ShareThis
“Nothing is more terrible than to see ignorance in action.”
Johann Von Goethe,
German writer, artist and politician
Voting is not just a right, it is also a responsibility. It’s a duty or an obligation and it carries with it the burden of moral accountability. Thus, this right to vote must be taken seriously as well as exercised with great care. For in it rests the future of our nation and the direction it will tread in the next 4, 8 or more years. In fact, it could very well lead to the rise or downfall of a country.
History, past and current, is replete with leaders who carried the mantle of governing with the right ideologies and catapulted their countries to global recognition, respect, power and influence. Leaders endowed with noble principles of service, humility and honesty are certainly a great blessing to the people and the country they serve and lead. Just a few examples of such leaders are Prime Minister Winston Churchill of United Kingdom, our very own US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, China’s Prime Minister Deng Xiaoping and Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew.
A true English legend and often touted as Hitler’s nightmare, Winston Churchill led Great Britain during WW2 against the Nazi German conquest and teamed up with the Allied Forces to defeat Germany. His unyielding perseverance in a time of fear and destruction against Germany’s war machine made him one of Britain’s greatest leaders.
Deng Xiaoping of China who, after barely surviving the deadly Cultural Revolution waged by Mao Tse Tung, rose to power at 75 years old and for almost 12 years ruled to restore China to its position of strength and ushered in China’s unprecedented rise to economic super power.
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was widely regarded as the founding father of modern Singapore. During three decades in which Lee held office, Singapore grew from being a developing country to one of the most developed nations in Asia, despite its small population, limited land space and lack of natural resources. Lee has often stated that Singapore’s only natural resources are its people and their strong work ethic. He is widely respected by many Singaporeans, particularly the older generation, who remember his inspiring leadership during independence and the separation from Malaysia
Then, there’s our very own Franklin D. Roosevelt who led the US as its President from 1933 to 1945, during WWII and The Great Depression, our country’s worst economic crisis, topped only perhaps by this post 911 era. His New Deal, an expansion of the government, popularized the new concept of liberalism which proved essential to rescuing the American economy from total collapse.
Yes, leaders have the terrible power to determine our nation’s destiny. Imagine if Al Gore prevailed in the highly controversial and contested Florida Supreme Court decision of the election of 2000? Could we have gone to war in Iraq after the 911 tragedy? The impact of 2 wars (Afghanistan and Iraq) and the $1.3 trillion tax cut he pushed forth, along with free prescription drugs for seniors that was unpaid for gave way to the economic nightmare that sent this country spiraling down.
This is why we need to make an informed decision in this election. We cannot be swayed by empty political rhetoric and grandstanding. What’s at stake is our future and our children’s future and the future of generations to come. Being loyal to your party of choice is not a badge of honor to carry and flaunt if such loyalty has been based on a superficial understanding of your party’s principles. If your allegiance to one party has been based on anything but beliefs in the sincerity of its purpose or in unselfish service to the nation, then you are a danger to this beautiful country and the ideals for which it stands.
Back in the Philippines, we saw the right to vote reduced into another measure of corruption. Our country’s poor look to it as an opportunity to make money because they get to sell their vote to the highest bidder. This practice of vote buying has been an accepted norm in Philippine politics and has given rise to political dynasties and private armies, especially in the local government. Reforming the system by educating the voters and weaning them away from accepting money for their votes is almost impossible because of intimidation from the ruling party. If not for the actual need for money, voters are forced to sell their votes out of fear of paying for their principle with their lives.
I came from a place in the Philippines which has earned the reputation as one of the most notorious and dangerous election hot spots in the entire country. It was a place where the City Hall was raided, blown and burned by heavily armed men apparently in an attempt to assassinate the mayor. While the mayor narrowly survived this seemingly made for movie raid by climbing down through his office window and running on foot as far away from the City Hall as possible, the next plot to get him out many years later, finally succeeded.
Here in America, it’s a different kind of ball game. Conversely, voters donate money to their candidates, purportedly to help them carry their message in the airwaves and reach as many voters as they can possibly reach. This practice is good as long as they remain limited individual contributions meant only to support their candidates and their party’s agenda. But with unregulated campaign contributions from individuals and corporations in tens of thousands, even millions, the integrity of a candidate’s principle of governance is highly compromised. Millionaires, special interest groups and corporations have no qualms about giving insane amounts of campaign contributions because they know that the return of their investment is so much more.
This is why it’s important to recall the SCOTUS infamous ruling on the case of Citizens United. This was the decision that opened the floodgates of dirty, corporate interests and money in politics. With these politicians being in the pockets of corporate and millionaire donors from Wall Street, imagine the horrors of deregulation all over again. And remember, the choice of the Supreme Court Justices, too, is directly linked to your choice of a president.
What will be left of America and the 99% of its people in an era dominated by the top 1%? Workers will have their pay increase and benefits at the mercy of their employers. Banks will have a field day with interest rates and stiff and unfair lending rules on borrowers. More jobs will be shipped to China, India or any other country with cheap labor. MEDICARE will be rationed off in vouchers. Social Security will be privatized, leaving it vulnerable to risky investments. Families with a kid with pre-existing condition have to look for other sources of medical coverage when they reach their cap on medical expenses.
Think, and think harder. The rise and fall of a country may depend on its leaders but the choice of our leaders rests upon us. While no candidate or party can guarantee what will become of our country, we do know the likelihood and direction which it is headed to by the party’s platform and agenda.
Vote wisely. And having done your assignment as a responsible voter, do as the late President John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural address, “Ask not what your country can do for you,. Ask what you can do for your country.”