By BGen. Alexander Cabales (Ret.)
Heaven or hell
There was a soldier who died at the prime of his life. Surprisingly, when he met Saint Peter on his judgment day, he was allowed to choose between Heaven and Hell. However, it was not an easy thing for him to come up with a quick choice. He was not a religious type of person and he did not even mind if there was Heaven or Hell when he was still alive. Anyway, be as it may, he requested Saint Peter that before he makes a decision, he needed to have a glimpse of these two places. This request was gladly granted by Saint Peter.
The soldier’s first tour was in Hell. He was warmly welcomed by Lucifer himself who toured him around the surprisingly lush gardens, clear flowing streams and beautiful scenery. He was shown the blooming flowers, the colorful butterflies and the cheerful singing birds. He saw most of his friends there, luxuriating under the shade of trees that were cooled by a gentle breeze. Some were just playing cards, chess or mahjong while sipping tea or their favorite native coffee. Others were drinking expensive wine with the best “pulutan” one can imagine.
It seems that everybody was having a good time in Hell. The soldier’s excitement of what he saw was so overwhelming that he never even wondered why these people, despite their sinful lives on earth, were rewarded with a blissful afterlife!
The soldier went on to observe Heaven next. He saw that Heaven was not much different from Hell. It was also a good place to live in with almost identical gardens and streams and the same fresh air as he saw and observed in Hell. He got the same warm welcome by everybody although not in the same manner of reception given to him earlier in Hell where he felt like he was a VIP. Moreover, there were only a few of his friends that were there. Heaven just had an air of simplicity and serenity – no gaudy jokes and boisterous laughter as in Hell. He was a bit disappointed to learn that in “Heaven there is no beer”!
To cut the story short, the soldier chose to go to Hell instead of Heaven. And as soon as he announced his choice, he was sent with great haste direct to Hell. To his great surprise, Hell was not the same place that he saw in his observation tour earlier. It was in fact, the exact opposite. Gone were the beautiful gardens, the clean flowing streams, ‘the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees’. His friends who were just playing cards, chess or mahjong; or drinking wine the day before were now wallowing in stinking and boiling sulfuric mud and seemed to be in great agony! To this, he asked Lucifer why it was so. Lucifer then had this reply: “Well you see, Mr. General, yesterday was the campaign period but today you have already voted!”
The anecdote that I have just cited illustrates the prevailing condition every Filipino is subjected to with the forthcoming election. As usual, most candidates resort to all types of gimmickry to make people vote for them. They offer “heaven” or “a bed of roses” to the gullible citizens even if they do not have the genuine desire to serve or the capability the job required of them as public officials. The promise of good and faithful service to the people is easy to say but translating all these things into action is another matter.
So how could we be guided in choosing the right persons for the coveted positions? Perhaps we may need to critically take note of the candidates’ capacity or capability to fulfill their campaign promises by looking at their track records or previous performances in their basic fields of endeavor. We should know who the candidate was before he decided to run for public office. Was he a successful businessman, a distinguished lawyer, an outstanding educator, a good doctor or a career civil servant? Does he have a reputation of good service or is he somebody known for his vice? Is he his own self made man or is he just dependent on his family’s wealth or business. Does he got managerial or leadership skills or does he just live under the shadow of his parent’s good name? Was he a serious student or one who barely made it in a less reputable school?
Sadly, our electorate rarely bothers to pause and think whose names they write on their ballots come election time. This is the harsh reality in Philippine politics. Our ‘public servants’ are not always elected based on their preparations or aptitude for service. Like the soldier who was wowed by Lucifer who made a beautiful depiction of Hell, the electorate sometimes also chooses ‘Hell’ which is painted like ‘Heaven.’
Public service is a serious matter and it needs a lot of good preparation for one to dare go into it if he means business.
Once again, this forthcoming election is an opportunity for us to show that we have grown up to be intelligent voters. Let us look at each candidate’s ability and sincerity! If we err and complain later on to have been short changed by our government officials, then we will have nobody to blame except ourselves.
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