Juiced to write again

On the 12th day of April, my PC said to me: No article in read.cash for friends to see?

This is the first time since joining the platform that I have let nearly two weeks pass before I could post. But while the fingers were willing, both the mind and spirit were weak.

I did not expect work to be so overwhelming. I knew things were going to be hectic with elections less than a month away. But still I was drained everyday. It was no picnic to be working on profiles of candidates.

Going over the information was like being sucker-punched. It was appalling how so many wanting to become senators (especially those seeking re-election) have very splotchy backgrounds yet surveys being conducted left and right show them to be likely winners.

We're voting for these people? And yet those who truly deserve to occupy those positions are cellar-dwellers. So, please I exhort my fellow Filipinos, take the time to learn about those who are running before finally deciding who to vote for. And in choosing, bear in mind the following:

1) We need people who actually work. They must take the time to study and learn what they need to do, and be conscientious in performing their sworn duties and responsibilities. More importantly, they must know how to LISTEN, not to a chosen few, but to the many who will be affected by decisions or actions they will make.

2) We need people who have the public's best interest at heart. The more experience they have living the life of ordinary folks, the more responsive and pragmatic they will be to addressing the challenges and concerns of the people.

3) We badly need someone to raise the dignity of every Filipino and the Philippines. Someone who will lead by example so Filipinos will again learn about respect, integrity, and compassion and apply it in life.

4) Remember, the campaign is a time to make promises for solutions to one million and one problems. But be realistic in your expectations about them being able to deliver on those promises. Until an official is finally occupying the position of service, they don't actually know that their plans or ideas will work. We must be vigilant to ensure they take action and hold them accountable for that.

Do not be afraid of elected officials. They are answerable to the voters - to me, to you - not the other way around. It is the people, the citizenry, the residents of this country who pay for their salaries and whatever perks they enjoy while in power.

As election day nears, there will be more muck-raking, misinformation and disinformation peddled online to besmirch the reputation of candidates, by targeting their families, loved ones and good people associated with them.

Be wary of those who spread malicious, vicious, and false narratives, images, and videos. Think of who stands to benefit by putting out those information to be spread everywhere, because they (or the people around them) will be the ones behind them.

We need better. So we must choose wisely. It is the next six years we are looking at. Let's not waste the opportunity for change.

*****

A short note on nastiness

Those people who post fabricated videos that not only smear the reputation of innocent individuals, 'shame on you!' does not suffice.

And if the target is a woman, and the content is way worse than trashy, it makes you wonder if they don't have special women in their lives - a mother, sister, wife, friend, aunt - whom they cherish that they thought about before they decided to throw out offensive pictures or words.

And for what? Money? Power? And for those who share these content, an even bigger shame on you! You can stop passing on the viciousness. You may not have been the original source of content, false or not, but take it upon yourself to end spreading false and malicious posts. If you don't, believe that at some point in your life, it is going to come back and bite you in the a**. Remember, what goes around, comes around.

Images from Unsplash