singaw

I have this "singaw"(trans.: open mouth sore) on my lower lip. Actually there are two of them; one on top of the other. Due to their presence my mouth is perpetually dry. Talking is hard. Eating is painful. Smiling is almost impossible. I could put "tawas" on them to close the wound and speed up the healing, but it would be excruciatingly painful. So I put up with the singaw. I talk through my teeth. I eat using only the right side of my mouth, so that I look like a half-inflated blowfish. I try to smile, but I think people see me as constipated. I try to alleviate the pain, just to avoid using tawas. I use ice cubes to cool it down. I smear toothpaste on it, believing that it would work just like tawas, minus the pain (nice try). I press on it with my fingers; no benefit, I just like to remind the damned thing who's boss. So I live with it. The cure is there, yet I choose to live with it.

By this time you might be thinking that I'm just plain weird, writing about something as mundane as an open mouth sore. But think about it. Aren't we all like that? We have a problem, we complain, we see a solution, yet we reject it as it's too painful. So we just live with the pain. We tolerate it, and sometimes even exacerbate it. We make problems worse, instead of finding solutions that work.

So, what is our problem? Pointless and pathetic as it is, the political crisis is a problem, but it also generates an even bigger problem: an economic crisis. Our country's economy has been weak(floundering would be a better term) for many years now, but the growing confusion, disorder, and discontent fomented by our patriotic, selfless, truth-seeking, progressive opposition has pushed our economic woes to new heights. It's all a matter of perception. The world sees our country embroiled in politicking and mudslinging and rallies and never-ending "investigations in aid of re-election".

The international investors have second thoughts about investing in a country so unstable and unruly. Less money enters the country, fewer jobs are made, more people become poor, and the poor become poorer.

In Makati's financial district businessmen are forced to work in a noisy, congested environment thanks to the rallyists shouting annoying rhymes, blaring loud music, and blocking Ayala Avenue. Productivity drops. Less money is made. Fewer jobs are made. More people become poor. The poor become poorer.

In the major roads normal people leading normal lives are blocked from working by the masses of rallyists hefting red banners. Traffic jams are created. Productivity at offices drop. Less money is made. Fewer jobs are created. More people become poor. The poor become poorer. And more people get angry after waiting three hours in EDSA or in Ayala thanks to the progressive groups blocking the streets calling for PGMA's ouster and, get this, complaining about he poverty and hardship due to the weak economy of the country. Couple that with rising fuel prices, the worsening "brain drain", and the ballooning debt the country owes, and you have one hell of a singaw in your mouth.

Yet do we do anything to address the problem? No! We make it worse! Instead of uniting the people to take on the crisis, the enlightened politicians divide them, focusing instead on power-grabbing and destabilization. Instead of presenting solutions, they present more unauthenticated, unverified, sensationalized "evidence" from untrustworthy, sometimes criminal sources. Instead of working with the government, they undermine it, destabilize it, and destroy the people's trust in it. Don't get me wrong, however. I'm not condoning the anomalies and corruption in our government. I'm just saying that in a time of crisis we should rally behind our leaders, not against them. I'm also not saying that PGMA is the be-all end-all solution to the crisis. I believe that she is a weak leader, but she is still the President of our country. I'm only saying that she provides one very important thing to the country: stability. Yes, the opposition is raising hell now, but that is nothing compared to what could happen if PGMA is removed from office. With their conflicting agendas, ideologies, and plans for the future the opposition's desperate alliance would fragment and bring the country to the brink of anarchy the moment that the President is ousted.

So pano gagaling ang singaw? Dudutdutin pa ba natin ito gamit ang ating daliri? Hahayaan nalang ba natin itong lumaki, sumakit, o mas lalong lumala? O lalagayan na natin ito ng tawas, kahit masakit, para gumaling na? Tama na ang siraan, ang takutan, ang kagaguhan. Oras na para magkaisa laban sa gulo, sa dibisyon, sa pamumulitika. Unahin naman sana ang interes ng mamamayan, wag ang pangsariling interes at ambisyon. Naghihirap na ang bayan, huwag niyo nang dagdagan. Oo, importanteng malaman ang katotohanan, kahit na kayo-kayo din ang nagsimula ng kaguluhan, ngunit dapat mas mangibabaw ang kapakanan ng bawat mamamayan, ang kapakanan ng ating Inang Bayan.

Healing takes time, and may even be painful, yet let us think of the greater good; of our people, of our country, of our children. Now, more than ever, we need unity. A divided house cannot stand. Our country will not be able to withstand any crisis if its people are at each other's throats. Let's put tawas on our singaw, and just bear the short period of pain, instead of just tolerating it now and making it worse, for in the long run, it will get worse. Talking will be excruciatingly painful. Eating will be nearly impossible. Smiling will be impossible.