THE LOBBYiST : More Than Just Views: A cause greater than ourselves

A cause greater than ourselves
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Jessy Ang,  MD on 23 October, 2008 03:40:00
 
Several decades later, with the blessing of the Divine Providence and the
guiding support of my hardworking and dedicated wife, that dream has now been
realized.  I have reached the peak of my career where I have received the
respect of the medical community in the treatment of the mentally ill. We have
raised four wonderful children who have done well in their chosen careers. Yet
despite these successes, there has been an increasing longing on my part to
serve the land of my birth and the reservoir of many happy and sad memories. The
calling has been more profound after seeing our country continuing to decline,
beset with corruption at all levels of society and the widening gap between the
rich and the poor.
I recalled a man who on August 21, 1983 came home after 10 years of imprisonment
and exile with a vision of restoring democracy and social justice. He was a man
of great courage who made a journey back home despite the fear that death
awaited him. He counseled those fears with the belief that the Filipinos are
worth dying for. On that day when he set foot on our soil, his dream was cut
short, gunned down by the cowardly assassins of the corrupt regime. This
Filipino hero was Ninoy Aquino. His brutal and tragic death brought tears to my
eyes and profound grief to our nation.
Three years later, the courage and resolve of our people to the repressive
hardship and through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, the Marcos
dictatorship was overturned and democracy finally restored.
Twenty years after the People’s Revolution, the dream of a just, caring and
peaceful society became more out of reach. Corruption has infiltrated all levels
of our society that a great majority of our people have become cynical,
questioning the value of honesty and fairness. Poverty continues to rise with
the poor being exploited by political leaders who offer no sustainable program
to pull them out of their misery. The middle class under heavy burden of taxes
is gradually eroding.
The expanded economic growth which the current and prior governments see as
their crowning achievement is not felt by most of our people. Sadly, the recent
rise in our economic growth is the product of the blood, sweat and tears (hard
work) of our fellow Filipinos who go abroad to find jobs that can give food and
decent shelter to their suffering families. However, the price of such sacrifice
has been too steep.
Families are dislocated with broken homes and broken hearts. Some spouses, due
to feelings of loneliness and absence of companionship, became unfaithful. Some
children who were left behind become defiant, quit school, and resort to alcohol
and drug abuse. Countless domestic workers have been abused, mistreated, raped,
and even killed.
Tragically, our politicians from both sides continue to offer no comprehensive
solutions to out nation’s ills. They continue to present the same failed
solutions by placing their hopes in one leader yet that leader has no clear
vision and with an integrity that is in question. It is in this spirit that our
nation needs to be awakened and that our people need to make a stand. Enough is
enough. Change is now and by all. While we need to make great efforts to elect
public officials who have integrity, honesty and competence, we also need to
transform ourselves. We need to have a movement that addresses the ills of our
society and place the major responsibility in each and everyone of us to find
the solutions.
(Watch out for the second part)