Dead Stare

"My single pair of eyes contain the universe they see; their mirrored multiplicity is packed into a hollow body where I reflect the many, in my one." — Stephen Spender

 

I genuinely believe that each of us has our own way of perceiving things and it’s up to us whether we want to see the world in its beauty or drown in its negativity. Light and darkness always coexist and if the other one is gone, the balance would cease to exist and will cause discord. Sounds so cheesy or straight out of a video game but it’s true.

 

My reference for this vector art perfectly captured the emotion I had to put up so that I can remain neutral and not burn some bridges. I have been non-partisan since my university days and I refrain to talk about politics yet given the nature of my topic regarding the artwork that I have made, I guess I am free to speak my two cents.

For the past months and at the present time, I am disgusted by how these people I know and some I respected act so ignorantly. Most of them are my schoolmates, some friends, and a few relatives.

 

 

A short briefing, last May 9 we had our election here in the Philippines and everyone was fighting for their candidates. I don’t want to go into detail but the recent election brought the worse into people. I will also just talk about the ones who I think were impactful during the said period.

 

 

First, on the list, this specific candidate who is still the vice president as of this writing has supporters called “kakampink”. They wear pink to symbolize their support and some were trying so hard to educate folks forcefully because they believe their preferred president has legit educational attainment, helped a lot of Filipinos and their platform is better. Even before her candidacy I greatly find her annoying because instead of being cooperative with the government, she won’t shut up and just opposed mostly to everything. Personally, I dislike her attitude because she was too focused to spread hateful remarks instead of letting her actions speak louder. The same goes for her supporters, some became cult-like and kept throwing hurtful words at people who doesn’t believe in her.

 

Secondly, the current president-elect. He is mostly known to be the son of a dictator during the Martial Law era. It is a very controversial topic and I prefer not to go deeper because I wasn’t born yet at that time. We learned in our books about what happened in the past yet the media all throughout the years only showcased the bad not specifying the good. For me, it’s quite unfair because the family is still supported by millions (they wear red to show support) and we all know how the West always meddles with the affairs of other countries usually developing either for oil or resources. I used to be a foreign service student and learned more about how politics work. It’s given we won’t forget about the unfortunate events that occurred during Martial Law but I believe the sins of the parents are not shouldered by the children.

 

 

Last but not least is the current mayor of Manila. He is actually the one that I prefer because of how he transformed the capital and made a lot of changes that the previous mayors couldn’t. I wished he was the mayor during the time I was studying. He can relate to the masses because he grew up struggling and apart from that his educational background is on point as well as his public service. He didn’t come from a rich political family nor has it easy in life. Honestly, I wished he didn’t run for the presidency because I can’t fathom another Manila mayor like him. I know he’ll still continue serving the people despite losing the campaign.

So to wrap it up, the social media war is so harsh, and even families fight each other just because of their differences. I feel like even though the election was over, this will go on forever. I can’t understand how people can’t accept other people’s beliefs and are willing to hurt each other’s feelings instead of speaking calmly and being respectful. We are living in a democratic country and the majority voted for the officials they believe are best. Instead of acting like a kid who didn’t get a toy, everyone should just move forward and help themselves. If you’re opposed then just be vigilant with the new government.

I am not sure if in the near future I would get called out for voicing my opinion on this topic but it doesn’t matter. Either they'll condemn me for not voting or they will perceive me as incoherent regarding certain matters. I chose not to live like that and I still show respect even to some folks who have done bad stuff towards me. Some people who are against you from the start would only see the flaw and be disrespectful. We just have to accept that having someone opposing our ideals is normal and just focus on our lives.

 

 

“All that we do is governed by the law of opposites in which every so-called positive act is exactly and equally balanced by its opposite.” — Tony Parsons

{DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the gifs}