Why are we so fond of emulating what Americans did or why do we always relish the idea of replicating a success story when it’s always better to create something fresh and new?
Noynoy right now is re-tracing the steps of his mother, by doing the same things that her iconic mother did before she went into battle with Macoy. Many people, especially the CBCP thinks its touche. Some, however, think, it’s a bad idea. In fact, many people see this as what we Filipinos call “hinihinog sa pilit.”
Come to think of it, who really urged Noynoy to run? Is it really the Filipino People? If its the people, do we have concrete evidence that most of us really want him to run? Aside from those sheets of yellow paper that Ed Roces gave people to sign their names with, are there other proof that majority of us, Filipinos, really want him to sacrifice his personal freedoms and become our president?
If you listen quite closely, you’ll find that only those who are either aligned with or sympathizes with the Liberal Party that says Noynoy is the one. Think about it. The rest of us Filipinos are not quite gaga over the idea simply because either we’re already too pragmatic or we know that these times are quite different from Cory’s.
Don’t get me wrong. I want the best president to win, someone who really has the vision, the political will and the exact opposite of the one who sits illegally in that chair beside the Pasig. But, I don’t want to say that I chose the lesser evil. Or, I don’t want to arrive at a conclusion that I am voting into office someone who will just perpetuate elite domination at the expense of the majority.
This elections is not about personalities, I agree. It is about principles. It is about letting New Transformative Politics replace the existing old and traditional politics.
For many days now, I have been in deep contemplation. Unlike Noynoy, however, I am not about to consult my God for this one. I want to consult my people, whom I regard as the best political analyst in this country. What is their pulse? What are their feelings about this? And I don’t agree that if Noynoy fails in this, that’s the end of the New Transformative Politics. No. The struggle for a True, Just and Humane Filipino society will thrive with or without Noynoy.
Noynoy may be the candidate with a clean record, but so does Nicanor Perlas, and he’s not getting the same reaction compared with Cory’s son. Maybe because Perlas is not a Liberal and he does not have the machinery. But, he, indeed, has the principles and probably the best platform compared with all the rest of the candidates. And if this is really an election that would pit ideas against other ideas, then, Perlas deserves more of our attention than say, Noynoy who still does not have any.
Or, maybe the founder of the Young Officers’ Union (YOU), my friend, Dado Valeroso, deserves more of our attention than what we’re giving Noynoy. Valeroso has the academic credentials (MA from AIM). He sacrificed his life for the vision he believed in and even gave his career up just to build a New Society. And he silently wants to declare his candidacy for the presidency. Or, maybe Capt. Nicanor Faeldon deserves more of those adulations we heap on Noynoy. He’s still out there on the run, convincing people of the viability of struggling against an illegal regime and getting nothing of the praises some people are giving Noynoy.
In the end I hate to say this, but we are being conditioned by media to accept Noynoy as the best alternative candidate. And probably he is. I just sincerely fear that Noynoy is being used by forces bigger than us who has vested interests, like the Lopezes whose power were marginalized under Arroyo. Or, maybe those businessmen controlling Makati wanted him to run to protect their businesses in case an Estrada or a Villar wins.
But, of course, if we, indeed want a Noynoy, then, why only now that we realize it and not before when we were on the verge of victory over Arroyo? Maybe, Conrad is right that Noynoy is destined for this. Maybe he really is the anointed. But, what are those things which Noynoy stands for? For freedom? For democracy? Or the perpetuation of elite rule?
Popularity: 1% [?]
Desperate people need desperate solutions for their situations. They
are clinging to any seemingly good ideas; just to lessen the sufferings we are all in. Again, as I said: Dont put TOO MUCH HOPE
on the guy. TOO MUCH MAY END UP TOO SOON.
you’re right, He has everything, but he must prove it! It’s not a basis of being a son of 2 presidents and a brother of a celebrity…Dont hope so much!
England is a powerful country because the people look at their monarch as a unifying force. We do not have monarchy in this country. If Noynoy would serve as a unifying force, (Mar, Panlilio, Padaca and others giving up their ambition) he could be the same unifying force that holds the British government intact.
Or as Benign0 oft-refrain: “We expect so much of our leaders, but demand nothing from ourselves”.
Dude, let us put nation building on our shoulders too.
you’re quite right, jcc. look at what’s happening in the u.s. with a filibuster-proof congress and senate under his control, obama thought it would be a walk in the park for his party’s agenda, and he could ram anything down the american people’s throat. now “we the people” are making their voices heard and the roar is getting stronger day by day. it appears the liberals are not too sure now (if i make the understatement of the day).
this is even ridiculous bencard; calling those who disagree with Obama being unamerican. i thought for a while that the liberals are first amendment right advocates until one’s right to express himself is oppose to liberal agenda, that is.
to jcc: Was it Vice President Biden, was it the New YorkTimes, or was it Abe Margallo who calls citizens who oppose Obama as un-American?
I know the Washington Post has made a request to the National Rifle Association to ask that cease-and-desist to those citizens who bring assault rifles to town meetings. It may be legal (right to bear arms covers the right to bring assault rifles to town meetings) but it is dumb, a columnist of the Washington Post had written.
———–
George Will, though, is the Republican columnist who is attracting further attention with his (George Will’s) insistence that US soldiers should leave Afghanistan.
its nancy pelosi.. as regards people who brought firearms in town hall meeting, they were just isolated cases. if they were not arrested, simply means they have permit to carry their firearms outside their homes.
http://www.theweek.com/article/index/99406/UnAmerican_healthcare_debate
naku, it happens all the time, no more room for civility in the discussion between dems and republicans.. No one is American unless you support their candidate, a tragedy and sign of the times.
nick,
my son is from California and he is a diehard democrat. i am a republican, not necessarily a diehard. my son has the self-righteous idea that everything pro-democrat position is correct and pro-conservative idea wrong. as a conservative, i do not have the same notion. i respect my son’s views, but he seemed uncomfortable respecting my views. he thought that i should be a democrat too and not a republican…
i look at every democract like my son.. self-righteous and always in the side of the truth, no middle ground and no conservative view is ever right.
if you observe O’Reilly lately, he praised Obama when he thinks he is right and castigate him when he thinks he is wrong, but he never calls anyone “unamerican” because the other guy has a view diffeent from him.
Jcc,
Is there any way we can get your son and Bencard in the same room at the same time. Boy howdy, there would be a bruhaha of magnificent proportions, two stoneheads going volcanic. No offense intended. I speak of political stones, unbending, vitriolic . . .
Joe
joe,
My son loves to argue only with me, and no one else. He has been in California for too long and California’s politics got into his system. He is not into blogging, and like his mom, he thinks arguments do not make money and an awful way to waste time.
don’t worry about jcc’s son, joe-am. i’m sure jcc has got him covered. obviously he’s young, with all his youthful idealism. one day soon, he will wake up to reality that “the brave new world” is not any better at all. right now, america is in the process of correcting it’s tragic miscalculations in the 2008 elections.
jcc,
Well, good that your son is forthright and courageous enough to argue with a parent. I think that is not always the case. If he lives in California, he is at the leading edge of social development in the US, and the world in general. Of course California is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy so does not auger well for the rest of the planet. My youngest daughter expects to go to UC Berkeley, that hotbed of fertility for liberal-to-radical young minds. Sheesh. Trouble brewing for sure . . .
Joe
i haven’t seen it bencard.. so what is it this time? hate speech in books?
Ha ha! This is interesting. A blog on Noynoy Aquino of the Philippines inviting debates on American political parties
yes joe, we’re in trouble when young people believe that they all have the answer to the most perplexing issues of the day and solutions to our problems, and think that they have them all figured out at their fingertips.. that is very scary if you come to think of it.
jcc, i’m inclined to think that all these youthful “rebellion” and rejection of parents’ values are the result of liberal indoctrination in all walks of life, e.g., education, religion, music, tv, movies, literature.
nothing is sacred anymore. the world is upside down. hopefully, the pendulum will swing back the other way.
no bencard.. this is just mental calesthenics between us. i see no disrespect in his having different view than mine though i must admit that the politics of the young people are quite scary.
i know, jcc. but i was not referring to you son, specifically. i was commenting on your general observation about the “young”. btw, did you see that fox cable special about the kind of books being used in schools and colleges nowadays? now, that’s scary, even though both my children are out of college for a few years now.
Correct!
patricio, i thought you were doing just fine with an uncharacteristically sensible post until that crap line “the exact opposite of the one who sits illegally” blah, blah, blah, that transformed your piece into just another partisan rant of a frustrated pundit. “illegal” means against the law. what law are you talking about?
bencard,
read your history. I hate to lecture you on the history of your own people. what law? the OMnibus Election Code and the 1987 Philippine Constitution. When Gloria cheated her way to power, she violated the Election Code and when she did not do anything to correct the cheating, she violated the Constitution.
We dont want Monarchy. We want Democracy. We dont want Kings, Queens,
family dynasties, or all kinds of succesive rulers. We want the best
among us to lead us.
hyden,
monarchy in England holds ceremonial function. the real power is with the house of lords and commons and the prime minister. but english people are bound by one national identity, culture and aspirations, flag and country that is symbolical of the monarchy.
we need a unifying force in our tired, fractious and divided country. noynoy can provide that unity, then after we are united, let our individual brilliance serve as one piece of masonry, the collective of which will build a strong edifice we call a country and hopefully with a flag too.
we should demand the same fealty to honor and integrity from ourselves as we demand them from our leaders.
@JCC
The real power is Parliament. The Lords’ power has been whittled down. The Commons has immense power but is supremely checked by the public.
In theory all power resides in the Queen. The Queen’s exercise of her powers is described by the term “the Queen in Parliament”
Also Pat Mangubat’s question has been answered in my “prognostication” post.
It is the Fates that want Noynoy to run and consequently become President.
Did Gloria Arroyo or any other politician foresee the political benefits of Mrs Aquino’s passing?
O Fortuna!
Make the Aquinos royal family for ceremonial
functions ? King Nonoy Aquino the I ? Princess Kris Aquino ? Boy Abundia, the White Knight ?
What a dumb way to unify the country !
We might as well prepare the list now.
As far as we officially know, Mar is the first to want Noynoy to run for president.
Supply the names to the following numbers:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
and so on and so forth.
I have yet to hear the most intelligent thing said on this Noynoy thing.
Five anti-admin (Nonoy, Erap, Villar and two flyweights) running simultaneously against a single pro-administration candidate (either Teodoro or Noli) and the pro-admin wins.
agree!
And then, there are local elections:
I have seen the pollution of the San Juan River. The present
Mayor, Joseph Victor Estrada has not done anything about it.
This is the point I am trying to drive into the heads of
the people. Family dynasties prevent ABLE leaders from being
elected. Family dynasties allow incompetent leaders to rule
just becaause of good and popular names.
We are emulating Americans? what makes you say that?
Of course we are! why the hell are we speaking in english anyway!? hehehe
Tingin ko parte lang ito ng beaucracy na gustong makinabang sa pagkapangulo niya. Natatakot lang ako na posibleng mapailalim siya sa impluwensiya ng kanyang mga kapartido o kapatid na hindi kapareha ang kanyang mga idolohiya. Pero bilang Noynoy hindi ko pinapawalang halagahan ang kanyang abilidad, at pati na rin ang pagiging Aquino. Ang ‘bias’ naman kung huhusgahan mo ang isang tao sa kanyang huling pangalan, mabuti man o masama.
At gusto ko lang palitan ang pagiisip ng “Academic Credentials” ng mga posibleng pinuno. Tama nga na kailangan na may pinagaralan pero ang utak ay hindi sapat. Nakikita naman natin sa ating kasalukuyang pangulo na maraming “academic credentials”.
Gusto ko lang sanang pagbutihin ang proseso ng pagiisip sa pag pili ng ating mga pinuno.
I agree with JCC, we need a unifying force in our fractious society and Noynoy can provide that. Not because he is as intelligent and articulate as his father nor as charismatic as his mother. But he has the people’s trust. The trust that people have in Cory was transferred to him when she died. If you need proof on that, just look at the latest surveys.
What we need is a leader who can inspire us, or at least, the majority. Erap could have done that with his support of the “masa” but he failed big time. As Dr. Melba Maggay put it:
“A major task of leadership is the capacity to inspire faith in the integrity and efficacy of its institutions. Societies fail when the trust level is so low that people can not even take the word of their leaders seriously, much less begin to cooperate and build things together”
Noynoy is just one, probably the most important, piece of the masonry, as JCC put it. Building our society is the job all of us, Filipinos, to carry on. But we need an architect to lead us. And Noynoy Aquino, a son of 2 national heroes is, I believe, the best person to play that architect role.
Do you think that a Nicanor Perlas, a Dado Valeroso, or a Nicanor Faeldon could play that role? Do you seriously think people will follow their lead?
http://noynoy-for-president.blogspot.com/2009/10/politics-of-personal.html