Last Thursday, Jor-El Soyangco, on behalf of One Tama organization, gave a reflective talk about citizenship after the election at the Starbuck’s Dialogues forum. Although not Kryptonian in blood — nor is he Clark Kent’s dad — Jor-El resounded with Superman-esque ideas as he spoke about truth, justice and the Filipino way regarding the state of our country and where we want to go after we cast our ballots this Monday.
The dialogue wasn’t meant to push change and growth in this country as a fictional concept; nor was it casually symbolic like an armband; it was about something grounded and true. Jor-El started the discussion by asking the audience to rate economical structures in our country such as our taxes, health care and education. The responses were the usual litanies of poverty and corruption that you would find on the front pages of any newspaper. Although the answers were rather bleak, Jor-El said that “One Tama’s goal for the discussion is not to depress people but rather to make the audience feel responsible.”
He then asked each member of the audience to give their expectations of whatever president wins this year’s election. The expectations were more about character rather than platforms. Noting how democracy in this country still has a long way to go because we need to trust that our elected officials will perform in the first place — before even thinking about what actual change he or she will implement — Jor-El then turned the tables on the participants, asking, “What are you doing to meet these expectations?” The question was met with a long silence. It was not because each individual in the room wasn’t doing his part. It was more because I think citizenship or what we are doing for our country in our own way is something that we don’t think about as deadlines pile up on our desks and traffic urges us to zone out of Manila’s reality. It is something we don’t actively take upon ourselves, in this “every man for himself” world. Yet it is something that, through these discussions, we must all start doing in our own way.
Vote For Yourself
By raising the issue of expectations, Jor-El revealed the nature of citizenship, which is to further the goals of our chosen candidates by participating in what he or she decides to do for the country. We are who we vote for. Even now, our actions are reflections of our ballot. If we wear the Laban sign and drive in mad rage on EDSA, we communicate that Noynoy’s followers are indeed crazy and are mama’s boys who take the easy way out. The yellow ribbon doesn’t give us a halo of entitlement to feel heroic; it is we who give meaning to that ribbon or color that we wear. In fact, even more so than our candidate, we tarnish or embolden the symbol of what we wear. It is not the other way around.
Jor-El fleshed out this idea by saying that we should write our own platforms for the country and ask ourselves what we are doing to pursue those plans. If we want global prestige, we must be on time, all the time, whether it’s a Filipino or a foreigner we are meeting. If we are for education, we should actively promote entertainment programs that don’t merely gyrate but educate and uplift; and if we are for transparency and the truth, we shouldn’t be above the law. It is we, as a whole, creating the culture and the future. It is not one person called “the president,” nor a handful of people; it is us. If you think about it, if the majority of us are powerful enough to put them in office, then we are equally powerful enough to lead them by our character.
So, voting on winnability and change is not up to the candidates. It is up to us and what we envision tomorrow to be. So don’t vote for them, vote for yourself this May 10.
Read about all your candidates to make an informed decision at http://ph.politicalarena.com.
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Help out One Tama at http://www.onetama.com.
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E-mail me at readnow@supreme.ph.