MOI? POLITICS? NEVER!!!

At least that's what I said many years ago when an astrologer told me I would be part of a political force in the country. I naturally dismissed it because I assumed she was saying I would be in government.  Eleven years later,  I see what she meant.  I am still not in politics and still have no interest in running for office, but I am part of a cultural force that is addressing the political realm. That's very different from being "in politics".

That is what my work is with PAGASA.  I'm writing this because we had a PAGASA process for my children's school and I heard that a parent didn't participate because she thought it was "Panjee's foundation that had to do with politics".  PAGASA is a cultural movement that aims to create change in society by helping individuals realize how they are connected to the larger picture.

I understand why people are allergic to the word politics: it's ugly, dirty, and corrupt.  But our looking and staying away is also what allows it to become so. This doesn't mean we necessarily have to become politicians, but it does mean we have to become aware of the role we play in the larger society-- whether we like it or not, whether we move directly in the sphere of politics or not.  

I've been hearing some people speak about how ordinary, good citizens have to be bold and courageous enough to enter politics in order for change to take place in government.  But is that all that is needed?  We already know that the system--ancient and corrupt to the gills--is problematic and has a tendency to devour even the purest of soul and intention.  It is not enough to be good.  One must go in there with a full understanding of the complexity of the whole and with the inner strength that comes also with a full understanding of who he is as an individual, human being and Filipino.  You cannot go in there just with prayers, high hopes, and the best of intentions.

There are some civilians who are joining the political fray. I've heard some of them speak and though they are claiming to be bringing something new, they sadly still reek of traditional politics.  They speak and act like them, even though what they're saying may be different -- for now.  But when I listen to them, I know I cannot possibly vote for them.  I look at them, listen to what they're saying, how they're going about the change and I know that what they bring is not enough. 

It is our role as citizens of this country to engage in it fully. This doesn't mean running for office.  It means making an effort to understand the full picture and see how we fit and, therefore what we can do to effect change.  Because it is not a hopeless situation.  It is only hopeless when we give up or refuse to acknowledge the hope because we know that the situation demands something of each one of us.  We cannot live in oblivion and keep complaining.  We cannot keep pretending that we are not part of that muddy place called politics.  We are, for as long as we are citizens and residents of this country.  As long as the laws they make affect us, we are.  As long as the corruption keeps taking away what is rightfully ours, we are. We are part of the whole.

"There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves", that's what Jose Rizal said.  In today's context, we are the slaves by virtue of our silence and inaction.  We do not have to be angry all the time.  We do not have to go out into the streets again if that really does not resonate anymore.  But we do have to engage by trying to understand what all of this means in the history of our country and what it is asking of us today, especially if we brought children into this society who will one day inherit the mess.

PAGASA is one way of understanding the complexity of the situation and hopefully finding our place in it that we can move, heal and bring forward. Our children are depending on us to make their world right.  We cannot but rise to the challenge.