Bubble life

Last year, there was a joke circulating through the text chain about politicians and entertainers. What do politicians and entertainers have in common? The entertainers run to become politicians, while the politicians do nothing but entertain. It was a joke -- a good one, too, I think. But beyond the laughs, the sad fact exists. Politicians have long lost their grandeur to the corruption that has afflicted its system. Now, they've seemingly developed a new syndrome: that of a delusional existence.

Every so often, we get a senator or a congressman who decides to speak up about some issue, and naturally the popular issue of choice remains to be about the President. So, every quarter or so, we get another one of 'em Solon talking about poverty, hunger followed by the words"Katiwalian" and "Malacanang" strung together like a neighbor's dirty laundry being bared in the open. And every quarter or so, these things fall on deaf ears, primarily because their more preoccupied with their problems, which ironically these politicians don't seem to see.

It's easy to complain and spew out accusations; but, personally, neither the congress nor the senate seems to be proving its worth to me. We spend millions on their pork barrel each year. The least that I expect is for them to at least be grounded on reality. Instead, they've lost themselves into a bubble life, surrounded by their egos and crazy notions, grossly separated from the reality we're living in. They're much more preoccupied with maintaining their own power, squabbling over the senate and house presidency; out-maneuvering and backstabbing former colleagues as if we've suddenly been transported back to the Roman baths. The next election is still three years away. Three good years they're wasting on preparing for the next election rather than doing their job.

But, that has always been the Filipino way, anyway, although never to this extent, never this stark. I can only wish that this kind of uselessness would lead at least the senate to have the decency to save some of our taxpayer's hard earned money and sign their own death warrant. Sadly, though, nobody really cares that our own politicians are making fools out of us. Self-serving Solon's are far from the exception that it is easier to just take all the problems and burdens they bring, rather than overhaul an already tired and crumbling system. Maybe we do deserve this kind of government. As the old Filipino adage goes: "Walang manloloko, kung walang magpapaloko."