(LAST OF 4 PARTS)

FILIPINOS’ HAMARTIA

The first three parts of this series of articles identified our serious faults as Filipinos—we sell our votes, we use questionable standards when choosing leaders, we treat elections as if they are popularity contests, allowing immensely popular but inexperienced and incompetent celebrities to win, and we either keep restoring the same traditional politicians from the “recycle bin” or replace them with family members. It is a “hamartia” (or tragic flaw) in our character as a nation.

Our inability to choose the right leaders clearly prevents us from reaching our full socio-political and economic potential as a nation.

We know the government is essential in leading all efforts to make our country progressive. We need the best leaders if  we really want to become a “developed nation.”  We as citizens are responsible for selecting the best ones to hold the reins of government. Unfortunately, we keep failing to do so.

The funny thing is that after we put them into power—the politicians who won because they had the money to buy votes, celebrities-turned-politicians who are inexperienced and incompetent, “recycled politicians” and the members of their political dynasties—we expect them to perform well. After every election, we expect a better-performing government.

And why would we expect a different government – a more effective one – when we know that we keep electing the same politicians or use the same old rotten standards when choosing new leaders?

Let us revisit  Albert Einstein’s definition of  insanity: “Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.”

But assuming that one day we restore our sanity and finally refuse to sell our votes—finally, we learn to elect the most deserving and qualified candidates into office—would the wheels of national development start rolling?

Not quite yet!

There’s one more problem, a problem more serious than our failure to vote wisely and conscientiously. The more serious problem of Filipinos, as mentioned in the first part of this series, is the mindset that the leaders we elect are solely responsible for solving all of our society’s ills and the nation’s problems.

We view our relationship with the state from the vantage point of “self-entitlement.” We think that our leaders must give us “this and that.” We say the government should do “this and that” for us. We expect too much from leaders whom we don’t even choose using the best and most appropriate standards.

Is it the duty of the government to provide each citizen with food, clothes, and shelter?

There goes another problem among us Filipinos. We answer “yes” to the foregoing question, and we seem to have embraced another dangerous tendency—the “ayuda mentality.”

The government’s general functions are to formulate, implement, and enforce the laws of the land, build infrastructure, ensure peace and order, and create economic and other opportunities that help its citizens enjoy the conveniences of life, have the best chance to get a good education, and find or create means of livelihood.

It is also not the duty of the government to provide everybody with a job.

One of the functions of the government is to create an environment that promotes economic growth. They have to ensure that businessmen would be encouraged to invest and initiate business activities, thus creating job opportunities. But jobs are not given on a silver platter. We have to search for job openings, apply, and ensure that we have the required qualifications for the jobs we want. Getting ourselves ready for employment is a personal responsibility. The government will not deliver to our doorsteps the jobs that we want.

The government is also an employer but cannot possibly provide each citizen with a job. It is also impossible for the private sector to employ everybody. That’s just the reality—harsh as it may be. Those who don’t get employed or do not want to work for others because they have better plans for themselves could perhaps succeed as entrepreneurs.

Not everybody would get a college degree. Not everybody is trained and destined to be in a workplace – either in the corporate world or the academe. Some of us will be factory workers, sales clerks, farmers,  fishermen, plumbers, drivers, gardeners, or what-have-you. It doesn’t matter what jobs we have, as long as they are decent and they allow us to earn a living honestly.

Don’t reason out that you came from a poor family and your parents could not send you to school to get a good education and have a better chance for a better life.

Unfortunately, this is how we are wired. When we encounter failure, when things don’t turn the way we expect them to, when we are not doing well in the different areas of our personal lives, we are always ready to check our “blame list” to find somebody or something to put the blame on. And our favorite whipping boy – the government. When we are done accusing our leaders for not doing their job well, causing us to become losers, we next vent our ire on our parents, saying that they did not work hard enough to ensure that we live a good life when we become adults.

We need to throw away that “blame list” because, whether we like it or not, we are personally responsible and accountable for our successes and failures. There comes a time in our lives when we should become self-sufficient, when we, not the government nor our parents, decide for ourselves and take complete control of our destiny.

We Filipinos must realize that without recognizing our faults and changing, this country will never become progressive and “developed.” We will never gain the respect of the community of nations if we remain the way we are now.

John F. Kennedy said something we should reflect upon: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

We Filipinos need to realize that there are two requirements for a country to become progressive and developed: good government and responsible citizens. Remove one, and a nation is doomed. The citizens and their leaders need to work harmoniously towards achieving national goals. There’s no other way. Both of them need to work hard. They have to work hand in hand. And in case you did not notice, we as citizens control both requirements – we can decide to become responsible as citizens and also choose in whose hands we should put the reins of government.

PART ONE (THE CURSE OF VOTE BUYING)

PART TWO (CLOWN-GRESS)

PART THREE (SAME POLITICIANS…SAME RESULTS)