Really starting ‘em young
November 9, 2007We all have heard of vote-buying in varying degrees, but during the last Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, it was the first time (and hopefully, the last) that I have heard of a losing candidate who went after the people who didn’t vote for him for a refund of sorts.
To be fair, it wasn’t the candidate, it was her mother who went to the houses of the children. Wow. Talk about setting decent examples for our children to emulate.
If the sorry state of Philippine politics persists even after our generation, we only have ourselves to blame. We really started them young.
La Bigueña 
Bad politics is a foremost bane in our society. And you are right, we have ourselves to blame. Nakababain, makapasuron, ken makapadismaya ti kastoy a wagas, nangnangruna ta pati payen agtutubo masursuroan ti kakastoy nga aramid.
The Gospel has a word for those who cause or lead the young to sin: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Mt 18:6) This shows how Jesus himself condemns scandalizing the young.
This is again a call for us (yes, especially Church people, the educated class, and those who have people under their care) to do something (not to throw people into the sea with millstones tied to their neck, but to throw away attitudes, paradigms, structures of bad politics and reform). Surely, this is easier said than done.
Frankly, I am now at a lost as to how we can regain political integrity and social responsibility. Maybe we can think of ways, and collaborate.