By Gel Santos Relos
Sa pagpili natin ng mga bagong lider ng ating bansa sa Mayo 10, harinawa ay matagpuan ng mga tumatakbo sa eleksyon ang tunay na diwa ng paglilingkod sa bayan. Bakit nga ba sila pumasok sa politika? Ano ang tunay na nagtutulak sa kanila upang iwan ang pribadong buhay at suungin ang buhay politika?
Ano man ang kahihinatnan ng halalan sa Lunes, sana ay gabayan ang bawat kandidato ng katotohanang nilalaman ng mga salitang ito...
"Maybe there have been times where you asked yourself, why did I ever get
involved in politics in the first place? And maybe things can't change
after all. And when you do something courageous, it turns out
sometimes you may be attacked. And sometimes the very people you
thought you were trying to help may be angry at you and shout at you.
And you say to yourself, maybe that thing that I started with has been
lost.
But you know what?
Every once in a while, every once in a while a moment comes where you have a chance to vindicate all those best hopes that you had about yourself, about this country, where you have a chance to make good on those promises that you made in all those town meetings and all those constituency breakfasts and all that traveling through the district, all those people who you looked in the eye and you said, you know what, you’re right, the system is not working for you and I’m going to make it a little bit better.
And this is one of those moments. This is one of those times where you can honestly say to yourself, doggone it, this is exactly why I came here. This is why I got into politics. This is why I got into public service. This is why I’ve made those sacrifices. Because I believe so deeply in this country and I believe so deeply in this democracy and I’m willing to stand up even when it’s hard, even when it’s tough.
Every single one of you have made that promise not just to your constituents but to yourself. And this is the time to make true on that promise. We are not bound to win, but we are bound to be true. We are not bound to succeed, but we are bound to let whatever light we have shine."
(President Barack Obama)
