In review and in prospect
There is a strong need to lift the quality of the national discourse. This will not happen if we continue to allow it to be dominated by the Old Guard — people who have rebranded themselves into the so-called “woke” crowd but are, underneath that clever disguise, just the same moldy 1970s-vintage mob led by the disgruntled Old Fart holdovers from the discredited First Quarter Storm mythology told in old (and also discredited) Philippine History textbooks.
One cannot uphold a bold and modern vision if the motivation to dream big is held back by a chain hooked on to 1970s thinking.
We therefore need an Opposition, and, for that matter, political parties that embrace a bright but more challenging future that is rich in opportunity for those who possess the imagination to harvest these. These new parties need to regard that future with minds unencumbered by the thinking of the old order of fear mongerers, oligarchs with vested interests in the status quo, and “analysts” who issue uninformed commentary without knowing enough about the technologies that are now the core foundations of the social orders we inhabit. In short, we need political parties that apply modern thinking to the strategic vision that they pitch to Filipino voters.
If we continue to rely on parties that constantly remind Filipinos that they are “victims” then, guess what, Filipinos will continue to think like victims. The time has come for Filipinos to refuse to be victims. It begins with the individual and that change needs to come from the grassroots — in the way ordinary Filipinos raised and educated. However, the most influential amongst us — people with big audiences and the loudest bullhorns also need to be taken to task in a broad initiative to change the Philippines’ political culture and discourse. It starts now.
Last week's blog posts
Personality and Hashtag Politics in a Circus Called “The Philippines”
January 8, 2024 by Hector Gamboa
"...so amazing how the DDS mind works. It seems to me that they do have a knack for backwards logic. Start with the conclusion that PBBM (and his circle) is applying some sort of BlackOps to take them and the Dutertes down, and support this claim using mere memories..."