YPS

Yesterday’s Sunday editorial of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the accompanying article on drug use in the Philippines got to me. In one word it says it all. Narcopolitics.
ETYMOLOGY: Greek narko-, from narkoun, to numb, from nark, numbness.

What is it about Philippine politics that has put us in a stupor. We have turned it into a dirty word. Well-meaning Filipinos stay away from it almost like it can contaminate your very soul. And if recent commentary on the religious is to be considered, perhaps it has come to that. “Basta pulitika, marumi” basically sums up our belief in the electoral system.

And yet every single election we go into a frenzy. These are short periods of delusion and hallucinations wherein we believe we are doing good for the country. Let us examine real medical mental and emotional signs of abuse and addiction* and how it uncannily mirrors our political addiction:

1. “Cycles of being unusually talkative, “up” and cheerful, with seemingly boundless energy.” – We can call this our election campaign period.
2. “Temporary psychosis, hallucinations” – This is the whole nation during elections.
3. “Increased irritability, agitation and anger” – We can call this our losing candidates syndrome.
4. “Unusual calmness, unresponsiveness or looking ‘spaced out’” – Ah! here we are! - the citizens.
5. “Apathy and depression” – Here we are again, the citizens, a few months after elections when we realize nothing has changed.
6. “Lowered threshold for violence” – Don’t we see this all around us now? “Kilala mo ba ako?!”
7. “Paranoia, delusions” – And here, ladies and gentlemen, are our elected officials when their positions of power are threatened.
8. Repeat every 3 years from #1 to #7.

Jose Rizal called it a social cancer eating away at our society. This is our time and our cancer. We are, ourselves destroying our sense of nationhood and we can’t seem to get ourselves out of this stupor.

We are all guilty. Exchanging the future for short term fixes. Elections to us are not opportunities to stake our hold in the nation’s future. No… we use elections to give up our stake in this nation. We hand it over to those in power for that quick buzz to feel good. Then we sink back into our morass of apathy and depression.

Enough!

We should all go into rehab! There is an antidote I hear… that I dare wish we could get deeply involved in. Its not a quick fix, its hard but it is a clean break, one that we all need at this point. Its called HOPE. Anyone peddling out there, give me a booster shot quick!

Happy Chinese New Year by the way…

* Accessed from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/drug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_eff... on 26 January 2009