The good vs. the bad

Posted on August 22, 2006 - Filed Under Punch Forum |

Rafael L. Oriel, Jr.
August 22, 2006


Ms. Ric, I respectfully disagree when you said, “Good is when you can look at yourself in the mirror and know that you’ve made a difference without asking for anything back in return. Good is never about rewards or punishments.”

One good example is a guy who found large sum of money and honestly returned it to the owner. He was offered some reward money in return for his honesty but he gladly refused it. Of course, an honest man like him expects something in return after doing something that is good. He deserves and expects a simple thank you, a sweet smile, two thumps up or stamp of approval, a hero’s welcome by his relatives, friends, acquaintances and by others who heard the goes news. He deserves and expects sign or seal of approval in recognition of his good deeds or a job well done so that when he will look in the mirror, he will see a happy man who was given the opportunity to make a difference. He deserves and expects high degree of respect for what he has done with the hope that nobody will tell him that he is being stupid for returning the money. Lastly, he expects something in return for his being a role model. He expects others to follow what he has done and to do the same thing so that our world will become a better or the best place to live. This is the ultimate reward that money cannot buy. Good is about that ultimate reward.

During election, we often hear people say, “It is a choice between greater and lesser evil.” They sound as if all candidates are evils and as if there are no more Filipinos left who are good. In reality, out of the more than 80 million Filipinos, only a few are rotten. The rest are good ones. We better separate them to prevent the rot from spreading.

Good and law-abiding Filipinos certainly want to honestly serve and protect the country and its people. They work hard and to the best of their ability will give that extra mile to make a difference and a job well done. Of course, a good and honest Filipino who will run for an election expects something in return from his countrymen when the election comes. He expects their overwhelming support to get him elected or re-elected for another term so that he can continue his good accomplishments.

Unfortunately, high performances and superior accomplishments do not always guarantee the victory of an election candidate. This is especially true when many voters support only those who can make them financially richer during and after the election.

I wonder why there are times when bad guys have more admirers and supporters than good guys. Is it because bad guys can tolerate forbidden and illegal activities more than good guys? There are times when it is hard to be extremely good because you attract more enemies. We often hear about good men and women who are either killed or destroyed mainly because they are good.

When extremely loyal supporters of an election candidate with questionable character will employ black propaganda to demonize a good and honest candidate and undemonize the candidate they are backing to ensure his winning the election, the aw-abiding candidate sometimes have a lesser or very slim chance to win the election because he does not want to use any dirty tricks just to win the election. Of course, both good and bad guys want to win the election but it is very unfortunate for the country and its people that good guys are not always the winner.

There must be a better way to pinpoint with accuracy the good from the bad so that we can support and reward those who are really good and to reject and punish those who are really bad.

Actually, there is a better way. It is called parliamentary system. I know this because of my knowledge and personal experience of presidential system of government in the Philippines and my knowledge and personal experience of parliamentary system of government here in Canada.

I like the parliamentary system better most especially when the senators have lesser power and minor role in legislation like here in Canada. In fact, I heard that there are many Canadians who want the Senate abolished.

According to the news, of the 10 most transparently governed countries in the world with almost non existent to very low perceived corruption as measured by Transparency International, 9 have a parliamentary system and of those 9 countries, 7 have unicameral parliamentary systems.

Unicameral, without the Senate, is much more economical for a smaller country like the Philippines.

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