Who Shoulders the Cost of Change?

Post date: Apr 4, 2010 6:25:02 PM

An Appeal from Manny Valdehuesa, senatorial candidate, Ang Kapatiran Party:

(Credit: Gilbert Daroy, Philippines - Winner, International Editorial Cartoonists Award 2008)

Change has a cost. Changing anything entails expense -- the cost of its replacement; the cost of introducing new or improved systems, procedures, maybe equipment; the cost of getting better people into position; the cost of orienting, training them, and so on. There are costs to all these, and this applies as much if not more so to the task of changing or reforming politics and society.

Political change or social change entails great cost – in human effort and resources and even lives. Those who yearn for or demand change often overlook this fact. Many of them go around agitating for change – for clean and honest politics, for example – but forget that advocacy is not self-implementing or self-realizing. They forget that one has to work for it, to push it, to bring it forward, to engage others in an ever-widening effort until the change takes shape, becomes integrated or accepted, and is institutionalized.

They forget or don’t know that mere advocacy without relevant and sustained action will not bring about change. Their attitude encourages the thinking that change is easy and entails no cost. And of course, they’re wrong. They see corruption taking place and all they do is denounce it. But ask them to file a case or serve as a witness to the case, and they slink away.

So the task of pushing, working, or fighting for reforms, for changing the corrupt culture, is left to a few individuals to perform. Being few, with fewer resources, their efforts are limited and, often, ineffectual.

This disconnect between individual discontent and the need for individual or larger acts to resolve it, accounts for the unabated spread of corruption in politics and government.

What our society needs is for citizens to rouse themselves and support aspiring leaders who reflect their convictions, people who do the fighting for them. Their support will make it more likely for change to take place, for reforms to be introduced. It is not right to leave all the fighting and the crusading to others, while merely hoping they’ll succeed on our behalf. We must share the cost of change, the burden of reform, of transformation.

If any this makes sense to the reader, we appeal for your support. Contribute any amount -- so we can expand and intensify the battle against wrongful politics, pork barrel politics, immoral politics, and all that bedevils and conduces our society to the never-ending reign of the Trapos and the Lords -- of vice, of gambling, of plunder, of perdition, of greed.

There are trips to make around the provinces. There are posters and streamers to print and mount. There are radio and TV ads to prepare and air. There are isolated, marginalized sectors to reach out to, and rallies to organize. There are myriad campaign details to finance throughout our archipelago of 7,100 islands. Any amount would help!

And do spread the word about our ten-candidate slate that’s geared to battle the trapos and their corrupt system even unto death!