The Timeless Soil of Democratic Involvement

The Timeless Soil of Democratic Involvement

By: Athena Nicole O. Santos

The most ideal place to start is, of course, at home with the children.

A democracy is a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” (History, 2019), a definition immortalized by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address. For us, it has been almost a century since the Filipinos first tasted democracy. The question is: were we able to sustain it? Let us unpack this.

The reflexive answer to this is a proud “oo naman!” followed by an eerie silence when asked how, why, or for whom. Certainly, it is easy to highlight the few great fruits this democracy bore over the years. We talk about our Independence Day, the prosecutions and arrests of Estrada and Arroyo for corruption and electoral fraud (Mogato, 2011), and of course, the famous bloodless People Power Revolution.

We commit these good times to memory, but it becomes dangerous when we leave it at that; content with a distant blissful memory. These bubbles of democratic victories merely sprout every couple of years, as if it were a rare plant that appears only in special seasons. These democratic victories are both fruit and seed to sustain a genuine democracy. You might be wondering: but what is a “genuine” democracy? To which I answer you with: a state of governance that is more than just a title; in other words, a democracy’s theory in practice. A government that is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The more democratic victories or fruits, the more sustained our democracy or tree becomes. The more sustained our democracy or tree, the better for our nation and its children. Given this democratic tree exists like any other tree, where does it stand to get its means to live?

It is simply the timeless soil of democratic involvement. Democratic involvement or participation “refers to the control ordinary members of a collectivity have over the selection of their superordinates and the policies and procedures adopted in the collectivity” (Schonfeld, 1975, p. 156). Simplifying and tailor-fitting the definition to this article, democratic involvement is the active participation of people in the matters of their respective social groups.

Unfortunately, our soil may be deficient of democratic involvement for the past several years. As a direct effect, take for example the voter registration for the upcoming 2022 presidential elections. As of February this year, there are still 15 million unregistered or deactivated voters (Senate of the Philippines, 2021). On the other hand, indirect effects of this lack of democratic involvement are the estimated 27,000 deaths from the drug war’s extrajudicial killings (Tostevin & Morales, 2019), the passage of the infamous Anti-Terror Law that “violates 15 out of 22 items in the Bill of Rights” (Buan, 2021) which in turn increases the likelihood of the state to use violence and coercion on peaceful assemblies, and so on. Tolerance and toxic resilience presuppose these effects; the presence of these undermine democracy.

Why is this happening? There may be different subjective reasons, but they all boil down to the culture that propagates the lack of democratic involvement. This is why we are all encouraged to start planting democratic spaces anywhere possible-- in the classroom, at home, in a circle of friends, and in workplaces. Although it is easier said than done, it is as simple as that.

The most ideal place to start is, of course, at home with the children. Listen to them, get them involved in family matters, reason with them, and so on. Favorably, the FLCD Circle’s Learning at Home series had this topic in one of its posts; it is entitled “Ano Yun, ‘Nak?: A Guide to Listening and Acknowledging Children’s Voices.” There we explain what it is, why we should do it, and how it is done. You may check it out here: LAH 2.3 or access through this link: https://bit.ly/LAH2-3

You have the seed. Now, it is up to you to till the soil. Let us dare to hope for a future with tall, sturdy, and sustained trees of democracy. I would love to hear from you! Send me your comments or feedback at aosantos3@up.edu.ph