The Long Way Up

It is so easy to criticize what people do and who they are from the sidelines of life, and from the safety and comfort of our own conceptions of the world. Many of us — peering into other people’s lives through rose-colored glasses or whatever filter of preference we use — vehemently transform ourselves from couch potatoes into armchair critics the moment we see a headline printed on the newspaper, hear a report blasted on the nightly news, or scroll into a post on social media that affects and offends our sensibilities. We then go up in arms, and sound off on how this guy should have done this, or this person shouldn’t have said that, or so-and-so could have made this decision instead. We analyze, conjecture, and postulate until we are satisfied that we have said our piece on the matter.  Oh, if only we were privy to the internal workings of each person’s mind and the behind-the-scenes progression of events in their lives, then perhaps, to some degree, we might actually be ...

I was out to dinner the other night with two friends from Germany and our conversations led us to one of the topics that I don't frequently sound off about: POLITICS. My guests talked about the respective political atmospheres in their countries (the guy is a German; the girl an American) and naturally they asked me about the state of things in the Philippines as well. They were curious about what it was like to have "this current president" rule over the country. I turned to my American friend and told her, "Our president is somewhat similar to your president: they're both very liberal with their use of words; they're controversy-magnets; and their selection as president polarized our respective nations." My German friend asked if I thought President Duterte (Digong for short) was doing a good job at the helm of the Philippines. So I proceeded to tell my guests what I have seen on the "street level" and what I believe the president has d...