Change is coming

CEBU, Philippines - The elections are over. It is now time to heal, the nation is told. And while the nation nurses its political wounds, it keeps its grip on its hope for change.

True, it does not all end with the elections. Not with the victory of some and the loss of others. There is work to do, and what has been done so far is only choosing the people to do it. The real work has not even been started yet.

Political analysts say that the "presumptive" president was elected by protest vote. The people have supposedly grown tired of different faces alternating in the same frames, different leaders perpetuating the same system. They want change.

But there is just too much to change that nobody seems to know where to start. The people pin their hopes on someone - the one person they want to do the task they themselves cannot do. They pass on to the new president the thing that they won't allot some serious intention and effort for.

The catchphrase "Change is coming!" has taken on a lighter meaning. It is now frequently heard at bills-payment centers and whispered at cashier's counters among customers waiting for their change. Waiters at pop restaurants also use the phrase to assuage diners who are getting impatient.

At this point in time it seems that the change that everyone wants is purely a matter of hope. But what is everyone hoping for? That things will get better, or that things will simply be different?

It is even hard to find someone who can exactly define the change that he or she wants. This or that, or whatever! The elections itself are becoming a guessing game with voters; there's the so-called "bandwagon effect," where people simply side with the candidate that they think everybody else is going for.

It may be sheer indolence; it is tiring to figure things out. Or it may also be plain cynicism; why fuss over something that won't make a difference anyway?

Change is coming! It is the nation's aspiration. It is the nation's challenge, too.

The truth of the matter is that there's work for everyone to do. Change - whatever it is - is to be worked out, not simply to be hoped for. A nation that is not willing to do its share in bringing it on does not have the right to hope for it. (FREEMAN)