Also in our hands

There are many attractive money-grabbers. The malls have dressed their windows to pull in the summer shoppers’ attention to get them glued to spending their money by creating that need for summer clothes with displays showing refreshing outfits that are supposed to prod one to make the decision to be ready for the heat of the season.

In the other end, the heat escalates in the political scene as candidates gear up for the upcoming elections. Promises are once again being made and people tie their hopes on some of the statements of a “promising” candidate. 

Money is also expected to abound as my friend who leads in a campaign would say “that’s the way to go. You either lick them or join them!” and since campaigning with the right intentions always gets the back seat to shopping money, some well-meaning candidates just have to join the game.

The different political issues and the mudslinging somehow make the candidate seem like the target of dodge ball. A dangerous one at that since bullets have also figured in the race in certain areas. The world is getting dangerous and the voter, like a spectator of ping pong, watches as each candidate hurls dirt over another. As the in-between person, we find ourselves caught in the middle as a barrage of events topples one after another in our direction. 

Unlike in a shop window where we can view and leave, in our quest for the right leaders, we cannot just say “let them be, anyway this is not our country.”  Which reminds me of an old joke where a man on a plane said he didn’t care if the plane crashed, anyway it wasn’t his plane he was riding on.

We have to choose wisely, and by that I mean, looking at the issues that confront our nation. Although the projections of our economists say that we are expecting a positive outlook, there is the evident increase in the peso-dollar exchange with the peso on the losing end. I am not an economist but I notice how little my grocery list has become to accommodate my budget.

There is the continuing fight against drug addiction, which has brought to fore the expanse and extent of drug dependence in our country. Plus, there is the growing concern about the safety of our citizens when it comes to the repercussions of climate change. There is the continuous battle for proper nutrition and health services; housing and basic farm to market accesses; the growing concern over food security as farmlands are converted to commercial structures; the increasing population and the lack of shelter; the quality of the people we have raised? Are they productive or dependent? Concerned or apathetic?

We have to pray for the right decisions come May. We have to make enlightened choices.  For our country’s future does not only rest on the leaders’ hands, they also land in ours.