Election fever is in the air. Accusations and more accusations fill our news channels. We are good at that. If we stop to think, we probably are asking our leaders to be angels. But they will always be human and never perfect. We have to accept that they will always have defects. Still we would like them to be ideal, at least as close to perfection as possible. We have a democratic government and as all governments its primary purpose is to give its citizens safety. We have a long way to go before this service can approach the ideal. But we are getting there, hopefully sooner rather than later. Our democracy for most of us seems the best that we can hope for. To make decisions we allow the majority to win the decision. There are two problems with that. Numbers can make stupid decisions. It can make mistakes. But we hope mistakes will be minimized because we think wisdom will be where more good willed people decide. This is not necessarily true. Democracy seems to be better than other forms of government not because wisdom results from majority but for other reasons. The second problem is that choosing sides is divisive.

Elections have its bad effects. This is especially true when people take it as an affront if they are not chosen or their choice is not affirmed. Majority rule is not always the right decision. Then how come we expect perfection from our leaders. This can be graphically expressed in the Tagalog saying “Mayroon bang tao na walang butas ang puet?”

In the Athenian democracy 500 BC, they had a practice of ostracism. It meant than when two contending politicians argue on what is good for the nation, the citizens vote to send one of them into exile. The one who gets the biggest pile of pottery shards with his name on it is sent into exile or ostracized. It did not mean that he was wrong but in order to get unity one of two contending parties is sent away. The nation would profit from the unity that would result. This is one of the crying needs of this country: Unity. But to get unity everyone has to be willing to be ostracized or lose the argument. This is what it is all about: Sacrifice. Everyone has to be willing to make sacrifices for unity and the good of the nation.

We can rail against corruption.

This may get some results. But perhaps looking into our selves and minimizing our own corruption and our willingness to make sacrifices for the nation would be more fruitful. Railing against others makes little demand on us. It is easy to criticize the defects of others but more difficult to make a contribution for the good of the nation. Recall the challenge of John Kennedy: Think not of what your country can do for your but what you can do for your country. We have plenty to do for our country. We have to give our citizens safety. We have to banish poverty especially hunger poverty. We have a country rich with both natural and human resources. All we need is some organization and unity, and a little sacrifice from each one of us. Each one has to ask himself what he has to do or can do for the good of the community which our overseas countrymen call Pinas. <emeterio_barcelon@yahoo.com>