A culture of making wrong choices

If our elections were multiple choice tests designed to measure our nation’s fitness to move up to a higher grade, then we would have received failing marks time and again.

The record shows we have fumbled not once but many times over, making the same wrong choices when it comes to our leaders. In our choices of people to govern us, Filipinos can be likened to grade school children who are branded as “repeaters.” No wonder we are still stuck in the lower grades all these years.

Take a look at our neighbor, Singapore. Last May, the city-state made a carefully calibrated power transfer in which Lee Hsien Loong, 72, bowed out as prime minister after 20 years. His successor, Lawrence Wong, who took office last May, had been meticulously prepped and groomed before he was appointed. Wong was in civil service for 15 years before he entered politics in 2011. He held ministerial positions in four Singapore ministries, and led both the national development and education ministries. See how prepared he was?

Academically speaking, Wong is no mediocre “pasang awa” (mercy graduate). After receiving a Bachelor of Science with a major in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he obtained a Master of Arts in applied economics from the University of Michigan, and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.

Compare this to the present crop of leaders we have been electing to govern us. We have leaders plying the top corridors of power who got elected to their government positions without serving in any public office, who even brag about not having finished college, or barely passing the bar. There’s the other kind who, once elected, are not heard from anymore until the next election time.

A nation is a reflection of its choice of leaders. Most progressive nations are those who said no to corruption and demanded quality leaders. Ours is a government that seems to be ruled by the least suitable, able, or experienced people.

I am reminded by one of the most memorable movie endings, from “Amadeus” as the character Antonio Salieri utters to every one within earshot: “Mediocrities everywhere, I absolve you. I absolve you all,” giving license to others to find glory in inadequacy when excellence is out of reach.

There is a term for a government led by mediocre leaders which is “kakistocracy.” The first part of the word comes from the Greek kákisto(s), meaning “worst.” So kakistocracy means “government by the worst.” The rulers are called “kakistocrats.”

I have heard from foreigners who have grown to love our country that we should have been a first world nation by now. We have everything going for us. Abundant resources, good geography, strategic location, a young population. But somehow with these givens, we still have not realized our true potential. They all point out to our weakest link as the main factor. It’s governance, st*pid.

Mediocre governance is what you get when you choose the wrong leaders, election after election. We can’t point the accusing finger on our executive, legislators, and judges. The other finger points to us, the electorate.

Ultimately, the fault begins with us.

We choose to do it the easy way, voting people based on name recall, not on capability or background. Name recognition wins over track record nine out of 10. This is why it’s so easy for movie and radio personalities to win overwhelmingly.

Then there is nepo-politics. When we get used to a name, it becomes a brand which we become predisposed to check on the ballot time and again. This is why long-time serving politicians groom their wives, sons, daughters, nephews, and in-laws, to run for various positions because they carry the recognizable political brand name.

Nepotism has become a winning formula. In one town, all the officials come from the same family, all being paid by taxpayer money. There are many variations of this nepo-political system where elections are co-opted and manipulated so political power is kept within the family. As one observer commented, politics has become a family business.

The problem is we have a shallow way of choosing people and a low bar for what we expect from the people we elect.

The lamest excuse for making easy but wrong choices can be summed by the cynical statement: “Para-pareho lang naman ang mga iyan” (“they’re all the same”). Alas, ignorance, indifference, or cynicism about the people who are supposed to lead us will not serve our nation well.

Thomas Jefferson wrote that a discerning, well-informed electorate is a prerequisite to healthy democracy.

So let’s start weaning voters away from a negative culture of making easy wrong choices toward a positive culture that demands excellence, honesty, and accountability from our leaders. This means investing more in education, the kind of no-nonsense education that equips our voters specially the youth with critical thinking abilities and empowers them to become responsible, demanding citizens.

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Filmmaker Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso is former president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and former chair of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.