Election time in my country is closing in. And this early the mass media is full of ads and banners showing this and that canditate telling how they will change the lives of the poor citizens one's they are voted into office.
Oh its the same slogans over again. Nice words from rich people, who own many houses and who mingle among rich people like them. So, how can they possibly understand the life of the poor if they do not live the life of the poor? It is easy to say you listen to the plight of the have-nots but its is hard to actually do it.
The rich do not just have more money than we do, the rich have more eccentricities than we do. Eccentricities born of different sensibilities, different mindsets, different ways of doing things. These are differences that often boggle my minds, as I am use to other ways, other needs, other lives.
It takes imagination to understand the rich.
But I’ve always thought the same thing is true of the poor. The poor are different from you and me. They do not just have less money than we do, they have a sense of lesser possibilities than we do. A sense of lesser possibilities due to different adversities, different deprivations, different levels of powerlessness. These are differences that boggle the mind, particularly when you see 12 people trying to fit into a hovel little bigger than a confessional, when you see a man poison himself, his wife and his six kids to spare them the pangs of hunger.
It takes imagination to understand the poor.
That is to say, it’s not just that people do not listen to the poor because they do not want to, it is also that people do not listen to the poor because they do not know how to. Listening is the hardest art of all to master.
Listening to the poor, even more so.
During campaign periods we do not lack of candidates who sing and dance on the stage because they think that is all the poor know, that is all the poor want. Some candidates would go to some length like eating with their hands in some hovel in the slums, to show they are pro-poor. Yet the same hands will dip into the cookie jar of the national treasury.
All of them talk to the poor. But all of them leave the poor poorer than when they found them.
11 comments:
It's the same in every damn country, Corrupt politicians thinking only what they can earn themselves. I gave up voting years ago, to hell with them all.
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hi dette, im lost in touch with the news back there, don't realize that it's time to select more vultures to consume the flesh and blood of the less fortunate people. Tracey is right, corruption is everywhere even in this so-called super power and super rich countries. I stopped voting since 2 years ago, come what may.there is a recent controversy here about this famous member of the parliament who abused the 2 filipinas domestic helper, she has the nerve to retract the story and made the 2 vulnerable poor women to be the greedy and user and she, the rich and powerful employer is an angel and the victim of the circumstances. Simply unbelievable and on top of it, there's this aspiring filipina politician, who's husband is from Negros, who boldly takes the stand to defend this hypocrite MP in exchange of course for political gain.I regretted of wasting my time of working for her campaign though she lose.Shame on her to the Filipino community. I'm sure the community is going blast her if ever she runs again in the next election.
i still want my vote to count even when i know results are being manipulated. it gives me comfort to know that a certain politician i hate will get 1 vote less and those i want will have 1 vote more - even if the exercise is futile...
yeah, pathetic!!!
xoxoxoxoxo
Reminds me of a line from the Batman movie "Know why the Rich are different? Because they can afford to be. "
sorry my hands are in agony
Amna,
perhaps the greed for power is stronger than moral values. but the fact that you and other filipinos had seen through her scheme will doom her career in politics.
hope you are able to sleep better now.
xoxoxoxoxo
Sadly, it's the same everywhere, maybe on a different scale...I vote to try and change what's happening and because I believe that if you don't, then you have no right to complain! So, I vote, but they are pretty much all corrupt.
What can I say hun! Everyone else has voiced my views lol. I am the same as race and gave up voting years ago. I hope things are well with you
LOve
Kirst
xoxoxo
All politicians tend to be corrupt it just varies as what degree they have taken it too. I always vote as I feel that by voting I am voicing my concerns etc and have a right to complain if/when things go wrong.
I hope you are well odette, take care and lots lv Rattle Xxxx
You've been tagged! xxxxxxxxxxxx
I have been doing some thinking about Rich & Poor. My Dad's Grandfather was a Coal Miner. He couldn't even sign his own name. On my Grandfather's birth Certificate there is his father's X with 2 witnesses.
Today I have 3 Brother's. Of the four of us 3 have at least 3 college diplomas. 3 each have 3 licensed trades and the 4th works for one of the world's largest banks.
None of us are "rich" but I doubt any of us will ever be in a situation where we will be unable to find work. I'm the only one who speaks more than one language ( struggling with number 6 now ) though George reads what he calls cereal box French. ( In Canada everything is written in both English and French. While he never bothered to learn to speak it he claims he was to lazy to turn the box around to the English. On a visit to the states with a bunch of Medical Technologists they were all taken out to a fancy French Restaurant. The waiters were all shocked George could translate all the menus for the group but not speak a word of the language. Rod now often vacations in Mexico and so is picking up some Spanish. Dad knows three sentences. Where is the toilet? May I have a beer and may I have another beer please.
Because we were poor growing up we got a lot of teasing. Libraries gave us a mental advantage over our classmates to where we could embarrass them and moving so often bullies became run of the mill made us the group you didn't pick on.
The movie "Good Will Hunting" made a valuable point when he says to the Harvard student. You are about to Graduate owing almost a quarter million dollars for an education you could have got for $2.50 in late fees from the local library.
Sid,
you are rich in terms of compassion, and you were never a slave to your money - you make money work for you and not the other way around.
you knew how it is to be pinching pennies since you have lost everything once before and yet it doesnt stop you from helping those in need.
it's just a tragedy you were not up to doing your "fishy" handshake when politicians were going the rounds during the festival, hahaha!
it would have been an enteresting topic to blog!!
get better soon, ok?
xoxoxoxoxo
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