DIRTY POLITICS

In the Philippines politics is always the name of the game. People doubt the act of any elected official because they are usually branded as politicking or activity undertaken for political reasons or ends, as campaigning for votes before an election, making speeches, etc., or otherwise promoting oneself or one's policies. The people are so used with the word politics that it has already overtaken their understanding of what an elected office should be and the responsibilities in that office are.

Politics according to wikipedia.org is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power" and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.

The word "Politics" comes from the Greek word πολἰς ("polis") meaning city-state. The Greek word πολίτἰκος "Politikos" describes anything concerning the state or city affairs. In Latin, this was "politicus" and in French "politique". Thus it became "politics" in Middle English (see the Concise Oxford Dictionary). The most perfect example of the Greek city-state is Athens.
It is pretty clear from the wikipedia's point of view that politics is supposedly a synergy of people working together to achieve a common objective. It is not always the case in the Philippines, politcs usually exist to achieve one's objective, influencing the other ,manipulating at worse, in roder for him to get what he wants to get. The agenda of course, has it always has been, greed and power.

Politics has become a byword in the Philippines for you to get promoted, to get a job, to do business and almost everything that you need to do work on or do with has to get pass through politicking. It may be an abused word or overused, but that how the people looks at it at this time. The sincerity or insincerity of the leader is already tainted whenever he does something because he is always understood as politicking.

It was commendable for some politicians who were all there at the height of the relief operation to help calamity victims but never attempted to take the opportunity to advertise. There are only a few of these men who are really sincere enough to serve without expecting anything in return, not even votes. But there are a lot who would sponsor a simple free clinic in there barangay, and yet their banners with their grinning photos on are even bigger than the clinic they have erected. I saw one anti rabbis program that one politician sponsored for his constituents and the usual banner displaying his picture was stupidly placed next to "ANTI RABBIS". Wouldn't you wonder why the picture of the dog was not placed there instead?

We have lost our senses about the real meaning of the word. I even heard onetime from a grade school student of St. Scholastica's Academy Marikina that she had to shell out P 1000 just to appease her classmate who are poised to "impeach" her as president of the class if she wouldn't treat them for a snack. These kids already know what impeachment means and how to do it, but they have misunderstood its purpose. That is how perverted we are when it comes to politicking. The political garbage that they see on TV wrongfully acted upon by the suppose to be mature politicians appeared to be correct by the eyes of these young ones.

It is a pity really that we continue to look forward to a better Philippines but the leaders whom we rely upon doesn't have the heart to pursue the common goal of having a better Philippines. And if there is one who has the heart to help out, he will have his entire term spent working on fixing what his predecessor has destroyed. He will also have to get rid of the people surrounding him who are more likely used to the usual dirty politics of the former.