As I said, politics run deep in the Ginete family. As a rule, we are a typical provincial family where local politics are better appreciated than national and abstract ones. It seems that like most Filipinos we tend to get affected and therefore act on our politics only when we feel them in our gut.
So if you have been to a Ginete gathering, one of the most discussed topics is politics - local politics that is. The loyalty lines also tend to get blurred as time passes. Once, when we were growing up, the rivalry between the Ginete's and the de Castro's for the mayorship of Bulan was very palpable. Now, most of our relatives are on the side of the de Castro's. Practicality I think dictates these shifts.
But we also have fissures within the family. So as it is there is no single vote for the Ginete family. We are as independent as anyone and that may prove to be a liability especially if hardball politics were the name of the game. I think our capacity to tolerate other viewpoints and beliefs result in a less than cohesive group and thus, not a very attractive option for ay politician. Thus you will find that other cousins are in the opposite side of the political fence fiercely guarding their independence. We have not been able to leverage as much as we can from the fact that we are really one big group of family.
One may also argue that the same fissures are the reasons why there is so much poverty in our group - mirroring a national condition if you will. The lack of cohesion does not bring us much benefits as a group. The lack of a credible leader exacerbates this.
On the other hand, we ask ourselves, should we depend on politics to improve our lot? Should we not take avantage of our being large, as a group, and pool our resources so we can grow them for everyone's benefit? Are our leaders' visions just tied with their own ambitions of advancing their political careers? You see that by and large, those who wanted to lead us do so because of an ultimate, if not discreetly avowed, agenda: getting a political office.
I think politics cannot be avoided. I also think that as a group, the Ginete family needs to leverage its size to its benefit. We will be able to do that only when a credible leader arises who has he vision that will be embraced by all. Without this leader, we are like leaves scattered on a wide ground.
So if you have been to a Ginete gathering, one of the most discussed topics is politics - local politics that is. The loyalty lines also tend to get blurred as time passes. Once, when we were growing up, the rivalry between the Ginete's and the de Castro's for the mayorship of Bulan was very palpable. Now, most of our relatives are on the side of the de Castro's. Practicality I think dictates these shifts.
But we also have fissures within the family. So as it is there is no single vote for the Ginete family. We are as independent as anyone and that may prove to be a liability especially if hardball politics were the name of the game. I think our capacity to tolerate other viewpoints and beliefs result in a less than cohesive group and thus, not a very attractive option for ay politician. Thus you will find that other cousins are in the opposite side of the political fence fiercely guarding their independence. We have not been able to leverage as much as we can from the fact that we are really one big group of family.
One may also argue that the same fissures are the reasons why there is so much poverty in our group - mirroring a national condition if you will. The lack of cohesion does not bring us much benefits as a group. The lack of a credible leader exacerbates this.
On the other hand, we ask ourselves, should we depend on politics to improve our lot? Should we not take avantage of our being large, as a group, and pool our resources so we can grow them for everyone's benefit? Are our leaders' visions just tied with their own ambitions of advancing their political careers? You see that by and large, those who wanted to lead us do so because of an ultimate, if not discreetly avowed, agenda: getting a political office.
I think politics cannot be avoided. I also think that as a group, the Ginete family needs to leverage its size to its benefit. We will be able to do that only when a credible leader arises who has he vision that will be embraced by all. Without this leader, we are like leaves scattered on a wide ground.
