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Rhona Canoy .

SO… Time to have this conversation? I guess so. The review and study by the Constitutional Consultative Commission has begun. And I must say I am surprised and impressed by how the discussions are being conducted. For the first time in my life, I see people address issues with civility, openmindedness, no self-interest, preparedness, fairness, and a whole bunch of –nesses not ordinarily seen among Filipinos, all for our country. Which tells me that this kind of dynamic is actually possible for us. And that’s the conversation I want to have.

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Let’s leave the Constitution to the ones who know better, although these days it seems almost everybody knows better. I’m more interested to look at how Filipinos are going to deal with the change, when it happens. Okay, we’ve had this conversation before and this certainly won’t be the last time. Every time there is talk of charter change, the country goes bi-polar. This is actually good in a way. It means that there is discussion, there is opinion, there is debate, there is (maybe) a desire to seek resolution. But then again, let’s be realistic about who we are.

We’ve had this conversation before, and I know we’re going to have it again. Many, many times. For a nation that takes pride in our so-called independence and freedom, we are certainly poorly equipped to manage it well. I’ve said it before and I say it again. Social media has unleashed our freedom to speak our minds. Sadly, social media has also revealed that most of the time there is not much of a mind to speak of. We are certainly a long way away from having a mature discussion about anything. We know it. We don’t want to admit it but we know it.

Sometimes I even doubt that we are equipped to handle democracy. Oh, yeah. I’m going to get a lot of flak for that statement. But I will stand by it. Why? Because a democracy needs a people united in looking out for our best interests. Let’s get honest. We haven’t gotten past looking out only for our own self-interests since the Americans unshackled us. I mean at a personal level. Not at a Pilipinas Kong Mahal level. No matter how heated the discussion may get over a bottle of JWB or Red Horse grande, all that is said is purely “for the sake of argument.”

I suppose we all do have to look out for our own existence. But it doesn’t erase the fact that we live in a society, at the very least a community. Our social conscience hasn’t yet reached a level of concern where what happens to us matters as a collective. Even our residential enclaves show this to be true. High fences rimmed with barbed wire or iron spikes, a formidable metal gate impenetrable to unrest, metal grills on windows that speak loudly, “Stay the eff out!” Sadly, I’m just as guilty as the rest. I really don’t know my neighbors, except those whom I know from association other than living next door.

Yes, our voices united to complain about rising prices, “Train,” traffic. But isn’t that mostly because of how it personally affects us? If we had special powers and a siren that allowed us to part traffic like Moses’s biblical sea, would we then care about traffic? I doubt it. And yet we like to think of ourselves as a democracy. What the heck?! We don’t look out for each other. Get real. How many of us secretly complain about the influx of displaced residents of Marawi? And yet we complain about what was done in Marawi. How noble we art. “Be socially conscious and be socially responsible, but don’t dare bring it into my backyard.”

How is democracy to thrive with this mindset? Coupled with the attitude that we don’t like people who seem to be doing better than us, we are a culture doomed to wallow in this pigpen we call home. We love our freedom and will verbally defend it on Facebook, and yet we don’t want to assume the actual responsibility and accountability that comes with this precious commodity. And don’t even get me started talking about making sacrifices. We know the only time we make sacrifices is if the end result of said suffering is selfishly beneficial to us directly.

We have a ways to go before we can work together to make ourselves better people in a better place to live. Worse are those who live as residents in other countries. They are the ones who are most harsh in criticizing. Of course, that’s because they have the luxury of not living here. Sending once-a-year care packages for orphans or economically depressed communities does not make you better than us. We here deserve better than your condescension. But that’s another story.

So we go on living in the fantasy bubble of how blessed we are to live in a democracy. But until we all contribute to nurturing this thing we don’t understand, we’re all just being pretentious. But then isn’t that what Filiipinos are best at?

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