Opinion: Democracy and Our Culture
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In America, it was said by one of the Presidents that Democracy is a “Government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
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But here it seems that people think the President, Governors and Mayors are the government.
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Only few consider the said officials as just their authorized agents given the power that belongs to them for the latter to exercise for a specific period of time.
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Thus, people expect the said officials to give them everything under the sun.
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It is no wonder that people come to the offices and houses of these officials asking for personal favors from rice to money and everything.
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Asking personal favors from government officials remove from the people the power to supervise their agents. In fact, the people become beggars getting the morsels of the taxes they had paid to the government coffers.
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If we are to maintain that we are a Democracy, we must realize that we choose agents to take care of our common interest and general welfare. Individually, we take care of our own personal concerns.
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Only when we do not ask from the said officials for our personal needs can we effectively hold them accountable to us in the performance of the job we assigned to them.
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Thinking that these officials are the government will make them think that indeed they are and we the people have no more say on how our taxes are being spent.
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And worse politicians vying to get those positions will buy votes and even kill their opponents to become the sovereign power accountable to no one. TNRS
