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The State of My Nation

The disappointment that filled me when I first exercised my right to suffrage will be one of the things I will never be able to erase in my memory. A few hours after my finger was marked with an indelible ink, I realized that my hopes were for naught. Then I said to myself, why should I be worried? After all I'm not to be blamed for what was in store for the country for the next six years. Although this may sound a bit too accusing, the Philippines has finally showed what it really is made up of -- idiots.

It is quite ironic for a country that dreams of a better life for its children to elect someone who is clearly incompetent and unfit for the seat of presidency. We keep demanding for something better yet the majority of us cannot even follow simple traffic rules. We keep accusing the leaders for being corrupt yet we do harm to ourselves and others in little ways we do not know (remember when you first sneaked out of the house to be with our barkada or how you stole a few pesos from your mother's purse?). We are so desperate for a better future that we fail to recognize the truth behind Noynoy's figures of speech and poetic delivery. We dream, yet we lack the vision. We only hunger for the prize and refuse to look at what we have to go through to get there.

While listening to the president's state of the nation address earlier today, it struck me how Filipinos love allusions and metaphors so much. How we love to refuse to scrutinize the propositions laid out before us, without even thinking if that promise can be achieved or not. We want to cover everything with sweet words and take it as something that's full of wisdom and meaning. We want short term results and that is quite evident with the shallow understanding of the man you have elected.

I hope you are ready to accept whatever the consequences are for taking part in electing a hero that is not needed at this moment. The country has had plenty already and yet we dishonor them and our ancestors by destroying what could have been a great future for us. But perhaps that is what we need after all. Someone to wake us up from our dreams and make us face the reality that dreams are not enough. A sincere heart is not enough. For to guide a nation that is poised for success doesn't require sincerity alone and a man who dwells in the past mistakes of other people. We need someone who understands not just the heart of the people, but how to govern a nation with the heart AND a sound mind.
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