The Kind Of Democratic System That Runs Your Country Really Matters

Having a democratic government can be both good and bad depending on what kind of democracy runs a country. I remembered how I once wrote about how Filipinos need more discipline than democracy and how democracy is often confused with a dysfunctional sense of freedom. 

What defines democracy in the first place? Democracy is defined as a government of the people, by the people and for the people. It was never meant to defined as government that's only of the majority, by the majority and for the majority to start with. Don't tell me that the minority are not of the people because the people will always comprise both majorities and minorities. True the majority wins the seat yet it doesn't mean that the minority shouldn't be heard if they have something useful to say. Both the majority and the minority must be considered. But not so when it comes to Philippine democracy!

The problem of Philippine's presidential democracy is that it's a government by stupid people, for stupid people and of stupid people

This is not an attack on every single Filipino but to prove the point. The problem is that the majority of Filipinos are stupid but think that they're so smart (in reality many of them are anti-intellectual) and the worse part is that they smart Filipinos are frequently put down as "subjective morons" but look who is talking. This has resulted in the creation of a democracy that's by stupid people, for stupid people and of stupid people who think that they are so smart but when in fact they are so stupid.

What makes a person stupid or actions that show that they are really stupid? According to Independent UK the five habits of stupid people are the blame others for their OWN mistakes, they always have to be right, they always have an emotional overreaction, they ignore the feelings of others and that they have a high sense of superiority (and they even badmouth others to make themselves look good). Isn't it a problem commonly observed among Filipinos for some time that they would rather blame others (ex. blaming foreigners for the plight they caused themselves), they can't accept that they could be wrong, they would rather react to criticism in every annoying way possible, they do what they want ignoring that others may be annoyed or disturbed by them, and they think that they are the best (such as saying Americans are white apes all the while complaining that Americans are racist is a good example). 

The stupidity of the majority has caused various consequences to the Philippines. Let's take a review of past presidents. Why do you think that suddenly the late Cory Aquino a housewife with NO knowledge in politics suddenly got into power? But if that's not enough we would have more stupidity going on such as a House of Representative and Senate filled with actors and athletes who know NOTHING about legislation. I'm just glad that Agot Isidro and Jim Paredes aren't running. But who can remember the time when Joseph Estrada was the president that the House of Representatives and the Senate or the bicameral legislature was full of actors and athletes instead of doctors, lawyers and economists who could have proposed better laws? 

So what happens as that needs to be stated that you get a country that buys the Filipino, poor the Filipino and off the Filipino as a result. It's sad how many Filipinos don't even notice that's the kind of plight they've been in for decades! They would vote for officials based on preposterous promises, they vote out said official for failing to do so AND they elect another official who makes even more preposterous promises. It's nothing more than a band-aid solution where you apply band-aids on wounds that need serious treatment. It's just like blaming the outdated computers that your office staff can't do their work any better. How is it a government that buys the Filipino? It's because vote buying is very common. It's poor the Filipino because the government continues to ensure policies such as economic protectionism which blesses the oligarchy while lying it blesses the Filipino. The worst result is that it offs the Filipino into the same cycle of stupidity. 

How the presidential-parliamentary system is a superior kind of democracy that's truly for the people, by the people and of the people 

The presidential-parliamentary system offers a unique set-up where you have a Head of State (president) and Head of Government (prime minister). I could agree to having Manny Pacquiao as a unifying figure or president but only under the parliamentary system -- he is a unifying figure. President Rodrigo R. Duterte looks more like he should be the prime minister. The same set-up could have been done would have Fidel V. Ramos succeeded in converting the Philippines into a parliamentary. A good example is that we would have President Joseph Estrada and Prime Minister Jose De Venecia. President Estrada is a charismatic guy and would better as a good Head of State or unifying figure. Prime Minister De Venecia is highly intelligent but lacks the charisma to lead the people. Intelligence doesn't always translate into influence.

Parliamentary systems offer a superior kind of democracy fbecause they are very much credibility driven and not popularity-driven. How is it a better said that it's a democracy that's true for the people, by the people, and of the people? It's because the parliamentary listens to both sides of the coin -- both the Majority Bloc (which wins the Government seats) and the Minority Bloc (which wins the Opposition seats) where both of them share their ideas. One side represents the majority and the other represents the minority. This is where both the Majority and Minority are listened to and both come to terms with a feasible solution. That is not the case in a popularity-based democracy where the minority is usually bullied into submission as simply "subjective morons".

A credibility-driven democracy will make sure people who get the most seats whether it's the Government Bloc or the Opposition Bloc is this -- they aren't plagued with people who know nothing about legislation. Instead, you will have the challenge of the most competitive minds. You won't be having a beauty contest. Instead, you will be having people who are in the Battle of the Brains. Both the Government Bloc and Opposition Bloc will compete to who has the best ideas rather than to who is more popular. 

The problem is that the majority or minority isn't always right or wrong. What's right is always right regardless whether or not the majority or minority believes it. The parliamentary system's weekly question hour invites everyone to debate for a common cause. Both the Majority and Minority engage head on against each other. The majority may have won while the minority is given its voice to find defects from the other side. It's a government that respects both sides of the coin to ensure a safe and secure society for both sides of the coin. The minority is just as listened to by the majority because everyone has both valid and invalid points, right?

Updated: November 10, 2019