The Reader on Politics

5:30 P.M.

The drizzle had caused the darkness to descend early on the central school where the canvassing of the local elections was going on.  The air was filled with the sound of the birds as they made their way home to the tree branches, droopy from the heat of the October sun.  On page 70 of How to Make an American Quilt, The Reader was marveling at the eloquence of the author's description of a relationship: 

Your garden contains love-in-a-mist and honey-bear roses, which fill the air with an exceptionally sweet scent; only a few people are able to tolerate such a honey-sweetened atmosphere.  And the climbing roses making their ascent toward sun and sky, bound at the root to the earth but longing for the sky.

Reason told her to put the book down as the fading light is not suitable for reading.  Then something else caught The Reader's attention:  the voice of an election chairman as it drifted through the classroom windows bearing the names of the winning candidates.  Her heart sank.  Here, a hopeful could win a race by attaching a piece of paper which bore his name to a twenty-peso bill.  It's not the politician, but the money who does the talking.  This fact led her to raise two questions:

If someone sincerely wants to be The Leader and render service to his people, does he need to resort to drastic measures to win votes?

and 

If we can be swayed by a "small amount", what does that say about our capacity to think? (or to feel?)

The reality is that anyone who jumps into the political wagon should be prepared to face the dirty tactics employed by fellow politicians.  These tactics are nothing new, too, and they have been a part of Philippine politics for some time now.  They are the cancer cells which slowly kill the hopes of those who desire to see a change in their society.  Yet, they have been left uncured for who-knows-how-long.  

Confronted by this reality, The Reader could only shake  her head at the outcome of the local elections.  As she likes her peace and quiet, she'd rather not ruffle someone's feathers by letting her fingers run amok on the keyboard. 


Done with the rants, The Reader turned to page 71 and read:

When you are making the friendship quilt you are declaring love and faithfulness in the face of parting, perhaps forever.

Say it with your hands.

Then wave good-bye.