Politically Indifferent
I used to enjoy talking about politics in my country when I was younger.
Then a few years ago I didn’t find it as scintillating as before.
Primarily because I began to see it in a new perspective.
For the past months I have been encouraged to talk about politics
especially with the coming elections, which in my country is tomorrow.
They asked me to encourage the younger ones to practice their right to vote.
They asked me who I was going to vote for.
And I stayed away from all of it.
Here’s something I think would be important to know about elections in my country.
It is going through a lot of experimentation because we are only starting to learn how to use automation to cast our votes and count them and validate them. As with any adjustment from manual to automation we go through the same thing over and over again. We look for the one who could give us the right equipment. We look for the one who would seem to satisfactorily train the people who would be manning the equipment and using them. We have to provide all the information needed to help the voters learn how to use the automated systems. And we have a few months before the elections to get all the choosing done, training done, validation of equipment done, and elections completed.
And all these are watched by those younger ones we want to encourage to vote.
Added to this, they also have to be encouraged to decide wisely on who to vote.
So there is the usual predicament.
The predicament of going throughout the process of preparation to brewing sincerity and integrity and proving we are ready.
I think one of the things that is most important for the younger ones is this.
If they do practice their right to vote, would they be assured that their votes were counted and validated with sincerity and integrity.
And this is where the selfies come into the picture.
Maybe the younger ones deserve a more extensive explanation of why they cannot take pictures of their ballots, their receipts and themselves while voting. For to them it is their proof that they have voted and that they could show it off to their social networks. Maybe they deserve to know that selfies with their votes would be probable cause of pandemonium. Why?
Here’s why.
If all those who are going to vote would take a selfie of their ballot and their receipt, upload them to their networks, they would be creating an informal way for everyone to count the votes. And we know that technology can easily be distorted to become what we want others to see it as. What if someone would change the actual selfies and change the names chosen on the ballots using some photo editing software. And those changes are done in the millions, so much so that it could affect the results of the informal counting of votes.
Then we have the formal count done by the authorized people using a formal process.
We also have an informal count done by independent groups and broadcasted in various media.
Then we also have these collection of selfies actually showing either real or edited-by-software voting ballots as an informal count of votes.
What if amongst the formal and informal counting methods, a difference in count resulted in the millions that would cast a big cloud of doubt in the formal election count. Which would be a more believable election result? The formal count, the informal count by independent groups or the visually convincing selfies of each voter with their ballot? As old as I am, I’d believe the selfies version. why? Because I can see it. And that would be a cause for possible pandemonium. Which is why selfies are disallowed during voting.
And that is the power of information. When you explain to them the details of what they are going to do and why they are really restricted from taking selfies, then you get to somehow encourage them to talk to each other about it and possibly encourage them to vote on their own volition.
Honestly, I didn’t give too much time in choosing who to vote. Why? Because I know whoever would win, my role is not to be sour or jubilant. My role is to continue to observe what is happening and suggest solutions to things they cannot solve when they assume their positions. The only thing they could actually do for me is this,
LOBBY FOR WHAT WE WANT
Why do I say lobby?
Because there is no single person running for any position in politics that can promise me anything and assure me that it would happen, except for one thing. That they would have integrity in everything they do while in position.
Not one of them can promise me that they could have more jobs made available.
Not one of them can promise me that they could have more roads made.
Not one of them can promise me that they could have crime rates lowered or even eliminated.
Not one of them can promise me that they could have more schools made.
Not one of them can promise me that they could have salaries or budgets for anything raised.
Not one of them can promise me that they could have anything done and delivered once they assume their position.
Why?
Because they cannot do anything and have anything done all by their lonesome.
None of them can write what they promised, have the plans drawn, hire the people needed for them, get the budget needed for what they promised, and get them all done on time.
What’s the truth behind all these promises given during campaigns?
That the only thing they would actually be able to do is lobby or argue that what they promised be allowed to be given a budget and implemented.
If one of them during a campaign promised that he/she would have some town be given a cemented road that would enable them to get to the schools and markets and the nearby town using public utility vehicles instead of walking on the existing dirt roads, honestly there is no assurance it would happen.
Why?
Because here is how it works that many of them do not want to explain to the people.
As soon as an elected person assumes their position, this is what happens to their promise, explained in very simple terms that even those who are not highly educated could understand.
Year 1 in position – They are taught what they need to do in their position, who the people they are going to be working with, the places they are to go to for whatever they need, how much they are allowed to use for their plans, what are expected from them. Do they have time to fulfill their promise in the first year with all the activities they have to attend just to be introduced to everyone and everything around them? Maybe, maybe not. But it would be better to think of the first year in office as the first month in school where the requirements are not yet needed to be done for the first quarter exams.
Year 2 in position – They lay out their plans for their projects. So this means they write down what they want to get done, how much it is going to cost, where it is going to be done, who are going to do them, when it is supposed to start being done and when it is expected to be completed, and most importantly, why it needs to get done. Then they go to a gazillion meetings to present their plans to just about everyone who needs to know what they are. It’s like when you want to hold a big party at your house, so you make all the plans and you’d have to ask your parents for both permission and money. Only difference is this. If your office does not have the budget for it, then your office would not be able to get it done. If it is a big project, you would have to ask the higher offices for permission and money. So it takes a long time, if there are about a thousand people needed to read your plans, sign them, pass them on from one person to the next, check them if they are correct in every detail. Then the plans would be placed in the “Plans to be given a budget or not” pile. At the end of the year another meeting would take place to decide if the plan would be given a budget or not. If it is not given a budget, then it doesn’t get done and the promise given during the campaign period doesn’t get fulfilled. But if the plan is accepted and put in the “give this plan a budget” pile then we proceed to year 3. Also, if the person in office isn’t very good in arguing or lobbying to have their project approved for a budget, then it also gets rejected.
Year 3 in position – The amounts needed for the projects in the “give this a budget pile” is then added and called the National Budget for the year. Here’s where reality comes in. Where is the money for the projects going to come from? From us, of course. From every amount of tax we pay for most of the things we buy or from the deductions from our salaries and business profits. So they count how much taxes they collected for the year. Not from last year. But from this year after the National Budget has been passed. It’s much like our salaries. If we planned the party and our salary is not enough to pay for it, then party goes poof. But if the taxes collected is enough to pay for the “projects with budgets approved” pile, then the money for it can be set aside for it. But wait! There’s more! Not because the money is there doesn’t mean they would be given immediately to have it done. It’s not like when you ask your parents for money for the party and they give you the whole amount at once. With their projects, the money is given in installments. So they have to show that they have parts of the projects completed every time they are given money. And getting the money doesn’t take just a few minutes. The papers for each installment given is passed from one person to another for many days. So if one of the signatories for the paperwork for the budget to be given is absent for a week, then the budget to be released is delayed for a whole week. No signatures in the paperwork means no budget release. Bummer right? What if the very first signatory went on vacation for a whole month? And there about more than a dozen other signatories after the first signatory? What happens then? Let’s see. If there are a dozen signatories for just one single budget release paperwork, and each signatory is on vacation for a month, what happens? First signatory is on vacation on January so signing it would happen on February. Second signatory is on vacation on February so signing it would happen on March. And so on and so forth. Then you have an additional delay in the implementation of the project. Fun right?
Year 4 onwards in position – The cycle of presenting the project plans, having it approved, asking money, getting the paperwork signing done in the fastest way possible, hiring the people to implement the projects, having the project parts completed checked for quality control if they do so, and the other things needed to get the project done is going to happen. They have how many years in office? Would they be able to finish their project before the next election? Of course, when the next election is about to arrive, they would be setting aside a year or two to prepare for it. So what happens to the focus on the completion of the projects then?
This is a reality. A pattern that has been going on since elections were first made. The factors of time, money and human behavior/nature are at the forefront and not the promises made during the campaigns. If this is the same pattern to be seen by the next generations, then verve for casting votes would probably not rise either.
But what if we made some little changes. By starting with information sharing.
What if there would be an independent group that would create a website that would openly document the promises of each person vying for office or already in office. Then what the website could do would be to document how much the projects would cost, timeline from planning to implementation, manpower needed. Nothing permanent but rather just plans shared with others. Then those who would be available to bid for them would be able to prepare for it encouraging both local and foreign bidders to participate in potential bids. Citizens would also be allowed to write their comments on the projects on whether they are actually useful for them or they would want to suggest more features to the projects. This information would help those who are already in office see whether certain projects are worth putting in the “give this a budget” pile or not.
Then the people would be able to see what are the potential projects for the next elections and which persons/candidates they would prefer to support. They would also be able to see who would actually be able to realistically create work for them. This information would also help the common people see where their taxes would be going whenever they see it being deducted from their salaries or added to the prices of the things they buy. And it would also help them understand that there are some projects that cannot be done fast but would take years to complete, thereby lessening the possibility that they would complain about the delays or the length of time it takes to finish. And this website can also be used to encourage the younger ones to share their thoughts on whatever projects are planned for their future, which would also encourage them to get more involved in elections with or without selfies. Then the next time we have elections, it wouldn’t be too hard to get them to attend the campaign meetings the candidates would be holding.
And that is the power of freedom of information.
And this is why I have decided to become politically indifferent.
Because I would rather have the majority chose who they want to lead them. And I would watch and see what happens and give suggestions on how to make things better. Primarily because I am not depending on any public official to make my life better. I prefer to work hard and find opportunities to make my life better. And as I do so, I would expect the public officials in positions of authority to focus on fulfilling their promises with as much integrity as they could. Not expecting them to be perfect or to get me or anyone else out of poverty. But just to try their best to fulfill their promises during the campaigns. Then when they are fulfilled, the people would have what they need to make their lives better, more opportunities, more laws and protectors to protect them, and more information to help them grow in every aspect possible.
Going back to the dirt road to cemented road project sample above. If the public official who promised this gets to fulfill it, then opportunities are presented. Those people who used to walk on the dirt road would be able to consider different kinds of business opportunities for their locality because transporting goods to and from the nearby towns would then be easier. Then the people there would be easier to alleviate from poverty because they themselves would find it easier to work for their living or go get educated or find sources of business capital instead of tiring themselves from walking through the dirt roads just for a few coins or deciding just to stay at home and be unproductive.
To those who are running in the elections, good luck to all of you.
For the rest of us who are to be led (not controlled and manipulated, just for good measure) by those who would win in the elections, good luck and more patience and understanding to us until the next elections.
And for those who are returning to the normal life after years of public service, thank you for your public service.
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment