Randy David never dreamed to run for Congress or any electoral seat. In his newspaper columns, he writes his travels, family, and more often are his readings and teachings as a professor and how they are linked to daily events. His writings never told or gave an impression that he wants to run for politics, not even after reportedly consistent offers to be politically supported, election after election.jhui3nbzga
Randy David (Source: Wikipedia)
He is a Filipino intellectual yet he never had arrogance to push ideas to his readers; However good or bad the result was, he celebrated the instances when the Philippines decide as a group of people, as nation. This is the source of respect to him as a media personality and more so as an academic.
He can cite Marx, Nietzsche, Kant and other great thinkers with full credibility. He can discuss when their thoughts are reflective of current events, without the vagueness and quixotic sense, like traps, young activists can fall into when it’s them who discuss.
As a sociologist, he knows the strength and weakness of Filipinos as a nation and as political system. As a columnist, and at times as TV host, he relays it and makes sense of cause-and-effect in a manner that his readers and viewers can understand. Being a professor, he describes the Philippines more often as if he’s outside the picture, but no doubt he can describe it in an insider’s perspective. Amidst the presently sad political state, he is a proud Filipino. He sees the high hopes of Filipinos and writes the packets of potentials to realise those hopes.
And he also knows he is part of the society he studies. He joined calls that ousted President Marcos. He again joined in a major rally 20 years after where he was arrested on a crackdown later that day when Proclamation 1017 was issued.
Now there’s the news about him running in the second district of Pampanga as a congressman. He has not declared his candidacy but he essentially told that he may seriously think about it on two premises: President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which he strongly criticises in his columns, will run as a Congressman and no legitimate opponent will fight against her.
The recent resolution for a constituent assembly by House of Congress, dominated by Arroyo-allied lawmakers, hope to change the Philippine political system from a presidential to parliamentary. It is rumoured that after her term expires in 2010, Arroyo hopes to become a congressman and eventually the prime minister.
My first thought upon hearing this news is that David could be running not for the best reason. This will be against of what seemed to me he believes. I recall he wrote about Mohandas Gandhi of India and mentioned about “self-rule”.
“Although he was an organizer and leader of the Indian National Congress, Gandhi shunned government, believing that the only real basis for social order was self-rule, i.e., every person learning to govern himself,” he wrote.
Yet David may be running with the best, however trivial, reason. He wants to stop the politics that Arroyo represents.
But after my surprise settled and read what he really meant, I found out that he is not really talking about politics as usual. He’s calling to individual Filipinos saying don’t take anything that’s against your values sitting down.
In a TV interview with ABS-CBN News, he says, “Huwag na nating dugtungan ang buhay ng ganyang klase ng pulitika. (Let us not continue that type of politics.)”
“Kung kinakailangan na ang isang karaniwang mamayang katulad ko ay tumayo upang ialok ang sarili para hamunin ang ganyang balak, hindi ko tatalikuran yan (If a regular citizen like me needs to offer himself and challenge that plan [for Arroyo to run as congressman], I will not turn around from it),” he later added.
He is part of the only few that can say it and then the listener will seriously reflect. Certainly the professor is a child of science and not of day-to-day politics.
That is Randy David, the teacher and leader.