POLITICS

The circus has it all. Clowns, acrobats, animals, trapeze acts, tightrope walkers, jugglers, etc. A bit like the Senate and House of Representatives.

There will always be enough selfish and corrupt people to ensure their interests are represented in Government. Add to these people the foolish ones who cannot see the errors of their way and you will have an administration you have helped to elect to power. Such is 'democracy' that too many people are easily let astray. How many will elect criminals to Government without thinking of the long-term consequences? Too many, as the case is so often and sadly proven.

Roll up, roll up! Come and witness the greatest show on earth! Such is the boast of circus owners. Not quite the same as political canvassing, but the promises made are alike.

As the circus owners promise you the 'greatest show on earth', politicians too make promises they can so easily break when they have received enough votes to win power.

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

That is a quote attributed to former American President, Abraham Lincoln. Never have truer words been spoken.

Enough people were wise to how they had been deceived time and time again. You could not keep them fooled all the time (only a small number would continue to be fooled). This is why Rodrigo Duterte came to power on a tsunami of popular political support.

But what of the vote for Vice-President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives? These were easier targets for the enemies of the State to win. The vote for the Vice Presidency ("VP")is obviously open to dispute - especially as COMELEC employed an electronic voting system that has been implicated in electoral fraud around the world. It is only a matter of time before the vote for VP is finally recounted in crucial voting regions and the incumbent VP (Leni Robredo) is ousted from Office. At least this is what many expect, if not simply hope and pray for.

Assuming this happens, and Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Junior is elected to be the true VP, then what of the votes cast for the two Houses? How many Senators and Members of the Congress were elected using fraudulent and rigged voting equipment?

Allow me to indulge in a distraction for a moment ...

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" is a quote spoken by Marcellus (to Horatio) in the famous Shakespeare play, 'Hamlet'. Marcellus says this as says this after the ghost of the dead king appears, walking over the palace walls.

Observation: Marcellus, shaken by the many recent disturbing events and no doubt angered (as is Hamlet) by (King) Claudius's mismanagement of the body politic, astutely notes that Denmark is festering with moral and political corruption. Horatio replies "Heaven will direct it", meaning heaven will guide the state of Denmark to health and stability.

Translated we can relate Benigno Aquino III to King Claudius. Denmark becomes the Philippines. Heaven is guiding the Philippines towards health and stability though President Duterte

If the play, Hamlet, was brought up to date and related to present times, how apt would it be to stage this play in the Philippines? But with the play ending up in carnage, who would play the part of Hamlet? If this is President Duterte, then his reign would end with chaos all around him. Only Horatio survives. So who would Horatio be portrayed by? Marcos? Or perhaps someone little known to the peoples of the Philippines. Whatever happens, we must always fear for the safety and the life of President Duterte. His predicament is so alike to what we see in the Philippines today. His enemies are all around him. He needs strong and loyal troops to protect him for the battles he is yet to fight.

Back to the 'circus'

As I have already said, politics is like a circus. It attracts all types with different skill sets. These skills are also sometimes undesirable. The political circus is dominated by illusionists and clowns. There are those who would trick you, lie to you, deceive you with their 'smoke and mirrors' antics. They try to maintain the illusion of being respectable, honest, and without any guilt upon their name. But that is part of the act. Sometimes, it is not what is seen in plain view that portrays such people, but the 'magic' they use to make us think they are nothing but trustworthy. Look behind the scenes, learn the tricks, and the illusions fall away. We need to understand what is really happening and that we should not believe our eyes. As someone once said, "consider everything, but believe nothing."

Even the clowns have to remove their face paint at the end of the show. Then we see what they really look like. The same with politics. Clowns or not, we never see the true image of a politician's character until they are exposed for what they really are.

Reverting back to Shakespeare one last time. From 'As You Like It': "All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts,". Politicians and circus performers. Yes, even at times like all of us, they are actors.

Our part in the performance we call life, is not to follow what is scripted for us. It is to think for ourselves. We should be the directors of our fate, our choices, our decisions. We should not entrust our destiny to those who perform purely for the sake of winning our approval. We should be writing the scripts and if our elected representatives cannot follow our directions, they should be thrown out of office. We elect people to serve us, not for us to serve their personal ambitions or evil plans (where they should exist).

Are you 'complicit'?

There are two types of dedicated voter. They are the ones who always vote for the same ideology - the same political party (or group).

These people either vote for their own selfish needs, or are sufficiently deluded enough to have such a strong faith in their choice that they can never see anything wrong in what they do. The first type of voter is intelligent and cynical. The second type is faith-based. It is the second type which are beyond redemption because they remain in some sort of 'religious' trance where they can only see their false idols as their salvation. Their faith in only one political direction is akin to being like a shabu addict who is beyond reason or rational argument. They will always vote the same way because they are, not so much colour-blind, but colour-selective, and can only see one colour that sustains their prejudice.

Such is the nature of people who are polarised in their political views, never seeing, or wanting to see, other options to build a better society. They, as described by Orwell, are not victims of their own stupidity, but accomplices in maintaining political dynasties. They are supporters of divide-and-rule.

"The masses hold onto their political affiliations as they would a piece of driftwood in an ocean of contrasting fortunes." - Christopher Silverthorne.