garbage in garbage out

Drove past Mandaue City today and I was so jealous. They had these big garbage bins that were color-coded according to the biodegradable and non-biodegradable scheme (they were blue, black & yellow). I was wondering why can't Cebu City have that too? It was beautiful and clean having them lined up by the street. People will have no reason to litter with those things around. They were present by the dozens at every block.

I'm not fond of political figures but kudos to Mayor Ouano for that one - very nicely done. Makes people think their taxes are actually going somewhere when they see things like that (I know I may be making a big deal about garbage bins, but with the trash problem in our place, believe me it's a good thing).

Speaking of more garbage, I would like to think I don't care about what's going on in Manila and Fort Bonifacio with regards to the state of our dear nation, but I can't help it - I'm hooked. I was reading the updates there today and it bothers me. So here are my two cents...

• First of all, I think the government has become extremely paranoid. No matter what they do - no matter what the president does, somebody will complain (and this goes for everybody). Nobody can please everybody. This is a fact of life. You can't just shut down, handcuff, and imprison everyone who disagrees with you. They can't all be terrorists and hoodlums. They are the other side of the coin. And they will be ever present. Just like what that Newton person said, "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." A good leader takes it in stride. I'm not saying George Bush is a good leader but I'm pretty sure a lot of people dislike the US President, but there isn't much publicized drama about it. I don't know what they do behind closed doors, but that's the beauty of it - it's done within closed doors. To the entire world, they are business as usual (as should be).
  

• There is too much drama going on. The People Power Revolution once, was emphatic and amazing and effective. No one thought it possible. Second time around, it was like deja vu - but to some extent it worked. Right now everybody thinks it's a weapon of some sort. "Gather around everybody, let's rally and do yet another People Power Revolution to solve our problems." If we do it again and again and again, it will be like Christmas everyday. It loses it's meaning. It loses its value. This is not the solution. There has to be some other way - some other enlightened way.

A soldier would march into battle with nothing but a baton and a commander's orders. But the common man (or woman) at this day and age, cannot just pick up and leave the work place to march to an ambiguous battle, where there is neither a leader nor a strategy.

Garbage in - Garbage out. If we put garbage in power and we intend to take it out, there should be something more than garbage to take its place or we're back to where we started (or worse). There is a bigger problem at hand that cannot be solved by just a rally.

The Filipino people have repeated the People Power Revolution and history has yet to repeat itself. We are on the verge of another rerun. The first time around, it was truly the dictator's fault. The second time, the system was at fault. Whose fault will it be the third time around? I'd think twice before pointing fingers. I am not pro-government, I am just saying there has to be more to this. What we see now in my opinion is a byproduct problem of bigger issues.

Although I also admit that there is no short-term resolution, and indeed something has to be done in the interim to sustain the nation. So I say... garbage in - garbage out