DEMOCRACY, anyone?

clip_image002Democracy, have you had a taste of it?

Our heroes had fought hard for it. FREEDOM! EQUALITY! Amidst blood and torn flesh, they had conquered the enemies and had tasted victory. The warrior’s blood had been passed by my ancestors to me; I haven’t smelled of it, but I have been living in it.

Spanish regime, Japanese conquistadors, American colonialism, everything had been won over, though lives were sacrificed and visions of Paradise were not achieved.

The right time came, and the Filipinos set off into making an independent nation. The Philippine Presidents were believers of democracy, influenced by the American defenders of human rights. The shout for equality became more intense, until democracy was served in a golden platter.

In the beginning, it was the best form of government, where all citizens were equal, where everyone had the right to put a leader on the pedestal of power. What was heard was the voice of the majority, in that case, the masses, the majority of the poor to average people. That persisted for a long time, until evil had taken its toll.

As far as I can remember, there had been countless accounts of inequality and a misunderstanding of democracy. Let’s put it through the words of Abraham Lincoln, a politician, and a former President of the United States:

“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.”

Growing up with anomalies clearly seen led me into believing in the two sides of democracy – one that is just and fair, and one that is for the rich and powerful. The poor have become slaves, and the leaders have become masters… of corruption, tyranny, and injustice. What’s supposed to be the voice has lost its voice, and the few who rule have hovered over this helpless mass of the “voiceless”.

Democracy, anyone?

In my very own country, the minds of the young have been corrupted by a wrong interpretation of democracy. It is and should always be a form of government where everyone, in all walks of life, can freely choose a leader without any form of harassment, prejudice, and threat.

Otherwise, it is true what Walter Williams says, “Democracy and liberty are not the same. Democracy is little more than mob rule, while liberty refers to the sovereignty of the individual.”

There is a better definition of democracy, and it also comes from Lincoln:

"Democracy is a government of the people, by the people, for the people."

Even in the United States, Lincoln's ideal of democracy remains a dream.

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