BBM numbers show more realists than dreamers in Phl

All surveys undertaken so far on voter preference for president have consistently shown Bongbong Marcos way ahead of all his rival contenders. Analysts have gone to town interpreting what the spectacular numbers mean. I will add one more interpretation that I think has not yet been chewed by the pundits.

The numbers for Bongbong are, to me, happy numbers. They suggest there are more realists and practical thinkers in the Philippines than there are dreamers. These vastly superior numbers for Bongbong also validate what I had long suspected, that the reason why the Philippines seems to always survive every challenge is because the country is in the hands of well-grounded people, who take the bad along with the good because it is what it is.

Those behind BBM have long accepted the fact that there is no perfect world out there, that in order for everyone to get on with their lives they have to accept, warts and all, what life has to offer. Those who insist on waiting for the perfect leader to arrive will die waiting because no one with that description is ever going to come.

BBM is not perfect. In fact everything bad has been ascribed not just to him but to his entire family. And not just now for this election but for nearly the past 50 years. He has been so utterly vilified that there is nothing more to vilify. He is at rock bottom of his political capital. And the realists and pragmatists have seen this, have understood what it means.

What it means is that when you have nothing, you have nothing to lose. When you are at rock bottom, the only way to go is up. And with all things being equal, when all the mud shall have been washed away in life's unmistakable cycles, the realists and pragmatists know exactly who will emerge from the bath smelling the smell of newness and rebirth.

The others stagnate in the surveys because they are backed by dreamers who demand too much perfection from an imperfect world. Worse, their ranks have been infiltrated by bigots and hypocrites who think the world owes them a fairy tale ending to their folly. No happily ever after awaits them but disappointment.

The rivals of Bongbong got it all wrong. They attack him and point out everything wrong about him. But what is about Bongbong that has not been said, charged, alleged, imputed or otherwise heaped until he can no longer breathe. Nothing sticks anymore. Everything is old hat. In a world that is constantly evolving, no one pays attention to the passe and humdrum.

But when BBM speaks everything is fresh. This is what happens when you slap someone around silly for so long that when he does or says anything, it becomes something new. When you are so used to seeing someone cowering, the moment he stands he assumes the dimensions of a giant. And those who flog him get so used to flogging they forget they are also called upon the stage to speak their line. And find they have forgotten.

It is BBM who is getting his message across because people are mesmerized by what someone who has risen from the gutter has to say. People are not willing to lend an ear to those who have nothing to say but contempt for others. BBM may not be the best, but it is he who is being seen and heard and the realists and pragmatists can live with that. The dreamers are lost in their dreams and therefore do not exist.