01587: The Will of the Majority is Always Right in a Democracy

The tricky thing about democracy is that you have to go with the majority in many things. Such is the will of the people - that's the very principle of this particular form of government. And thus elections are one of the most interesting demonstrations of democratic power - it forces everyone the trust in how most of the people in the country feel.

Yes, in the Philippines this means that the upper and middle classes are indeed in the minority - there is no denying that fact. Majority of the country lives pretty much a hand-to-mouth existence. Majority of the Filipino people are classified as falling below the poverty line. And thus the way that they vote reflects what they believe to be their best hope of improving their lot in life. And this has nothing to do with them being uneducated or easily manipulated - who are we to question their judgement in this case? We don't live their lives. We don't experience their hardships firsthand.

Sure, it may seem that they fall prey to the quick-fix dole-outs provided by the rich and powerful to those who tow the line and play the patronage game. But for now, that's the life that gives them some degree of aid and fulfillment? What have the upper and middle classes truly done for these people other than look down on them?

Yes, there are better ways out there to help these people. There are better ways to trigger potential change in this country. But it's hard to see the forest because of the trees. And majority of this country are pretty close to the ground indeed. And so they will play the game and get what they can from these candidates that people deem so unworthy. They will do what needs to be done.

And appalls me when I see people wasting time on social media lambasting candidates they find stupid, unqualified or whatever. So folks, it looks like these candidates won fair and square and there's no decency in calling people names and insulting them. We may be more educated, but that doesn't mean we're smarter or even halfway decent. It doesn't make us mature nor does it make us more socially away or something. The fact that people have so much time to waste creating memes, posting all these grand statements about why so and so candidate is wrong, how the election results are a mistake or the fact that the middle class are not at all elitist and need to be saved from the tyranny of the majority in this country.

Do people not see precisely how elitist such statements come off? By constantly attacking Nancy Binay all people did was create a social media underdog. We helped prove true the class struggle argument that has been utilized as a key tool for emotional manipulation for years on end. We gave them the keys to the kingdom by acting all privileged or claiming that being "better" educated makes the middle class vote more important or somehow more valuable than others.

Democracy is about accepting how the majority vote goes. Yes, opposition figures are there to act as check and balance on the legislative floor as they try to prevent minority groups from being oppressed or forgotten in the process of lawmaking. But at the ballot box, it's anything goes. And thus we should respectfully accept the final election results, hope for a better figure and still remain eternally vigilant of all of our elected leaders and try to ensure that they stay on point and do what's best for this country.

After all, our current President had it all -  a good family, a good education and prior political experience. And yet he has still been insulted for being incompetent and being a bit of a lame duck at times. This only goes to show that the one thing that people are best at is being unhappy and finding fault in others. So let's stop with the complaining and the bashing, roll up our sleeves and get back to work. God knows how much help this country needs and it takes every single one of us - and not just our politicians - to make those changes a reality.