Do you see what I see?

Day 2,199, 16:35 Published in Philippines Republic of China (Taiwan) by Analia Arnheim

It is less than a month until Christmas so I decided to quote from a Christmas song for a title.

Perhaps some of the younger citizens do not know me anymore, but I am Al Raposas, a former Country President and current Minister of Finance. I had quite a rest from Erepublik in the past weeks. More than a month already. And, well, I would like to share the things I saw in my brief stints in the territory of our nice neighbors.

More about me? See: http://wiki.erepublik.com/index.php/Al_Raposas

Our neighbors are indeed strong. At least, compared to ours. Now that we have a gauge for Country Power, we can easily check there that what I'm saying is true.

However, I noticed some things that we can actually apply here in the Philippines.

When I was in Australia and Indonesia, fighting for both sides actually (though its mostly for Indonesia) because it costs me money to move regions and in the region I was staying, there was incessant seesaw battle. One day its Australia, the next Indonesia. Though Indonesia was losing regions then, especially when Australia began to seek help from allies (like Poland), the people don't seem to lose their cool. That's what I saw in their media. They rallied behind their government. That makes them a solid nation.

In the case of Australia, though they had this potential of being strong, they had these internal quarrels that reflects well in their media. Fingers kept pointing at traitors to the country, and it makes it hard to know who really was at fault. The only positive side: the media is active.

The Philippines do not par with these two countries, but we could at least learn from them. Yes, and active media is good, but articles of hate actually divides the nation. Instead of uniting our energies under the government for the country's welfare, we kept pointing who is at fault. Like Indonesia, as well as China, we must believe in our government, especially if this institution is transparent enough.

But, I'm not saying we shouldn't be vigilant. Our nation, unlike our neighbors, is an easy target for a take over. We should, however, keep our suspicions in moderation. If there are good results, we must not make history judge the past administrations badly. We can always be better. Keep improving.

But, I'm not saying that if one administration did not produce results in time (by the end of term), it does not mean he or she actually did nothing. We must have an open mind and see through the blinds of political rivalry. Sometimes, results come only after two or three administrations. We must commend these leaders for looking towards the future, making their own tenure as foundation.

In the end, it is not strong leadership that actually lifts our country. It is strong followership. We can always have strong leaders, but without our (the citizens) support, they will become helpless. We're actually beginning to grow again, having young yet quality citizens becoming more active. We must keep this trend going.

Also, cooperation and reconciliation. This should be at work both internally and externally.

We already had a victory with a NAP (some call it "surrender") with Pakistan. This is the proof of the past statement.

I think I can continue resting from Erep life with all these recent developments. I applaud what the past admins had done. Still, above all, the good of the country and its people must be taken to mind always.

Have a happy December ahead.