The Crayons
Every time the election commences, the dance of colors appears, a representation for each politician that defines the nation’s future pigment. The Philippines is home to diverse political parties, each of which uses colors to portray its ideology and movements. It unites people who share the same ideals and divides Filipinos who do not. But do the colors really symbolize their ideology, or does the array of colors only represent the politician’s temperament? In the midst of rainbows and hues, do we really have democracy even with the same family fighting for power repeatedly? It should be condemned and challenged, as it does not represent the Filipinos, but rather the politicians who proclaim themselves with colors to advance their personal agendas.
In first-world countries, they use two colors to embody their ideology, red for Republicans and blue for Democrats. The reason behind it is the sturdy party list system and a well-written constitution that confronts the old amendments. Contrary to the Philippines, the political palette ranges from green, red, blue, pink, yellow, etc., where Filipinos pick their champion. Such practices have become a norm wherein a color determines your beliefs, in most cases, the people you patronize. Quite confusing, government positions are defined as a place where you represent the common and marginalized Filipino, yet the party system we have depicts not the ideology they must uphold, but rather the politician’s disposition. This oversimplifies politics and condenses it into personality-driven campaigns, making no room for ordinary Filipinos.
Case in point—in the previous presidential election, a flock of colors fought, people rallied and vocalized their stand, dissuading and persuading; it was chaotic. But none of them realize that variation of colors does not exist, that we are all Filipinos, and we simply share the same tone and tint. It is a trick orchestrated by the elites, making us believe that power resides in the colors—politicians—but not in our hands. In every election, we witness the same family using their colors to gain a seat, making the political landscape here in the Philippines predictable and static. Changes are stigmatized, power is in the hands of a few people, and colors change to other hues, yet they portray the same family, never the Filipino. Dissolving and undermining the democracy. It became a cycle: politics turns into a mere spectacle, an arena where Filipinos are the pawns fighting for loyalty and rivalry, offering limited avenues for good governance and reform. Could you really say that we have democracy even though we witness these colorful political dynasties controlling the whole narrative in which we are nothing but guilty cause we are the ones who painted it with ourselves?
Political colors are nothing more than an illusion, a lie that is fed to us by corrupt officials. A mere shadow on the wall, we grasp for it, desperate for any meaning, yet what we found was nothing but nonsensical propaganda and clever facades. This is not the right time to change colors, but rather to accept what we truly are. We are Filipinos; we share the same color, and we are all hoping for change, so why would we divide ourselves when, in fact, we are in pursuit of the same aim? This is a unified political act, not to believe in rainbows but to hold hands and have faith in our countrymen. As Haymitch Abernathy says, “Remember who the real enemy is.”