Whistling political kettle

The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

It’s that stupid season again, when the improbable becomes probable and the unimaginable happen, when partnerships are forged and friendships broken, when families align and disintegrate, when parties close ranks or rip open.

It’s the political season, when we all choose our next local officials, when, uh, the dancing and the singing begin.

Well, actually, the singing and dancing started last year, when those who want to get elected started to consciously court voters. But if the dance then was slow drag, we are now getting to the breakdance division, complete with power moves and ‘suicides,” when the stakes are getting higher, and the wannabes and hopefuls start raising the ante, even risking life and limb, to attract voters.

Nobody can be oblivious to this. From sign on to sign off, from wake up to sleep time, we are now bombarded with political news and tidbits detailing the directions the political winds are taking.

Indeed, wherever you go these days, you cannot escape political talk. I don’t know with you, but I am getting a surfeit of this, of political numbers and equations, of analyses and epiphanies.

What can one really do? This is our beloved Philippines, and we are in this stupid season. But sometimes, I do succumb to the pressure and turn catty: “So why don’t you yourself run, so we’ll finally know how politically wise and wonderful you are?” Or, when the mood is really in the dumps: “I did not ask for your opinion, did I?”

Who’s running, who’s not, for what? Who goes with whom? It is the biggest teleserye this side of the soap opera world: it is amazing how the exercise can keep us glued, as we do with the well-worn “Walang Hanggan” that has been over-extending its running time on TV.

As things develop, as loyalties shift and alliances are formed, so do we unmask our politicians. Another amazing thing: we never really, truly know the real persons behind the political masks they wear and we’re lucky to even get the chance to know them for real. In other words, one of the things that make politics such an addicting and engaging pastime – don’t ask me about productivity – is its capacity to surprise and even to stun.

It is in times like this when we should rethink the feasibility of our American-style democracy. Does it really work for us? Does an uber-exuberant media, for example, truly work for us, when for all its freedom, it can even barely scratch the surface and allow us to see things and people for what they really are? Oh yes, we have a media that can go overboard in character assassination, but despite that tremendous power, it has really failed to provide us with enough information to make intelligent choices. Or else, we wouldn’t be stuck with such limited political stock, and we wouldn’t be surprised at how politicians can suddenly become the opposite of what we know them for.

Hypocrisy? I think it’s how the system works, and we are the ones who make it work. We get what we deserve, thank you.

You don’t want the sing-and-dance variety of politicians, stop getting entertained by their song and dance. You want them to be honest, stop asking them for anything. These politicians are what they are because we have made them think that’s how they can get our votes.

Don’t get me wrong. I have a healthy respect for pols, a very healthy respect, in fact. To survive in a stupid world is achievement not given to everyone; to win a position in a race that is wild and crazy is a privilege. We can only hope that whoever does realizes this, and acts accordingly.*

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