shame on you.

i was watching TV over dinner today when i chanced upon this local kids show on TV. on it, the kids were doing a skit, a spoof of the latest happenings in the socio-political scene, i.e., the jun lozada hearing. the weekend barely passing and trust the filipino sense of humor to kick it and trivialize everything.

i read an article written by a british expat here before saying that the filipino's innate sense of humor saves it, as well as condemns it. our sheer ability to make fun of our conditions make us optimistic and keep our spirits up, despite how hopeless or seemingly hopeless our situations are. when other people would probably see suicide rates sky rocketing, trust that filipinos would keep their heads and just laugh away the pain and get on with their lives. on the other hand, this same ability numbs us and makes us complacent. our problems, though serious, becomes inconsequential, and rather than taking up action to create change, we laugh away the pain and get on with our lives.

watching that skit made me hurt. it's not like me to get affected since i too have fallen into the defense mechanism of finding humor in all the mess my country is in. however, on this occasion, it felt different. the country is bleeding, and it is bleeding badly. democracy has given us the power to put our people into positions, yet ignorance and even stupidity has made us put the wrong people into power. they now suck the country dry and neglect their primary objective, which is to serve the people who put them. public office, which once was a service is now a career. it has become an industry, a main source of livelihood, and i am afraid, we are now seeing the work of very efficient "professionals".

how can the country heal when the healers are the parasites themselves? when the one's who can help don't, and the one's who can can't? it seems the cycle has been set and what one can only do is just sit back and watch a nation die of a cancer it is not willing to cure. that is unless someone is brave enough to speak up and start an end to this slow death. jun lozada's actions i believe is to inoculate the seed of recovery to this country. a deed, despite not coming from the best of candidates in nonetheless good and should continue. actions that should be praised over and over until it changes the nation's psyche that nationalism is not dead, and that there is glory in sacrifice. actions that should not be mocked by a stupid, insensitive skit by writers and actors just trying to find material for a good, short laugh.