On political education, teachers are encouraged to walk the talk.

1. "On Political Education - Walk the Talk Teachers"
By Glenn Rivera
I am notjusta teacher.Atsome pointinmylife,ItaughtHistorytochildren.Andinmyversionof
History, some people are just "BAD", "EVIL" or "WRONG". I actually believed that they include the
Marcoses,the Arroyos,the Estradas,the Napoles',and,soonerorlater,the Dutertes,amongotherpeople
whohad beenconvictedorsentencedtojail bythe courts.Albeit,Iam not a perfectperson.Ido not say
that I am better than them. I have my own flaws. I reiterate, I am not perfect. But to TEACH kids about
these publicfigures'versionsof theirownhistoryorpoliticalnarrative,issomethingthatIcannottolerate.
You are NOT JUST a teacher. You are a harbinger of TRUTH and FACTS. You can tell your own lies and
opinionstokids,butsoon theywill realize bythemselvesthe “real”TRUTH. Truth istruth while factsare
subjective - somethingthatcanbe usedforor againstanotherjustlike incourtsorlegal proceedings,and
even in research or debates.
To criticize a person by telling all the truth about him/her is not tantamount to maligning or
disrespectinghim/her.Itispartof educatingpeople,notjustbecause youare a TEACHER, butmore so in
view of the fact that you are a PARENT, a GOOD CITIZEN, a practicing RELIGIOUS person, or even a
PASTOR/PRIEST. We are all obliged by our laws and mores, most of which are embedded in our
constitution, to do political education in any way we can. I suggest that Filipinos read the Philippine
Constitution.Itisquite tedious,isn'tit?Butthatissimplyyourobligationandresponsibilityascitizensand
learners, at the very least...
I say I am not perfect, and I am not better than them. I believe so, definitely. I may be called
"highlyeducated"yet"ill-mannered"buthey,are younot"highly-educated"aswell?Youevenhave your
Master's or Doctorate degrees, notwithstanding your other licensed professions. Yet you are also "ill-
mannered", trying to defendand vote for criminals, convicts, and even Machiavellian politicians. Thirty
(30) yearsfromnow,there isa possibilitythatthese people'sdescendantswillrunagain.Ourcountrywill
justbe caught ina cycle of political andsocio-economiccrisisthatis rootedinthe basic problemthatwe
have:committingmistakesoverandoveragain,withoutgainingWISDOMinthe process.We shouldnot
only learn from our mistakes, but those of others as well... As the saying goes, "we cannot make these
mistakes all by ourselves."
I say I criticize other people not because of their personality but because of what they did and
have been doing repeatedly. I am not perfect, should I say more? I commit mistakes as well. However,
that doesnot denythe fact thatI am a researcher,writer,political analyst,critic,consultant(of all sorts),

2. educator, parent, and scholar (government scholar for that matter). It is USUALLY part of my duty to
educate peopleaboutsomanythings.Itispartof our duty,asscholars,toserve,especiallythe poor,with
the proverbial HONORandEXCELLENCE. I didnot graduate froma State University,withflyingcolors,for
nothing.Iamhere neithertoenrichmyselfnortobecomepopular.Iamhere toserveandeducate people.
That is not just a piece of cake. Still, it forms a huge part of who I am now.
We shouldnotpersistinvotingsame oldpeople intooffice,especiallythose whosimplykeepon
rearrangingthe deckchairsonthe Titanic.We needpublicservants,notidolsorpeople-pleasers.We need
servant leaders, not dictators or new Hitlers. We need leaders, not bosses, caciques or murderers. We
need doers, not mere talkers and promisers. We need the truth and not lies, fake news or influencers.
Afterall,a publicoffice isa publictrust.It is a publicgood as well.Whetheryouconsideritas a cliché or
not,it remainsa fact and a rule.Governance,asdistinguishedfromgovernment,isnotonlyall aboutlip-
service.Governmentofficialsshouldreally walk their talk or alternatively “practice what they preach.”
Honestlyspeaking,Iam tiredof seeingdie-hardstudentsandeventeachers,whoespouse politickingor
rathersupporta"broken"and"crooked"candidate.Idonotneedtoconvincethemtoreturntothe moral
fold... I say I am not perfect. Again, I have my own flaws. I am not even in a position or authority to tell
everythingabouta particularelectoral candidate.How much more JUDGE themby the court of my own
public opinion? I leave it to the better experts and political scientists to tackle.
To those who still questionmy choices, PLEASE do not judge me by who I vote for and why. If I
shouldtell younow,Ican evenvote forradical candidates,i.e.,KaLeodyde Guzmanandone of my idols,
Mr. Walden Bello. I am a believer in Social Democracy or Democratic Socialism after all. Just be in my
shoes, much like the way that I am trying to understand your situations and experiencesthat made you
decide politicallyorotherwise.Nevertheless,Ibetitwill take youexactlymyage tolearnandactfrommy
perspective. That includes having at least 16 years of schooling, 12 years of political education,
professionaltraining,andsocial research,and34yearsof seeing,analyzing,andabsorbingall thesesocio-
political shits. Points-of-view matter. Good and bad influences also matter. Your voting and political
attitude reflectswhoyouare, your familyvalues,andevenyourlevel of educationorcharacter. To vote
for a criminal or morallydownrightpersoninelections,issomethingthatshowsoff yourbehaviorinreal
life.We are nothere to literallybetoncocksas if youwere ina cockfightor "sabong",be itonline orlive.
We are here to decide on the future of our country, our loved ones, our kids, the apathetic voters,and,
ultimately, ourselves. To my dismay, I see everyone cheering up on candidates not because the former
believes in their causes, platforms, charisma, character, and competence. They perform idolatry or
fanaticismalready.Theybetonthese personalitiesasif theywill alsowinif the latterhappentowin.For
them, it's a game of either chess or cockfight. It should be more than that. Really.
Lastly, I do still hope that some of us will change our minds as the electionsnear. On my part, I
maintaina positive attitude towardsthesepeople,some of whomare myfriends,relatives,students,co-
workers,etc.That theywill soonbe seeingthe light,the real light,andnot the lightof any twinklingstar
or sparklinggold,issomethingthatI continuouslylookforwardto.Letthere be light,indeed,like thatof
the sunlight,thatcleanseseverythingonearth.Evenso,Isay,againandagain,Iam not perfect.Nobody's
perfect.Eventhe mostperfectcomputercanbe idle orworthless.Butwe canstill be rightandnotwrong,
good and not bad, and truthful and not false. Walk the talk, people, even if you are not teachers
yourselves.