that too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.
The answer is blowing in the wind.
So goes Bob Dylan's Vietnam War protest song that became popular in the mid-sixties.
On 09/28/09, President Arroyo admitted that her government cannot cope with the disaster caused by typhoon Ondoy. After almost ten years in power and hundreds of typhoon flooding occurrences, now she says, We cannot cope. After repeated State of the Nation boasting of economic recovery and growth, now she says, We cannot cope. After spending billions in infrastructuring, now she says, We cannot cope. If this is not an admission of irresponsible or at the very least ineffective governance, I don't know what is.
While her personal and extended family's wealth went through the roof, 300 more Filipinos had to die in the storm. Half a million more Filipinos had to be displaced from their homes and packed like sardines in 600 makeshift evac centers. God only knows how many more will die of diseases due to the unsanitary condition in these emergency shelters.
Like a working parent who cannot discipline her children, President Arroyo was not able to get Filipinos to stop clogging esteros with their garbage and to stop building shanties that serve as deathtraps during a storm. Like a great majority of national and local government officials, President Arroyo does not have the political will to say, Enough is enough!
Like parents, like children. See no evil, hear no evil, say no evil.
Unless conscious decision to commit to change takes place on a massive scale, people will keep dying during a storm. Unless dedicated and qualified public servants who have the guts to enforce unpopular laws get elected to positions of power, people will keep dying during a storm.
What goes around, comes around.
The headline should read: 300 human sacrifices made to the gods of status quo and apathy.
They did not have to die.
man, i think you are "barking up the wrong tree." read the book Why Government Can't Save You and i hope it will change your socio-political view. i pray that Chuck Colson will follow suit.
ReplyDeletehttp://sleeksam.blogspot.com/
Sam, why is that? Why can't governments be there for their people? If governments are accountable to God, what are they accountable for? Or do you think governments can do as they please and not reap what they sow?
ReplyDeleteBill Muehlenberg wrote a review of Why Government Can't Save You. My thoughts exactly. You can google it.
ReplyDeleteJesus delivered me from the power of the devil, from the power of sin and death, from the power of money. Politics is all about dominion, governance, authority; it is about power. Jesus is a political deliverer. He taught me how to pray . . . Father, deliver us from evil.