How to overcome insanity 

Rea Ysabel De Leon

​I wondered why there were posters of strangers plastered on the poles of the street where I grew up. Remembering my neighbors screaming from their balconies and a cheer I could not quite understand. Soon after the occurrence, a man wearing a white polo shirt with a cap had the words “#28 on the ballot” sewed on and was parading on the street as it seemed like his duty was to try to shake all the hands that were waving at him.

Hurriedly, the man stood on a podium then shared and laughed with the crowd but before he signed off, he made sure to utter the words, once again, “#28 on the ballot”, as a child back then I was puzzled on why he kept on repeating those words. It made me think it was a lucky number on the lotto or just a number he completely adores enough to share with everyone.

​A few weeks later, I saw people after people queuing up like a never-ending wave and coming out with a piece of paper in their hand and what seemed like a purple finger. Curious I was, I asked my mother what was happening, she then explained that it was voting season. An election of public officials, exercising one’s civic duty and ensuring the welfare of tomorrow. This entails that voting plays a crucial role in democracy in a nation, it is a political process that puts the subsequent dates either in the state of advancement or in a decline.

The expression of my mother took me back as she stared at me, saying, “Early as now I want you to understand that when the time comes; who you vote for represents your beliefs, ideas, and interests. When you choose an individual, you have to make sure that they are people not served by the people.” Once more, I was unsure how I would respond, I only answered her with a meek “Okay.” yet never truly grasped what she meant at that time.

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​Eventually, I came to the age where I can understand why children at the time weren’t given the opportunity to education, how the impoverished remained hindered, taxes keep on increasing yet never truly sensed its purpose, individuals being deprived of their potentialities, starved families stealing for goods, deaths of loved ones from unknown coincidences, and other situations that are more than what meets the eye.

Flustered and frustrated was all I felt after seeing the neglected responsibilities being covered by interviews and articles about a “good deed”, frankly it is the job’s details. What knocked me back into reality as zthe bell above the door and I sighed in relief as I mouthed the phrase “Registered voter.”, an act of justice of the people, by the people, and for the people. A resonating quote by a former US president ends the recollection, “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” -Abraham Lincoln.