The tragedy of dirty politics and puny minds

A week after the April ides should have been the 26th anniversary of the Cabadiangan United Brotherhood, CUB for short, an informal socio-civic organization in the scenic farming village in Compostela, Cebu, catering to simple community service. But CUB's service-oriented existence has just been cut clean by the founding prime movers, that is, to obviate escalating the gnawing inroads, like the eroding "anay" treacherously spawned by two brash members who are tyro candidates for town councilors, with the father of one abetting the efforts for their political "pogi points".

The CUB has for 26 years relied its limited funding on members' strictly voluntary contributions, regular benefactors in form of cash, materials, or services, and souvenir program ads. Its goodwill and achievements ranged from yearly honoring of academic and other achievers, maintenance of almost a dozen artesian wells, caused the building of 3-classroom edifice, regular dental and occasional medical clinics, obtained from Senator Flavier P1 M worth of asphalt-paving of Cabadiangan road, and consistent benefactor to the needs and projects of the rural elementary school, among others.

Following its constitution and by-laws, while the CUB has always been service-oriented, it is neither obligated to "feed the hungry", nor is it morally bound to conduct a free feeding program. But, definitely, despite limited finances and its simple meals for the CUB's guests and members, there have been so many destitute, including hungry children, who have partaken of the simple dinners for the past 25 years. Recently though, the incumbent woman president who, on hindsight now, had presented herself to be CUB's prexy to prop up her oozing political aspiration, inveigled the group to do certain changes on the dinner arrangements. That would have been okay, but the fly in the ointment came when the other puny-minded candidate for councilor took to task, on a wrong premise, the past CUB policies and its prime movers, as "dawo" or selfish towards the needy.

Compounding the unfairness, the self-inflated father of the woman candidate butted in on the same attack, that is, castigating the CUB and its founding leadership on the same tack of alleged selfishness for not feeding the whole barrio, and fatuously saying that CUB's main onus is to feed the hungry.

Their myopic thrust was to garner "pogi ponts" for their neophyte political paranoia. In reaction, two siblings of the CUB organizers argued that the CUB isn't a feeding program entity, and another lady member had to silence the "pogi points" advocates with the admonition: "Kon gusto mo nga ang CUB mopakaon sa tibuok baryo, pangamot mo, ug dakoa ang inyong amot".

Thus, to avoid further straining of sensibilities, all because of certain political avarice of the duo with mediocre capability, the founding organizers had to cancel everything. To recall, it has always been the policy and unwritten rule of CUB since its inception not to be involved in politics at all, albeit no banning of a member to engage in active politics without dragging the CUB as partisan. Even its guest speakers were mostly educators, instead of politicians

For others or strangers to inflict lies, insults and disrespect, and resort to unfair name-calling as "selfish", is hurting enough, but when the false imputations come from supposedly trustworthy kin who unexpectedly turn Brutus in treachery, that is unquantifiably much, much more hurting and heart-wrenching. But be that it has to be, let the die cast. And so, let it be. In recap, with the worsening kind of dirty politics wherein the mediocres or so-so in EQ and IQ, the overly-ambitious pretenders, and the dense and puny minds outrace one another to rule the roost of power, expect the worsening degradation of morality, decency, the culture of gratitude, and mutual respect, and, even results in splitville among supposedly inviolable blood ties. How tragic, indeed!

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