Please don’t say that

“Spend some time this weekend on home improvement; improve your attitude toward your family.”

—Bo Bennett

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IF you lost in the recent elections, please refrain from justifying the defeat by parroting the oft-repeated declaration, “Now, I have more time for my family” or “it’s a blessing in disguise because I can now spend more time for my children.”

Or “it’s God’s will so I can be with my family when they need me anytime.”

Let’s leave God alone. He has nothing to do whatsoever with our ambition and frustrations. How many of us remember Him when we are on top of the world?

If we lost, that’s it; call spade a spade. No excuses. No eerie justification. It’s part of the game.

It will boomerang if we complain and grumble. It will not sound favorably. It’s not nice in the ears.

That means we never prioritized our family? Or we are now telling all and sundry we placed politics above our family during the halcyon years of our political life?

And now that we have been vanquished, our children suddenly have become our priority, nay aces in the hole?

 

-o0o-

 

Denis Baker said even in defeat, we must remain humble. It’s a character trait that every leader should posses.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “there is perhaps not one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”

Children, or family for that matter, can’t and shouldn’t be second fiddle.

No political success and failure and even prestige can match the value of children and family.

They are the priority, not politics; not money and fame; not title and victories. They are so important because of all the love and support they provide whether we win or lose in any competition.

Being with family, not with fellow politicians or “people who need our assistance in public service,” helps construct our principles and improves our overall mental health.

 

-o0o-

 

Spending time with our family is key to our development as it promotes adaptability and resilience.

Such key lessons can only be taught by family members coaching each other regarding life’s ups and downs.

Family is what makes us who we are. Not politics. Not “my commitment to public service and to serve the poor or those who are in need.”

According to Highland Springs, a Plos One study showed that participants’ stress, happiness, and well-being levels were better predicted by their social circle strength than by the physical health data collected on a fitness tracker.

This shows just how important time with family (or close friends we call family) is to our physical and mental health and why family is important.

The benefits of spending time with family is such a critical component of a full, meaningful life.

Let us remember, family doesn’t necessarily have to be considered blood relatives. Close friends, a guardian, or step siblings are well within the realm of who we consider family.

 

-o0o-

 

MILLIONS OF SPERM. Although it only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg, a man whose ejaculate yields less than 35 million sperm is considered infertile.

PREGNANCY. If a woman experiences an orgasm during sex, she's more likely to become pregnant, since orgasmic spasms in pelvic muscles can help move sperm up the vaginal canal to the uterus.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

Politicians aren’t trusted and no value historically

“There is no dignity in wickedness, whether in purple or rags; and hell is a democracy of devils, where all are equals.”

--Herman Melville

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

POLITICIANS have not been popular in history even if some of them were good (we didn’t say honest).

Either they were considered as liabilities or merchants of graft and corruption in any government.

More people are having negative thoughts about politicians, especially in the Philippines where corruption is prevalent since time immemorial.

From local executives to members of congress, people think they do a somewhat or very bad job at listening to their concerns in their district and are interested more on their personal whims and caprices.

Constituents doubt if politicians keep their personal financial interests separate from their work in congress, or if they are working with members of the opposing party, like what one presidential sister has been doing, and taking responsibility for their actions.

The public is especially negative when it comes to whether members of congress take responsibility for their actions. Nearly majority are saying congressional members under the speakership of a presidential cousin do a bad job taking responsibility and do a very bad job at this.

 

-o0o-

 

In Dante’s Inferno, figures of political significance, both those who were alive during his time and those who were historical figures, were portrayed as part of the damned.

That’s why veteran and neophyte politicians who will win in the May 12, 2025 Philippine elections can also be considered as “candidates” in Dante’s Inferno if they allow themselves to be swallowed by the prevailing system.

Hell is the state of the soul after death, but it is also the state of the world as seen by an exile whose experience has taught him no longer to trust the world’s values.

We’re referring to the would-be thieves and the thieves--those involved in multi-million scams and think they were able to get away with them.

They think reelection or being elected into public office is enough for their trespasses or crimes to be forgotten and forgiven.

It's not surprising that politicians and figures of political importance were featured prominently in this work of political commentary and criticism.

Using the Inferno, Dante condemned the actions and beliefs of political figures, including their involvement in factional disputes and their corrupt practices.

For example, Ciacco, a soul in the Inferno, reportedly makes political predictions about the future of Florence, including the expulsion of Dante's political faction (the White Guelphs) from the city.

Dante also criticized Pope Boniface VIII, who was an opponent of the White Guelphs.

Additionally, many of the historical figures included in Dante's Inferno were involved in political power struggles and conflicts during Dante's lifetime or in the past.

Dante critiques their actions and beliefs and highlights their failures in moral and political terms by including them in his depiction of Hell.

 

-o0o-

 

Dante’s Inferno is a vision of the City of Man in the afterlife, which is why it contains no glimmer of forgiveness.

At the same time, it may also be thought of a radical representation of the world in which we live, stripped of all temporizing and all hope.

There is no sign of Christian forgiveness for thieves in Dante’s Inferno.

The dominant theme is not mercy but justice, dispensed with severity of the ancient law of retribution.

Every reader was amazed by Dante’s Inferno, by the frights, the obscenities, the filth and effluvia of a vision in which execration was often the central act of perception, and suffering the central spectacle of desire.

The sinners--the lustful, gluttonous, treacherous--are caught forever.

Politicians had remind themselves of that.

In the passage set in the Eight Circle, serpents surround and tear at thieves, who catch fire, burn, and are then reconstituted, like the phoenix. But when they are reborn out of their own ashes, they only suffer again.

 

-o0o-

 

In Robert Pinsky’s bilingual edition, The Inferno of Dante’s new verse translation, this was how the thieves are punished in Canto XXIV, 91-120:

Among this cruel and depressing swarm,

ran people who were naked, terrified,

with no hope of a hole or heliotrope.

Their hands were tied behind by serpents; these had thrust their head and tail right through the loins,

And then were knotted on the other side.

And--there!--a serpent sprang with force at one who stood upon our shore, transfixing him just where the neck and shoulders form a knot.

No o or i has ever been transcribed

So quickly as that soul caught fire and burned

and, as he fell, completely turned to ashes;

and when he lay, undone, upon the ground,

the dust of him collected by itself

and instantly returned to what it was:

just so, it is asserted by great sages,

that, when it reaches its five-hundredth year,

the phoenix dies and is reborn again;

lifelong it never feeds on grass or grain,

only on drops of incense or amomum;

its final winding sheets are nard and myrrh.

And just as he who falls, and knows not how--

by demon’s force that drags him to the ground

or by some other hindrance that binds man--

who, when he rises, stares about him, all

bewildered by the heavy anguish he

has suffered, sighing as he looks around;

so did this sinner stare when he arose.

Oh, how severe it is, the power of God

that, as its vengeance, showers down such blows!

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)

Political advisers

“An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.”

--Albert Einstein

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

IT’S too late now for some candidates—both local and national—to fire or distance themselves from incompetent and harmful political advisers with barely days to go before the May 12, 2025 Philippine election.

They would be hounded by a question of “why only now?”

Sx months ago, we warned here that politicians intending to participate in the midterm polls must carefully select their lieutenants for the campaign because these subalterns could either ruin or make them great.

In most cases inutile, unproductive, corrupt, useless members of campaign staff—or even the so-called “alter egos” of candidates—are the ones who will give them the headaches and even pave their way to political perdition.

Sometimes these political advisers are the ones who need advice; maybe, they became part of the team with a purpose; they are there because of their nefarious objectives and selfishness.

They “give advice” and guidance to political candidates to enrich themselves, save their own ashes and promote their self interest, not to help the political candidates win.

 

-o0o-

 

But dismissing generals in the middle of a war is even disastrous and is considered a wrong move.

It has always been generally discouraged because it disrupts the established chain of command, can cause confusion and demoralize troops, and can hinder the development of effective strategies.

It is said that a stable command structure is crucial for effective communication, coordination, and the successful execution of military objectives.

In politics, hiring and trusting questionable advisers and members of campaign staff with sordid reputations is almost always a death trap or a sure recipe for defeat.

When we hear about someone finding massive success, they always get asked the lamest question in the world.

Garrett Petticrew said sometimes we should ignore most advice. Not because most advice is terrible, but because most advice is awful for us.

The human experience is unique, and each of our journeys is a journey of one, he emphasized.

“Your path is the only one you can walk, and until you learn to understand that, you’re going to have a bad time. It’s also hard enough to find our way without the distraction of useless advice,” added Petticrew.

Will Wight once said, “Cutting a road through a forest is always harder than following one already cut.”

Even in dealing with business, there’s a caveat to be wary of listening to those who are broke. If someone is trying to give us advice on how to make money, let’s ask yourselves one question: do they make a lot of money? If the answer is no, why would we listen to them? If they knew how to get rich, wouldn’t they use this knowledge to put money into their own accounts?

 

-o0o-

 

OUTSMARTING A SNACK ATTACK. Eating two small snacks a day can help us lose weight. Trouble is that research shows that we're munching more than ever before--choosing foods that are high in calories and fat--and packing on the pounds as a result. "Often we're not even hungry, but because we're surrounded by food, we're tempted to eat anyway," says Kerry Neville, Ph.D. of American Dietetic Association.

RESPECT THEIR PRIVACY, PLEASE. If cops in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho suspect a couple is having sex inside a vehicle they must honk their horn three times and wait two minutes before being allowed to approach the scene.

LET US STAND UP BEFORE TOUCHING THE TOILET HANDLE.  One in three people flush while sitting down. If we are one of them, let us consider this: When we flush, droplets of water spray in the air. That means we can be exposed to bacteria, which increases our risk of getting a urinary tract infection (UTI). (Source: Soap and Water & Common Sense)

LET US PRAY. "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy."--Saint Francis Of Assisi

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)