‘…when a citizenry starts to default on its responsibility to be vigilant in the promotion or
defense of democracy’s underlying principles, decay sets in, sometimes invisible to the naked eye.’
I NEEDED to do an unscheduled trip to my dentist at Festival Mall this weekend, because one tooth was aching whenever I chewed on it. It was nothing that an X-ray and cleaning and filling couldn’t fix, with one dose of anesthesia for good measure. And after a little over 30 minutes, I was done and will only return for my regular semi-annual cleaning.
This trip got me thinking how much democracy is like dentistry.
I had my share of trips to the dentist, a childhood friend of my father who had a clinic overlooking Quiapo Church. I remember how heavy my feet were when we were trudging up the stairs to the clinic and how my breathing was coming in short and shallow.
There were two reasons why I had to make that trip often. First: Hershey’s Kisses and Nestle chocolate bars. Second: Habits. Bad ones. Mainly going to bed without brushing my teeth.
Not being diligent enough in doing what I can to protect my ivories, I had to pay the price growing up. Thankfully, I was far beyond a hopeless case despite my bad habits.
Democracy is no different.
Democracy is not something that develops and progresses on its own, like weeds in a garden. In fact, because democracy is a human endeavor there is a natural tendency over time for democracy to flounder. To keep democracy healthy, we citizens need to tend to it regularly — being conscious that we need to remain true to the principles that underpin democracy and the legal and social structures that are meant to keep it working the way it should.
Principles like “public office is a public trust,” for example.
I am assuming we all have not only heard this but understand what it means, that public officials live by it and that they are held accountable whenever they fail to do so.
In America, the damage done by Trump and Trumpism to its democratic traditions will take years to repair, assuming they can even be repaired. In the Philippines, it looks even worse.
Democracy is all about giving the people the vote, by virtue of which they express their preferences among those offering themselves as the country’s leaders. Now, when the citizen is not diligent in his exercise of his right to vote, he cedes to others his ability to help shape the future the way he would want it to be.
Now, when a citizenry starts to default on its responsibility to be vigilant in the promotion or defense of democracy’s underlying principles, decay sets in, sometimes invisible to the naked eye. Principles become exceptions, and traditions are forgotten altogether. The servant becomes the ruler.
That’s bad, but it gets worse.
When the citizen does exercise his right to vote but is unaware of or uninterested in understanding what the proper background and experience and track record and values are that he should be looking for in a candidate, it is a disaster waiting to happen. And this is happening where people want to vote for someone who is “like them” — someone ill-equipped for the demands of leadership.
It’s like not minding whether your dentist is indeed a qualified, certified practitioner. Or not caring if that diploma on the wall is even real at all.
But at least your “dentist” can sing and dance!
