Civility
Civility
Updated 01:33am (Mla time) Nov 11, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A12 of the November 11, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
CIVILITY is to politics as good manners are to personal relations. They are, first and foremost, a sign of healthy self-respect and a corresponding concern for others. Civility in our politics is about restraint in the same way that adulthood is all about learning responsibilities such as the need to exercise self-restraint.
Working for the public good is what our politicians are elected and paid to do. The personal experiences and emotions of our politicians are of concern to the public only to the extent that they help promote -- or impede -- the common welfare.
When, for example, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada snarls about his father's arrest, or Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago becomes shrill about the tragedy that struck her family, the line of public propriety has been crossed. In the same manner, when a senator uses the rules to derail hearings in the Commission on Appointments (simply because he or she can't stand that person and for no other reason), the line that separates personal feelings and abuse of power has been crossed.
There is no denying the fact that a senator like Estrada, upset over what he perceives to be the unjust detention of his father, has every right and even the duty to campaign for a more humane and sound national policy on political arrests. Likewise a senator who has lived through the horrors of a family suicide, like Santiago, has an obligation to work for a more compassionate and caring educational system. But in either case, as servants of the people, they should be concerned with improving institutions rather than wrecking them. Launching personal vendettas based on grudges does not serve the public interest and is plainly an abuse of power.
Government positions carry with them privileges that are generally referred to as official courtesies. A senator, for example, can use the title "Honorable" and the number 7 on his car as part of such official courtesies. And these courtesies are given to these officials by virtue of the position they hold. Contrary to common belief, the pomp of power has a practical basis, and that basis is to solidify, in both the public mind and that of the person holding the position, the reality that they hold positions of responsibility-and honor.
When a government official begins to use power merely to gratify the ego or feed a grudge, a fundamental requirement of good governance is set aside. That requirement is self-control. When self-control is lost, decency also is lost. "When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency," as Samuel Johnson once wrote.
It is indecent for an official to use a position to enrich a family, to oppress an opponent, or pass laws that are detrimental to the common welfare. We all know this. But it is just as indecent for an official to abuse the courtesies their positions enable them to enjoy. It is equally indecent for officials to lord it over their countrymen, either by flying off the handle, in the process delaying enactment of a law, or by turning an investigation into a circus. Using parliamentary immunity to make libelous speeches, or ruining a person's career because you don't like his face, is utterly indecent, too.
Updated 01:33am (Mla time) Nov 11, 2004
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A12 of the November 11, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
CIVILITY is to politics as good manners are to personal relations. They are, first and foremost, a sign of healthy self-respect and a corresponding concern for others. Civility in our politics is about restraint in the same way that adulthood is all about learning responsibilities such as the need to exercise self-restraint.
Working for the public good is what our politicians are elected and paid to do. The personal experiences and emotions of our politicians are of concern to the public only to the extent that they help promote -- or impede -- the common welfare.
When, for example, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada snarls about his father's arrest, or Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago becomes shrill about the tragedy that struck her family, the line of public propriety has been crossed. In the same manner, when a senator uses the rules to derail hearings in the Commission on Appointments (simply because he or she can't stand that person and for no other reason), the line that separates personal feelings and abuse of power has been crossed.
There is no denying the fact that a senator like Estrada, upset over what he perceives to be the unjust detention of his father, has every right and even the duty to campaign for a more humane and sound national policy on political arrests. Likewise a senator who has lived through the horrors of a family suicide, like Santiago, has an obligation to work for a more compassionate and caring educational system. But in either case, as servants of the people, they should be concerned with improving institutions rather than wrecking them. Launching personal vendettas based on grudges does not serve the public interest and is plainly an abuse of power.
Government positions carry with them privileges that are generally referred to as official courtesies. A senator, for example, can use the title "Honorable" and the number 7 on his car as part of such official courtesies. And these courtesies are given to these officials by virtue of the position they hold. Contrary to common belief, the pomp of power has a practical basis, and that basis is to solidify, in both the public mind and that of the person holding the position, the reality that they hold positions of responsibility-and honor.
When a government official begins to use power merely to gratify the ego or feed a grudge, a fundamental requirement of good governance is set aside. That requirement is self-control. When self-control is lost, decency also is lost. "When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency," as Samuel Johnson once wrote.
It is indecent for an official to use a position to enrich a family, to oppress an opponent, or pass laws that are detrimental to the common welfare. We all know this. But it is just as indecent for an official to abuse the courtesies their positions enable them to enjoy. It is equally indecent for officials to lord it over their countrymen, either by flying off the handle, in the process delaying enactment of a law, or by turning an investigation into a circus. Using parliamentary immunity to make libelous speeches, or ruining a person's career because you don't like his face, is utterly indecent, too.
posted by Dante at 1:21 PM
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