The hazards of too much expectations
While the prevailing mood of the nation is towards great optimism and abundance of hopes for much positive things to come, with a president who is so passionate and daring in breaking barriers and challenging the status quo, we has to put in a caveat: to go slow on our aspirations lest we lead the people and the whole nation to another stage of frustrations or even disillusionment. There is nothing wrong in hitching our wagons to the stars but we should never forget that we are standing on the ground, with all its odds and difficulties.
We should not consider the president as a superman, although indeed, he has always to remember that, with great powers come great and tremendous responsibilities. We should never think that the cabinet members are magicians who can turn into doves all the pits of serpents and snakes. In our country today, we still have many scoundrels and scalawags, rascals, and demons who are out to destroy and sabotage all the good things that the government will build. It is still the same old story, to quote the song, the fight for love and glory. It is still the fight between good and evil, and not all the time that the good shall win.
By scoundrels and scalawags, we, of course, refer to the many drug lords who are still alive and not neutralized, the gambling lords, the kidnappers, and the syndicates of smugglers, and purveyors of murders, robberies, rapes and carnapping.We should add the illegal recruiters who prey upon hapless and clueless victims, the illegal traffickers of children and women who are traded like slaves to prostitution syndicates across national borders. We also refer to the likes of Janet Napoles who corrupt senators and congressmen on their pork barrel and rob the nations of billions.And to trapo politicians and political dynasties who are still entrenched in power.
We should not and could not expect too much from the new administration if we ourselves are parts of the problem and not parts of the solutions. If we do not do our part in making sure that we don't throw away garbage and clog our esteros and rivers with garbage. If we smoke anywhere, spit everywhere, and even urinate along the highways and streets. If we park our cars along the streets and violate the anti-jay walking ordinances, we do not have the moral right to complain against the traffic problem. If we do not help in the solution, we should bear the problem.
The danger of too much expectation is that we are setting up ourselves for a sure way to be frustrated. Instead of complaining, we should help. If there is a crime, we should help and stand as witnesses in order that the guilty will be punished and the innocents shall be spared from injustice. We should all be active, concerned and law-abiding citizens. Nations are built not by presidents alone but by small folks who are silently, and without much fun fare, doing their duties and respecting the authority, obeying the laws, and helping the government and the others in building, a clean, peaceful, just and humane community of united Filipinos. That, to me, is what really matters most.
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