SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
_____________________________________________
8 days before Christmas
Time flies.
I remember during the first few days of December last year, I was struggling to recover from cough and flu from having been exposed again to Manila's polluted environment after being away from the country for almost one and a half years. It is not very difficult to get used to a country so clean and orderly: where you can take long walks along the major roads without getting suffocated from carbon monoxide; where you can walk alone at night (even after midnight) without any apprehension that someone might poke a knife at you and take all your valuables; where you can stand before a pedestrian lane and expect motorists to make a full stop and wait until you have fully crossed; where people fall in line automatically in bus stops; where you can comfortably use your mobile phone outside without fear that some moron might snatch it from you; where you can relax and feel comfortable riding public buses; where MRT stations are so well-ventilated; where MRT is so convenient to take; where you can call a cab through your phone and expect it to be there in 5 minutes; where parliamentary debates are so intellectually stimulating; and where efficiency is a norm in public service. The list could go on and on. I just needed a week to adjust. After all, I have spent nearly 20+ years of my life here in Manila.
It was also in December last year when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that she will not be running for the Presidency in the 2004 national elections. I was one of the first to raise an eyebrow on this feigned retreat strategy. It turned out I was right all along. She is now running for President. Whatever the results of the forthcoming elections, I doubt if the country will progress significantly in the next 10 years or so. With the kind of interest group politics we have where one group cancels another, where elections are mere popularity contests, where critical mass is but a handful of people, it may even take more than 10 years.
Time flies indeed. Political maturity flies at a much slower pace.
posted by Allan at 4:00 PM (GMT+8)
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