Skip to main content

Just sick and tired looking for leaders

A colleague wrote a flattering sketch of an asshole gunning for a seat in the Senate, one clown whom I had tackled, some months back, in an editorial about his winsome ways with any woman he takes a fancy to.

I was told that the lecher plunks down P3 million right into the bank account of the slavered after lay as overture to waylaying her. No problem if there’s no bank account, he’ll open one pronto for adored ladylove. The lady—enunciate that properly, stress on the first syllable, “lay”—richer by a few million bucks coyly opens up nether cleft for proper accommodation. Why, I even suggested the monies may have likely been shucked off pockets of taxpayers like me; I ought to have a go at her since I’ve contributed my share in procurement of such carcass. Empathize with, oops, emphasize last syllable, please—“ass.”

Now, that’s character. Character is simply the individual’s past actions and actuations merely repeated again and again right on into the future. Shady or dubious, that character will merely repeat what ought to be refrained in the May 14 vote. He’ll buy voters who’ll oblige to be screwed and whatever manner of screwing is better left to the imagination.

Both proposition and opposition parties are proffering the likes of such loudmouths for me to choose from to fill in a dozen blanks in the May 14 official ballot.

I fancy that choosing as a Russian roulette of sorts with voter exercising suffrage, suffering or death wish. Load up a quaint revolver of 12 chambers with 12 rounds; aim for one’s foot, no, make that both feet, then, fire away like nobody’s business. Nice try at amputation, target practice, or becoming someone like Apolinario Mabini. Brains of the revolution. Sublime paralytic.

Die, nasty? Ah, the same names we’ve grown too familiarly contemptuous of, those names keep on rising to the top like pond scum because they’re the ones—they’re kith and kin-- who can afford to burn monies in every expensive run at the polls. We’re fascinated with plays with fire. We adore arson of this sort.

So there’ll likely be two Pimentels in the Senate. Had Erap not nudged his son and his wife to quit seeking Senate seats, there might have been three Estradas in the upper lawmaking chamber. There’s the looming possibility of two Cayetanos ensconced there.

In Makati, there has been a succession of Binay the hubby and Binay the missus on the mayor’s throne. And while this is going on, a Binay son is learning the ropes as councilor—likely in preparation for taking over mom and dad’s post-- while a Binay daughter is now out to convince local folks she ought to be their assigned lawmaker in the House of Representatives.

I’m trying to convince my imagination that when Divine or just maybe bovine providence let fall on these islands chunks and boulders of leadership savvy and policy-making skills, only a few hundreds went out to gather and hoard such heaven-sent talents. Thus, they kept the talents preserved as family heirlooms or escutcheons passed on from generation to generation. Yeah, that looks like a relay race through the ages.

That should explain why the knack for leading people—as the Pied Piper of Hamelin led rats—to whatever lurks or lurches in the future has become a monopoly of very few families.

The knack of those led for being led to the gallows, to the slaughter, to wherever our leaders take a whimsy to, that’s another interesting tale of electile dysfunction to be told.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Every single cell of my body's happy

I got this one from Carmelite Sisters from whose school three of my kids were graduated from. They have this snatch of a song that packs a fusion metal and liebeslaud beat and whose lyrics go like this: "Every single cell of my body is happy. Every single cell of my body is well. I thank you, Lord. I feel so good. Every single cell of my body is well." Biology-sharp nerds would readily agree with me in this digression... Over their lifetimes, cells are assaulted by a host of biological insults and injuries. The cells go through such ordeals as infection, trauma, extremes of temperature, exposure to toxins in the environment, and damage from metabolic processes-- this last item is often self-inflicted and includes a merry motley medley of smoking a deck a day of Philip Morris menthols, drinking currant-flavored vodka or suds, overindulgence in red meat or the choicest fat-marbled cuts of poultry and such carcass. When the damage gets to a certain point, cells self-de

ALAMAT NG TAHONG

SAKBIBI ng agam-agam sa kalagayan ng butihing kabiyak-- at kabiyakan, opo-- na nakaratay sa karamdaman, ang pumalaot na mangingisda ay napagawi sa paanan ng dambuhalang Waczim-- isang bathala na nagkakaloob sa sinuman anumang ibulwak ng bibig mula sa bukal ng dibdib. Pangangailangan sa salapi na pambili ng gamot ng kapilas-pusong maysakit ang nakasaklot sa puso ng matandang mangingisda. 'Di kaginsa-ginsa'y bumundol ang kanyang bangka sa paanan ng Waczim. Kagy at umigkas ang katagang kimkim noon sa kanyang dibdib: "Salapi!" Bumuhos ng salapi-- mga butil at gilit ng ginto-- mula papawirin. At halos umapaw sa ginto ang bangka ng nagulantang na mangingisda, walang pagsidlan ang galak, at walang humpay ang pasasalamat sa mga bathala. Nanumbalik ang kalusugan ng kabiyak ng mangingisda. At lumago ang kabuhayan, naging mariwasa ang magkapilas-puso na dating maralita. Nilasing ng kanyang mga dating kalapit-bahay ang mangingisda-- na hindi ikina

Wealth garden

‘TWAS CRUEL as smashing a budding green thumb: some years back, an abuela warned me about letting any clump of katigbi (Job’s tears or Coix lachrymal jobi for you botanists) from growing in our homeyard. That grass with rapier-like leaves that smelled of freshly pounded pinipig supposedly invited bad luck and sorrows—why, that biblical character Job wailed and howled a lot, didn’t he? (But was later rewarded with oodles of goodies, wasn’t he?) Then, I came across some arcane text that practically goaded folks to grow katigbi in their gardens—why, there’s a starchy kernel wrapped shut in the seed’s shiny coat. A handful or more of kernels could be cooked as porridge. Too, one could whisper a wish upon seven seed pods, throw ‘em pods in running water—a river or stream—and the wish would be granted! I was warned, too, about planting kapok or talisay trees right in the homeyard—these trees form a cross-like branching pattern. Pasang-krus daw ang bahay na kalapit sa puno ng kapok, tal