filipino living in the islands, that's their "reality" – their "reality" is that they will give honesty lip-service but when no one one else is looking they can be as patronizing and as devious backstabbing SOBs, as any trapo – as above, so below.
However, that's not the "reality" that's faced by Filipinos overseas. For instance, road infrastructure – And one asks, given the same amount of money, given the same bill of materials, given the same technique, given the same professionals – why are roads in the Philippines lousily built. We rally about a slur that we are a nation of servants, yet, as a matter of government policy, we have the super maids program. Or, time and again we have been complaining about corruption at the highest places, yet, no one has been indicted and convicted for that matter. A Lozada bombshell does not translate to a conviction. We mistake the icing on the cake for the cake – and we, flipazzes, look more ridiculous than ever.
When we become so used to all the crap that goes on in the islands, the lies repeated often to sustain a collective denial start sounding like the "truth". Definitely, a voice like Benign0s will not resonate with that "truth". And the razor-like wit that delivers the payload with digital precision will not please the mothballed grandfather clocks that dominate the local scenery – "who the hell is these OFW speaking as if he is the repository of wisdom" or "sino ba siya" – typical attacks on the messenger while missing out on the message.
Having lived in a box called "The Philippines" and having lived outside the box, the differences between "realities" are quite glaring. Thus one introspects, if others (Americans, Australians, Europeans, Canadians, Japanese, Koreans, Bruneians, Taiwanese) were able to do it, why can't we, Filipinos, do it? WTF is wrong? What are we missing? What are we not facing head-on? We can't be in denial forever. Sooner or later, something's gotta give.
That's where Benign0 and Renato and their ilk comes in – to give a dose of "reality" outside the box.
BongV,
Don’t worry. You will discover Benigz, and re-discover Benigz, and re-discover Benigz….then after the nth repetition you will see where Primer was coming from. I largely agree with the observation of course that there are many things wrong with Philippine Society. But it ain’t that simple, really. And the general solution of Benigz to these many wrongs is a kind of Intelligent Design punctuation, where we get real, Philippines, and wake up one morning as a simulacrum of a First World Country. Just by “creative thinking” or some such bromide. He finds one answer for all questions. Benigz can be simplistic. It’s simple, really!
DJB:
I agree with you and Benign0 that there are many things wrong with Philippine Society.
For example, corruption. How hard is it not to have personal responsibility for not committing corruption? Is it really that hard?
Another example, choice. How hard is it to select a competent forward looking candidate? Is it really that hard? If one is saying , yes, it's that hard? I ask has the gene pool suddenly become bankrupt that pinoys have no other choice but to vote for the same political families – Roxas, Araneta, Gordon, Santiago… Are these the only family names that have a brain between the ears in the Philippines? I find that hard to believe and yet, the Senate and the House of Representatives are filled with the same old family names – new faces, same old scripts.
Ganun na ba karetarded ang talent pool ng Pilipinas? Is this hard to answer?
Hard and simple are relative positions considering that what is hard to understand for a layman might be so crystal clear from a seasoned field operative.
Better yet, let me put it this way. Yung estudyanteng nabagsak sa Grade 3. will keep on repeating the Grade 3 lessons until he figures it out. The flunkee will whine, b|tch, and the whole nine yards as soon as he hears the same lessons being dished out, boring, yada yada.
Absolutely, that sucks from the flunkees POV.
From the peer/tutors PoV, the flunkee still has not learned the lessons, keeps on missing the point, and keeps on doing the same things that led to failure.
Why in the world will you give the Grade 3 repeater, Grade 4 lessons when he keeps on flunking Grade 3 – you will have to give the same lessons until the repeater figures it out.
Now, this is where the Philippines is at – why does majority of our electorate keep on electing fools? what do you call an electorate that has been fooled once? what do you call an electorate that keeps on being fooled? genius so as not to be perceived as overbearing and arrogant?
How would you gain confidence on the bigger things when you can't even be confident about the little things?
On Solutions
The "it's so simple really" is a marketing tagline for brand name retention.
As to the perception of overnight change after getting real, I do not share that perception.
However, there are things in the PI that are so convoluted that you wonder, WTF do they have to make these so convoluted when there is a simpler, better, more efficient way? Is it wrong to seek for continuous improvement? I think not.
one vacuous mind praying halleluyah to another vacuous mind and pretending that they have all the monopoly of wisdom of this world and all others are third rate losers and obstinate fools. democracy is not about pontificating that one has found the panacea of all our ills and the boldness to announce his self-executing formula that can rescue us from this rut, but in admiting one reality, that one could be wrong despite self-adulation and extreme self-promotion of having einstein's genes.
As Ding said, whenever you think you have it all figured out, there's something that comes that screws you up. hahahahah… these genuises are like our government officials who gave us all those data about economic recovery and stimulus plans that will rescue us from this rut.
Congrats Benigz, you have just find another mini-me.
jcc:
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/coldpassion/herring.gif">
if you can cite a post of mine which says "i have the monopoly of wisdom" and "you are a third rate loser and obstinate fool", i'll fork out a $100. but that's coming out of your mouth, not mine, napaka-insecure mo naman. <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/coldpassion/lol.gif">
for the meantime, all am seeing from you is a constant stream of red herrings and ad hominems. sa tanda mong yan, hindi ka pa rin marunong sumagot ng matino. pag-inutusan kang bumili ng suka, wag kang umuwi na ang dala mo ay asin. <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/coldpassion/lol.gif">
all am saying is, benign0 is calling a spade a spade, and if you can't deal with it, and you are slighted with the fact – don't just grow up, grow a brain – that's YOUR problem, NOT mine.
now if you have matured enough to discuss, analyze issues without your usual parochial innuendoes, i'll be glad to have a rational discussion with you.
"all am saying is, benign0 is calling a spade a spade,…"
holy cow, benignO calling a spade a spade; benignO calling the Filipino pigs in pigsty. that means you, BongV, and me. the only difference is that you agree, while the rest of us, including JCC, are not happy being called swines in pigsty. i hope that's clear already.
I have a simple solution, too! Give Flips Visas and scatter them all over the world.
Flips who go abroad becomes law abiding citizens regardless form of government they land on as long as they are not placed in one community.