It has just been a few days since the Senatorial Elections. The Filipinos were able to practice their democratic right to vote for the leaders who they deem as capable to lead our nation towards positive progress.
Noticeably however, there has been a lot of outrage regarding the results of the elections. While some people are in content, others cry their disappointment as they believe their fellow countrymen voted for the wrong leaders.
To tell you frankly, I’m actually one of those people, I mean come on, how could the people vote for a guy who merely danced budots on TV, and actually win?
Now let’s elaborate more on the topic, starting with democracy. Just what exactly is democracy? Well, it’s basically the reason why we have elections, because democracy is the power of the people to choose the leaders they want to put in charge.
Democracy traces its origins from the Greek city of Athens, however, not everyone supported its idea. One of them was Socrates and another was Plato, who both feared that the foolishness of the voters would cause the downfall of the nation.
They actually have a very interesting analogy about that and they were able to present it through the example of a ship, particularly called as “The Ship of Fools” and it basically goes like this. Imagine a sea voyage on which all that are travelling feel entitled to claim the helm. Though the captain is a good navigator, he isn’t good at convincing the others that he is, and those who shout the loudest and make the most confident claims, though they know nothing of the skills of navigation, will get a go. Discipline and order go overboard and what results is a kind of drunken pleasure cruise rather than a rational, well-organized journey.
If that wasn’t the most accurate analogy ever to what actually happens during every election, especially to the most recent one, then I don’t know what is. As most of us agree (I think), we have one of the worst line-ups of senators ever in this generation
There were actually good people who would’ve won, people who presented us with actual platforms, and people who actually know what they’re getting into (and not still request for seminars). However, as what the “Ship of Fools” analogy shows us, the voters have probably gone for those who have a lot to say, yet nothing to do.
It’s quite appalling actually, and at the same time it’s really disappointing. It’s interesting how democracy shows us that a simple ink mark on your fingers, can set the course to either change, or disorder. Democracy is a power, and we all know the famous saying…
“With great power, comes great responsibility”
Once the power of democracy falls to the hands of fools, there will be inevitable DOWNFALL
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