Thought Catalog: On Political Polarization

If only people can stop electing politicians based on their family names, celebrity status, fame, and false promises; If only people learn to distinguish between public servants from politicians; if only people elect based on competence and not on political leanings; then we can have a better Philippines. But the sad truth is that most of us tend to polarize the elections.

We stick to one color despite know that you can’t build a rainbow with just one shade – that you can’t achieve balance by letting all the stones sit on one side. That you can’t talk of unity when you shun your opponents instead of listening to them.

The truth is that none of us can have the monopoly on what is right for our country. We need to collectively work, we need to debate, to argue, to reason why we pick one over another. Because at the end of the day, we rise as a nation of one collective view and not as individuals of different opinions.

We have to talk, and we have to listen. Most importantly, we need to work with one another instead of being polar opposites. At the end of the day, the essence of our dominance as a species is our ability to unite and stand as one against every adversity that comes along our way.