Election Fever

These past few days have given me quite a headache. I was tempted to pack my bags and retreat to a place where I could enjoy a little bit of quiet. With all the noise that keeps on bombarding me from all sides, amplifiers going on full blast I was ready to call it quits. As if my headache is not enough, I came out of the front door one morning to discover our wall transformed aesthetically with a collage of smiling faces looking at no one in particular.

It is not only the political candidates who are having a grand time. The media are biting at every bit of news and amplifying it to the nth degree. So the people are left confused what is to believe and what is not. Others would probably shrug their shoulders and say, “what does it matter, anyway?"

The trouble is it matters a lot. The political exercise that we are going to do tomorrow will shape our future, our children’s and our country. It is important that we should be guided by our conscience, not by any political affiliations or “utang na loob” when we go to the precincts tomorrow to cast our vote.

When we read or hear the news about this and that political candidate, it is very important to read between the lines. Analyze what is being said and what is not. It also helps to know who the one writing the article is.

We had this exercise in our community sometime ago. We did this to hone our skills in critical reading. We lifted up several articles on the presidentiables from different newspapers and analyzed from whose point of view a particular article was written, whether the news was significant or not, whether it affects society or not, and whether the reader believed the news or not.

The sharing that came out of it was very revealing and informative. You know, news are always reported with a certain slant, that is why it is important to have a critical eye in reading.