Since Nic Musico created the eGroup, “Romblon Political Forum”
to discuss issues what ails the birth province, my yearning to “go
home” is growing stronger as I read postings from fellow Romblonese
all over the globe. It was said home is not a geographical place,
but home is where your heart is.
With the looming
national elections the thread of discussion in the forum ranges from
“high priority issues” and choice of prospective personalities
who could represent best the province in the halls of Congress and
the office of the governor. They must be tenacious in their goals
with the ability to rise from petty partisanship, qualities of leadership
the province needs most.
Since election
of political leaders is akin to nation building, my commentary would
be largely drawn from a spiritual point of view. Mankind incarnate
as we are could not negate that we are spiritual beings too. Driving
home my point, since we are spiritual creatures, heretofore, we ought
to take a look of that dimension of our life individually and in a
wider sense our community.
That being said
let me introduce the person of Nehemiah, a biblical character and
my model what a community builder is. In the centuries of old, when
foreign invaders crushed the City of Jerusalem the conquerors were
wise enough, however, to preserve the life of young but talented Hebrews
and herded them for training in preparation for leadership positions.
One of these young talents is Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was
not born from a princely family, but found himself in a unique position.
He is a man of character, persistence, and a man of prayer—a
brilliant planner, organizer and an excellent people manager. He was
appointed “cup bearer” to King Artaxerxes of Persia, now
the modern day Iran. As cupbearer, his political power is not much,
but wields great influence to the king.
One day his fellow
countrymen who just arrived from Judah reported, “things are
not doing well” in the their old homeland because “the walls
of the city has been torn down” and the gates were razed, exposing
Jerusalem from external attacks.
Nehemiah hearing
the sad news grieved. For days he wept and fasted and prayed to God.
Said he, “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who
keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands,
let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your
servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the
people of Israel.”
Eventually, Nehemiah
brought the matter to the king and sought the king’s permission
to allow him to return to his old homeland to rebuild the city. But
prior to his discussion with the king, Nehemiah prayed briefly before
responding to the king’s query what he ails him when the king
noticed his sad countenance.
The king granted
Nehemiah’s request for an extended leave of absence. Confirming
Nehemiah’s appointment, the king issued letters of introduction
to provide Nehemiah assist in his endeavour to rebuild the City of
Jerusalem.
Curiously, since
time immemorial there are elements in every culture and era that are
perennial detractors. Nehemiah in his quest to promote the welfare
of the Israelites, the obstructionists, Sanballat and Tobiah, registered
fierce opposition. Sanballat and his ilk plotted together to come
and fight Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. In their determination
to hinder the good work, they threatened Nehemiah that his activities
will be reported to the king as an act of rebellion.
Somehow, in every
trouble that Nehemiah encountered, first and foremost, his first response
is to pray for God’s help. Interestingly enough, the God of heaven
graciously granted his just requests. In record time, the impossible
task of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem was done in fifty-two
days despite massive opposition.
Gleaned from
the biblical account I am of the opinion that people of Romblon could
learn valuable lessons from the experience of Nehemiah as we prepare
for the election of provincial officials. There are three principles
I could cite: First, as Romblonese, we must develop a genuine concern
for the kind of officials we are going to elect. The true selections
do not begin on the Election Day. Election begins when in every heart
of Asi, Unhan, and Romblomanon speakers have a burden to choose wisely
the next governor and congressman.
Second, I noticed
that we Romblonese are very religious. We observe a lot of fiestas
all year round in honour of patron saints. Since we are religious,
does it follow that we are people of prayer too? Nehemiah from beginning
to end always commit in prayer every decision and action he does.
Prayer for direction should not be an afterthought rattled off during
the oath taking ceremony. But prayer must be said as a foundation
even before the campaign period commences.
Third, we have
to face the situation honestly. Massive vote buying is the curse that
afflicts the body politic in Romblon. A couple of five hundred pesos
are too tempting to turn down. The lingering question I have in mind
is, are our kasimanua prepared to resist the inducement of being bought
out? In other words, let us realistically appraise where we are.
Concluding my
point let me extract a passage from the Book of Psalms, which I quote,
“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in
vain.”
