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Lobaton: Politics is not owned by them Posted: 21 Mar 2021 07:33 AM PDT The talks on politics are not easy at this time of pandemic. Yet it is not something to be discouraged when we are into the dangerous period of time, where decision-making of our future officials is important as our survival from the coronavirus. It is easy to hear from some quarters not to talk about politics at this early, but we can understand them because probably, they too, if not all, do not understand what is truly meant by politics and the implication of it for people who actually gave them the mandate to serve. The fact that when those in office would say that politics is not as important as facing our pandemic, is actually a false rhetoric. Many of them benefited from this style to portray as if they really care for the people when the truth is, there is nothing more to expect. There is an urgency to talk about the future of this country and the next set of leaders who will stir the future at this difficult time. This is just another thing to ponder outside of properly defining politics as not just an election and pertains to officials, but encompasses all actions related to the powers discharged by the state through the government, and other actions related to the interest of the people. Politics then is not only for politicians. It is in the best interest of the people because they are the source of authority being asked to by the officials during elections. The people do have a stake in whatever undertaking in government because these are public matters and not private ownership of officials or their group. Over the years, however, people are confined to the process of putting somebody into office and not having an option for someone who could better serve them. They are simply tied to the system that for many years has left them with no other choices than become subservient to the interest of some. Worse is the way that politics has gathered those less-educated individuals who have nothing to offer than secure their economic interests. No wonder that we keep on struggling as a society and people because of the many misplaced situations in our politics that should have been the tool for this country to move forward. In all of the social institutions, it is the government that is endowed with the role to put things in order in the interest of the state. The public office is hoped to be at all times in the interest of the people and that putting officials in office are to be scrutinized carefully based on competence, which includes academic qualifications, track record and display of behaviors. In case we need to look at how our present leaders have performed, then we can revisit the time they've started serving us up to the time we are into this pandemic. That is the reason why I believe, since we have a stake in the affairs of our government and the politics that is the process within it as an institution, we need to keep track of our leaders from the time they started to court us about their intentions for public office. Politics is now owned by those seeking our approval for public office. We need to continue the talks about it until we have known the capacity of every candidate who can truly lead us and navigate our government into these tough times. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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