Weekly Brief
Crab mentality and electioneering rules the Philippines' political debate once again drowning out important conversation on where the country is headed over the long term.
In review and in prospect
One thing that can be noted from the various camps in the Philippines’ sad “political debate” is that the starting point of assertions is always one’s political or personal loyalties. As such, the goal of most participants in this “debate” is to re-enforce beliefs rather than engage in an intellectually-honest search for the truth.
Discussing amongst like-minded pals is easy and gratifying. But true intellectual challenge lies in engaging people who disagree and pose compelling counter-arguments to one’s theses. In short, people who are lazy thinkers find comfort in the embrace of communities of like-minded folk. True intellectuals seek the challenge of testing their ideas in hostile territory.
There is much more to be learned from people who disagree with you than from people who agree with you. When you find that a discussion is too congenial and all participants in a forum are acting like cheerleaders rather than exhibiting a balance of healthy skepticism to what you say, the more intelligent response to such a situation is discomfort in comfort. A life spent cloistered in a comfort zone is a life spent allowing one’s faculties to progressively be blunted by lack of challenge and one’s character dulled by a lack of routine reality checks.
The Philippines’ political “debate” remains the same tired old lump of noise consisting of the shrill chatter of girly indignation over politicians’ bad behaviour and the same old melodramatic appeal to populist sentimentality. There are no real platforms that articulate a structured and systematic approach to transforming the Philippines from a society forever chasing its tail to one squarely on a trajectory to enlightenment and progress.
Just like a democratic government, social media leaders are created by popular vote in the form of Likes, Retweets, and Follows. As such, social media leaders too mirror the character of the Philippines’ social media community. Filipinos will have to decide if the character of their social media leaders are ones that they deem worthy of being regarded as models of their collective character much the same way as they continuously evaluate their democratically-elected political leadership.
Last week's blog posts
Will We See Diabolic Digong Behind Bars for Issuing Grave Threats?
November 19, 2023 by Oman
"Despite the loss of immunity, Duterte persists in making pointed remarks on various issues and critics, often during programs such as SMNI, at times echoing a pro-Beijing narrative that advocates for avoiding conflict with China."
Marcos administration should keep above rabid politicking and focus on good governance
November 19, 2023 by Ramon Ortoll
"The moronic loyalists who are accusing the Duterte camp of destabilization plots and coup attempts are stupid because the situation today isn’t the same as the time when the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) was organized with then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile’s blessing."
Leila De Lima threatens to sue former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Will she succeed?
November 18, 2023 by benign0
"But how much credibility as a practitioner of law does De Lima wield? This is someone, after all who seems to bow more to a foreign “court” than to the authority of the Supreme Court of her own country."
Makapili or Makabayan Part 2: The lies that brought the US military back to the Philippines
November 18, 2023 by Ramon Ortoll
"Any thinking person can see that these EDCA bases make the Philippines the target of America’s enemies, and only serve America’s agenda in containing and provoking China using Taiwan."
Leila De Lima gets the Yellowtards back in bed with the Roman Catholic Church
November 17, 2023 by benign0
"What exactly is the message to Filipinos Leila De Lima together with Leni Robredo are presuming to bring across? Is it that they are endorsed as the 'good guys' by no less than God himself?"
Leila De Lima is the new martyr-saint of the Yellowtard-Communist Axis
November 15, 2023 by Ramon Ortoll
"...her admission of her frailties by indulging in an affair with her driver who was married which, going by the revised penal code, is an act of adultery punishable not only by the penal provision but also disbarment for conduct unbecoming a member of the bar."
Yellowtards and commies behind Marcos administration in seeking to crush Duterte brand
November 15, 2023 by Ramon Ortoll
"Current President Bongbong Marcos (BBM) should’ve learned his lesson about the Americans with the ignominious departure his family was subject to in 1986. But as it appears now, that experience didn’t teach him anything about setting the country on the right path and not getting left behind any further by its regional neighbors."