Democracy's Failure in the Philippines

Socrates disfavored democracies!!!

That's the unforgettable words that my Politics Professor uttered during one of our classes, He told us that according to Socrates—Democracy has many flaws and some of this flaws are somewhat irreparable themselves. We were taught to think very highly of Democracy itself — a gift from the Athenian Greeks which we adopted not only as a mere political form of government but also as a way of life. For several centuries we have high regards to the Greeks who first developed and exercised this political form, so it's therefore striking to hear that one of Greece's philosophical giants disfavored one of classical Greece's gargantuan achievement, Democracy.

In Plato's book "The Republic", the founding father of Greek Philosophy— Socrates— is presented as a seemingly pessimistic man regarding Democracy. Plato describes Socrates in his book having a conversation with a character named Adeimantus, Socrates tried to enlighten Adeimantus about the flaws of Democracy by comparing the society into a wooden ship. Socrates— being the inquisitive Socrates that we all knew ask the man about who he thinks should be steering the ship, should it be someone educated into the rules and demand of seafaring? or just some random shit?. Adeimantus of course did not hesitate to choose the former as his answer. Socrates replied by saying "So why then do we keep thinking that any old person should be fit to judge who be a ruler of a country?."

From this statement it is easy to determine Socrates' point. For him voting is a very important aspect of Democracy, it is something that people should not impulsively do. He simply implies that voting is not as easy as picking what flavor of ice cream you should take, it is a hard task that concerns the future of the subjects themselves, therefore it must be taught systematically to the populace at large. For him, letting the citizenry vote without any prior education is as a irresponsible as letting an ignorant individual clueless about how a ship works control the it in the middle of a violent storm. 

Unfortunately for Socrates this idea of him was proved and tested later on when he had to experience firsthand the stupidity of ignorant voters after they voted him to die in the hemlock. This—in the philosophical world is as equally tragic to Jesus' condemnation as it has been for Religious Christians. The man who warned us about the flaws of democracy was sentenced to death by a democratic vote, ironic. 

This same stupidity that Socrates warned us about is somehow evident in the Philippine context. "It's more fun in the Philippines!" as the tourism slogan goes but it could also be applied to our country's political landscape as well. As a long time observer I furthermore conclude that our political arena is somewhat very entertaining, Well! What more could you ask?, we already have a zoo in the senate exclusively home to thick skinnned crocodiles and treacherous snakes. It's safe to say that Philippines' political theatre—when turned into a series of telenovela, will end up as a combination of action, drama, comedy and horror genres. Chaotic yet entertaining but most of the time is disturbing that even Satan himself will be horrified and brand Philippines as the "new hell".

The problem is that we— the masses, are the same reason why crooked politicians in the Philippines are still seated on their legislative positions, wielding massive political power even though they have tons of unsettled lawsuits. The people possess the chance and power to choose someone who will lead and represent them during elections, but they always sought to vote somebody who has charisma and fame instead of voting for those who really have some sort of mastery over governance, and that's the exact reason why we elected more Business Tycoons over real time Agriculturist. We always elects thieves and murderers instead of doctors and honest legislators. Is democracy dead in the country? Actually Democracy is still alive, but it isn't well!.

Did democracy failed us?, Nooo!, It is us— the people who failed democracy. It doesn't always work the way we want it to be because majority of the voters are stupid. Socrates was worried about the problems of an easily led and uneducated population having power over the state, now in the present— we are worried about the dire consequences of an easily tricked populace voting someone unfit to have power over the nation. 

Though Athenian Democracy is different from the type of democracy that we currently enjoy, the problems as you can see are quite similar. Here, the  the population doesn't know the difference between a con artist and a legitimate leader, thus, they can easily be flattered by any charismatic and brainless politician, tricking them until they get moved by empty promises ultimately leading to this types of politicians gaining significant political power. This means that we are essentially voting the same devil who will burn us in the stake later, we are like a flock of sheeps gifted the opportunity to vote over who to choose between the wolf, the snake, the lion and the lamb, yet in the end we keep choosing the same animals who will feast on us.

Elections are essentially the cornerstone of Democratic nations this is the time where democracy is  fully exercised most likely in its purest form— the day where the Filipino populace perform their right and responsibility of voting leaders. But is it always fully exercised? The answer is definitely NO!!!. Democracy can only be fully recognized and exercised if the people knew their power, yet here in our country, voter's seems to not understand the power that they possess. During elections, rather than voting someone who they think is capable they are instead motivated by the thought that they are somewhat indebted to certain politicians, so in turn they vote this officials who they think they are indebted from. This in turn gave birth to political clans where political power is passed and contain among certain familial groups.

I am not suggesting that all political dynasties are bad and horrific but it is not a secret to us that most of them are. Political clans turn their respective hometowns or place of jurisdiction into their own little kingdoms where they own the hegemony of power making them almost invincible. Politics—instead of being a tool for social service— completely turns into a business where a certain political clan exploits the prospects of being a politician, and sometimes it extends into becoming some sort of an enterprise where power is equally divided to all family members direct and indirect alike. This clans use their political dominance to enrich themselves economically, serving is the least of their concerns and is not even listed on the list of priorities. A voter when asked why he vote the same family over and over again will likely tell how generous the family is as his reply, little did this voters knew that this same family may have been exploiting them for decades, which in the Philippines is always the case. 

A politician will build a bridge for you, give you housing and roads, but in exchange he will ask you to pledge your allegiance to him and rule over you for decades until someday you'll feel indebted and support whoever he chooses as his successor without knowing that the amount of money he took from you is Ten times larger than the amount he spent for your bridge, your house and your roads. Then he will start to take ownership of your lands and begin to monopolize businesses until he's too strong that he will never need you, nobody will be able to stop him as he could easily buy peoples support with money and a handful of beautiful lies. That's how it always works in a political dynasty, the worst thing is that it always breeds corruption, generational ineptitude and political stagnation in it's wake. Unfortunately this has been part of our political culture due to voters having a lack of informed judgment.

The inability of voters to choose leaders through pure critical judgment pushes democracy at the brink of destruction, this poor decisions has spawned politicians with the likes of this man [Sen. Bong Revilla] 

A Handsome entertainer who reportedly stole billions of pesos and is also a living product of decade long political dynasty. He managed to lure millions of voters into his trap and gained massive amount of popularity with his charismatic BUDOTS. 

Watch his campaign ad here: Bong Revilla 's Budots

It is shocking to witness how his cheesy dance skills managed to overshadow his crimes, and if you ever feel stupid remember that 25 million individuals voted for this woman [Sen. Cynthia Villar) who even topped the Senate race. (Probably the most controversial Senator of 2020)

I myself was expecting her to be somewhat of a good politician like her husband (due to my personal bias) but it turns out that she's one of the worst legislators to ever walk in the surface of the earth. Well, what more could you really expect from a business woman who build subdivisions on rice fields? It's a great example of what will happen if we continue to elect power and money hungry capitalist on government positions.

People's actions causes democracy to deteriorate as idiot voters keep on electing idiot politicians. Even if there are some who are rational enough to make a good choice (like us) the number of intelligent voters will always be overwhelmed by the huge majority of stupid voters. Money, power and fame are the deciding factors that majority of Filipino voters recognize, they are more willing to vote politicians who showcase some flashy dance moves, who possess unimaginable wealth and  drunk on massive fame. 

Are there any solution to this?

Yes! Socrates suggest that only those who were rational and intelligent enough to understand the true necessities of a country and its issues must be given the right to vote. He insists that voting is a skill that needs to be learned and this can only be taught through extensive education. His desire of a democracy is an intellectual one, which means that people should vote using their knowledge, wisdom and intellect not just merely because it's their birthright as he feels that democracy through birthright would lead to the corruption of the majority which in turn will make people commit foolish decisions.

This idea would be considered absurd in the Philippines because everybody is entitled to their own rights, no one can easily diminish the right of the majority to vote in order to give way for a capable few to do it for them, doing so might force the citizens to believe that we are adhering to elitist policies and can further plunge the country into a deeper chaos. The only solution we have is to outnumber stupid voters so as to prevent them from electing idiots. Educate other voters to become rational and observant and start validating our individual decisions when it comes to choosing our own bets in the election.

People should stop treating politicians as their patron saints, they should start referring to backgrounds and accomplishment when choosing someone to vote instead of choosing the ones with the most grandiose political advertisement. This way we could lessen the number of clowns in the circus we call "The Senate". Be vigilant because your vote is the deciding factor wether democracy will fail or not. Choose platform over popularity, if someone gave you some fair amount of money—in the name of practicality— take it, but vote for somebody else. 

Democracy in the Philippines is not dead, it's failing but the battle is not yet lost, it can still be redeemed when us— the people starts doing the right thing.

Don't elect idiots next election lads, beware also of TYRANTS!!!.

Read Also our other essays:

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The Revolution That Changed The World

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