How to vote Right

This Issue’s column is inspired by an essay bearing the same title I read as a freshman in high school, almost sixty years ago.

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The essay advanced the idea that to vote right, one should not vote for his friend but for the public’s friend.

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A voter must not listen only to his mind and his heartbeat. He must listen deeply to the public pulse.

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But of course this is easier said than done. How can one determine the public pulse?

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In 2004 it seemed that everybody was more than satisfied of the performance of then Mayor Franklin M. Quijano that being his Spokesperson, I was confident that he will be reelected.

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However, it turned out that the people preferred Lawrence Cruz.

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So, it is hard to tell the public pulse. We can only speculate.

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In a democracy people’s standards vary greatly and it is difficult to know the thinking and feeling of the majority.

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I observed though that the ability to listen not only to other people’s ideas but also to their feelings is an asset that does well with people aspiring to get the people’s vote.

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It is not even how lofty one’s ideals, how high is one’s intelligence that he can get the admiration and the vote of the majority. It is something else.

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So in the end, for the voter, it is, “Vote not for your friend but for the public’s friend.”

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