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 t seems Philippine Politics has of late, gone from barely tolerable to
seemingly ridiculous.
 From
the overseas Filipino perspective, the antics
that the political opposition uses to draw attention to their cause are--to
put it plainly--laughable!
Take the case of the newly launched "Ayaw Ko Na!" campaign against
the Arroyo administration. During its launch at the Welcome Rotunda in Metro
Manila, members of Akbayan, the group behind the campaign appeared with
Xs painted on their shirts, fans, hats, etc., and urged their supporters to
follow their lead and place an 'X' mark on their cars,
homes, and businesses, as well. How effective such a campaign will be
remains to be seen. Even the pundits will tell you that is is becoming
more unlikely that the Arroyo administration can be forcibly removed
from power. the President seems to have
learned a lesson or two from her
old schoolmate Bill Clinton, known as "slick Willie," because like
Clinton, nothing her enemies throw at her seems to stick!
One reason for the failure of these radical
campaigns is because
 they have become more "flash" than substance. The old marketing
adage about selling the sizzle, not the steak, seems to have been
carried to the extreme in typical Pinoy fashion. Unfortunately, now its
all "sizzle" with no hint of steak!
You might still remember, the protests in front of the US Embassy during
the start of the Balikatan military exercises in 2001. Female protesters
clad only in towels scribbled protest slogans in lipstick across their
breasts.
There are those who feel that Filipinos simply watch too much TV...American
TV and ape a lot of the silliness they see. If, we are to
seriously grapple with the myriad problems besetting our country, we
need to approach those problems in a serious and methodical fashion. And
unlike the political opposition, we must realize that "sizzle" will only
get you so far, if anywhere at all.
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