False narratives and reality disconnect: A cautionary tale for Filipino voters
Technology enables us these days to observe the moral disintegration of someone at the pinnacle of power. The portrayal of a well-fed ego progressively deprived of dignity is a truly tragic sight. But what is more troubling (President Barack Obama’s word was “dangerous”) is the radioactive life of support for President Donald Trump. This disconnect from reality and the false narratives on violence are proven to be factual.
I am reminded of that classical allusion that whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. And those who go along are not spared nemesis and loss of power. One can’t help but wonder at the sources of that frenzied crusade for a lost cause. How the orchestrated aggression to redeem the bruised ego of one man contrasts with a lack of concern for the catastrophic number of COVID-19 deaths on the rise daily. This seems callous, not scarcely human. Has an influence, more than human, been allowed to darken minds and hearts? An evil influence? “Allowed” is the operative word, for as John A. Lincoln wrote, “The devil is a gentleman who never goes where he is not invited.”
Might there be a cautionary tale here for the Filipino electorate? Some insights are to be gleaned on the phenomenon of political support, or on why corruption in public office sticks more tenaciously than lahar mud. The interview of former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright with Christiane Amanpour on CNN recently offered a thought-provoking image. They were discussing what could happen when leadership sows doubt on the integrity of the electoral process. Quoting a distinguished statesman,
Albright said that if one plucks a feather from a chicken at a time, no one would notice.
Devitalizing democracy is a great temptation for those who hold the reins of power. Robert Hutchins puts the problem bluntly: “The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination by ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.”
Alertness is therefore an imperative, for politics is too important to be left to politicians. Issues such as red-tagging, the “pastillas” network, undeclared SALNs, extrajudicial killings, the “untouchables” in government, etc. have commendably generated comment. It would, however, not be accurate to attribute every criticism of the administration to the opposition (a habit of presidential spokesperson Harry Roque). This form of partisan reductionism hardly encourages democratic participation.
VIRGINIA CALPOTURA,RSCJ
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