The pork protest: the insane try to take over the asylum Posted by Joe America on August 26, 2014 • Wow. The electronic 2016 presidential odds board above my desk is flashing red and green. The changes are as follows: - Binay: 15% down from 50% - Roxas: 10% up from 12% - Trillanes: 18% up from 15% - Santiago: 0% up to 8% - Poe: 7% down to 0% Duterte seems getting stronger each day. The rest of the presidential aspirants forget it.. The unmatches legacy of president Aquino. “Reader, suppose you were an idiot? And suppose you were in Congress? But I repeat myself.” Mark Twain, American author and outspoken advocate for Philippine Independence. Acts provoking instability are certifiably crazy The Philippines is notorious for punishing itself. It is like a nation sitting in the corner and pushing pins through its fingers. But look at where the nation is now, thanks to the stability brought on by the Aquino Administration. Rising in the global ratings, rising in financial stability, rising in reputation and economic strength, investing in infrastructure like no prior administration, striking out for peace in Mindanao and with China. So many good deeds. And the main reason for the rise of the Philippines? Stability What do large protest rallies, hyped by a sensationalist press that magnifies the significance of these outlying thinkers, project to the outer world, and bring to the inner Philippines? Instability. “Oust the pork king!” Emotionalism calling for solutions outside the established order. Still longing for coups after all these years. “Find a corner, Jose. Here’s a box of pins.” Emotionalism, unrestrained, detached from pursuit of normal behaviors . . . like stability and progress . . . is certifiably crazy. Pork is not the problem. Theft is. And lack of good information. And a court system that does not punish. And nepotism in hiring and promoting that removes competence from the system. I’d suggest we would be better off working NORMALLY within the system to influence our representatives in Congress to take care of these problems. Bills are already on the table to address each of these issues. Help move them along, as voters sane of mind and deed, speaking through the officials to whom we have delegated responsibility. Follow up with our representatives. How did they vote? What legislation are they putting on the table? Are they pushing . . . or following ? Our democratic obligation is to be good bosses within the organizational system. Not lunatics, working against the stability and well-being of the Philippines. A little asterisk * I of course exaggerate to make a point. I think 90 percent of the protesters are of honorable intent and legitimately frustrated with corruption and incompetence. And protest is a freedom, a force that can provoke responsible deeds in some circumstances. But now is not the right time, or the right circumstance. PDAF and DAP are dead. The system is working exactly as it should. Democracy is not a dance in the moonlight. It is a crunching, grinding deployment of argument with absolutely no requirement that things be done “our way”. I’d guess that the protesters have probably not read the entire anti-pork initiative or figured out how impractical or unnecessary some of the elements are. They also have not found comfort in the Supreme Court rulings or changes of procedure that have already been implemented WITHIN the system. Their lack of earned trust in the system is squarely a fault of political leaders. Legislators need to strive to be less Mark Twain’s “idiot” and more the courageous patriot. I would also guess that most protesters have never worked in a “boss” role in a corporation or military establishment to understand how critically important delegation is, in concert with good information, good supervision and good punishments or promotions. The people I most heartily object to are those who would seek to destroy the system by calling for the ouster of the President when the system is more stable today than it has ever been. I object to the truly lunatic, self-designated leaders who seek to destabilize . . . be they commies or priests or lawyers, strange fellows who don’t mind sharing a bed if it helps achieve their narrow aims. Well, down with them. And . . . Up with pork, and its partners, information, supervision and punishment or promotion. Down with crooks and those who would sacrifice the nation for their private interests. Up with stability and working within that stable system. Try this idea on for size. If you want to feel a part of the Philippine rise to world prominence, work to stabilize the nation instead of promoting trivialized unrest, like impeachments of no merit, people’s initiatives that are not necessary, and destructive “oustings”. Work passionately within the system for better results. You’ll feel accomplishment with each stride that the Philippines takes.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 19:01:14 +0000