Yes, our political morals are decaying! The teachings of SPA (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle), Confucius, Kant, James and other philosophers are almost forgotten. This judgment is based on the recent happenings around the world which showcase news items that banner chaos and turmoils brought about by egoistic, selfish and immoral leadership and uncooperative citizenry. The misdeeds may be psychological in nature but the tangible effects and manifestations are obvious products of miscalculations in various ethical approaches. There are simple disagreements which are made complicated by ignoring the basic discernment of what is good and evil. Even the standards of rectitude, common sense and personal convictions are shattered and pressured by the dominating corrupt principles and practices that in many cases become acceptable and traditional. Gone are the days of conservative stewardship and fearless fiscalizing which in the end usually succumb to the schemy modernization systems that seep through into our annals of governance. This is now a call for reawakening and a point for retrospection and reflection on which political structures, policies mores and laws to be maintained, developed or changed in accordance with the common good, public welfare, health and safety.
We often hear every now and then of some governments and their nationals to prefer legalities over the belief in the divine intervention; disregard the values of ethnics and cultures of others and favor the beckoning temptations of progressivism; disrespect for the sovereignty and rights of countries by discriminating and exploiting manpower and intimidating their positions by ostentatious display of nuclear build-ups; employ continued discrimination and sexual harassments to employed men and women who strive to earn a living and send revenues back home; practice of extravagant lifestyles that use public funds through political junkets, entertainments and unnecessary countryside visits; neglect of nature by wanton emission of wastes and pollutants; find pleasure in technological advancements at the expense of the agonies and basic needs of humankind; give less attention to education that should prioritize hard work, patriotism, honesty, discipline and the zeal to finish a course; less concern for the speedy recovery from economic setbacks and unemployment instead of pretensions and unworkable strategies; shake the status and future of the sick and the elderly through confusing health care programs; and put into the doom the financial and domestic securities endangered by high prices and the recent global recession.
Internationally, there are a lot of political puzzles that we fail to decipher and fathom. Just like why engage in expensive wars and terrorisms as experienced in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and America? Why should there be riots and demonstrations as sighted in Greece, Haiti, China, Indonesia, Burma, Philippines, Lebanon, Iraq, Armenian Soviet Socialist and Bolivia? Why should there be economic bickerings, competitions and frictions on bilateral trade agreements among and between nations like China, Korea, Japan, India, Russia and England? And why should there be the expanding nuclear build-ups in Russia, USA, China, North Korea, Iran and India? What for? Defense or Offense system? Are we all licensed to kill?
In our local setting, we may ask the questions like: How can we stop graft and corruption; proliferation of drugs and crimes; money scams; sex scandals; overtaxing our constituents; verbal and physical fightings in our parliaments; broken promises after elections; costly wars and trips to the moon and the universe; wasteful allocation and implementation of national budgets; legalization of divorc, abortion and prostitution; dependency syndrome on federal aids; extending or receiving foreign aids that usually end up to wrongful hands; massive consumership of foreign -made products instead of patronizing home-made stuffs; and the bankruptcy-prone habit of more loans and credits from other countries and from world's financial institutions?
With these developments, there is a need to return to the fundamental regiments (as most sports teams advocate) which can also be applied in terms of revitalizing our basic values of discipline, loyalty and patriotism, thrift, honesty, peace and diplomacy. This is to counteract the prevailing behaviors of greed, competition, pride and lust for power and wealth. We may revisit the basic unit of the society which is the family that must have responsible parents who mould children to become productive citizens instead of being the menace in the community. The church should be transparent enough to be the messengers of God's teachings instead of exposing some of its members as devils in the angels' robes. The schools may take necessary steps for relevant programs to prioritize productivity and values education and lastly all forms of media to sensationalize worthy deeds instead of crimes sex and violence. There are many, many ways that are better said than done but at least in so doing, we try to prick the minds of the people in the government to find means to replenish decayed moral components in our bureaucracy rather than doing nothing at all. This is our own way of facing a political moral test and each of us should be responsible to answer and do something about it. The time is NOW!