A Failing State?

When the late President Manuel Quezon said he preferred a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by the Americans, he didn't have the prescience to know how we will all be today.

- BOO CHANCO

First of all, Americans are now running their government like hell, if the chaos going on in Washington DC is an indication. Secondly, even Quezon will probably be shocked at how our government is being run like hell right now.

The sad thing about us and the Americans today is that our democratic governments are being driven to fail. For one thing, our badly educated mass base lacks critical thinking and is easily swayed by political clowns. Then, the extreme poverty being suffered by the mass base amidst unimaginable riches of the elite produce dangerous threats to social and political stability.

At least the Americans had over 200 years of building their democratic institutions. Hopefully, that will protect their institutions from Trump and Musk.

In our case, our situation is more fragile. We have been playing around with democratic trappings for some 70 years. And as we saw when Marcos Sr. declared martial law, a stroke of the pen easily ended our constitutional freedoms.

Today, looking at the Duterte cult adoration and widespread social media misinformation, we are at risk of losing everything again unless enough Filipinos wake up and realize the threat. Extreme poverty, sorely inadequate education and social media misinformation are making the next few years dangerous. A failing state is highly susceptible to be captivated by a strongman type, worse than Duterte ever was.