The Birthplace or Hometown

And Democratic Life

By Apolinario Villalobos

The “birthplace” in case we are an indigenous resident, or “hometown” in case we are an immigrant/migrant is the only place that we can officially claim as our “place of residence”. Common sense then, dictates that we should love and respect it. We should not badmouth it, rather, if not satisfied with the prevailing situation or how it is administered politically, we have an option to move out and transfer to another place that suits us. We should not be grossly ingrate to the town, city, province, or country that provides us with a niche. It should be noted that whatever dissatisfaction develops in us points to the people who administer the locality we live in, NOT THE PLACE, so that there is no sense in destroying its image. It has got nothing to do with the proliferation of drugs, or any crime for that matter, or if developments did not happen as expected…BLAME THE CONCERNED AUTHORITIES. IF YOU SOLD YOUR VOTE DURING THE ELECTION…BLAME YOURSELF!

The place where we live permanently or temporarily is what we write down in documents required in any legal transaction as “residence”, whether we like it or not….. or whether we hate or love it…..we got no choice. Without such information, we become “stateless”. In this regard, as we are citizens of a democratic country, we live by the rule of the majority. We have the right to make protests against any act of our leaders that do not suit our taste but should be ready with options to support our stand….and, protests should be done with sanity and sense. It is our right to belong to the opposition, albeit, minority in number. But, again, we must abide by the rule of the majority….because, IT IS ASSUMED that in a democratic country, the majority rules…if it does not happen, we are bound to suffer.

The best thing that we can do if we persist on living in a certain place despite dissatisfaction is to cooperate as best as we could. For our consolation, we should look at the brighter side of our locality and not meddle in politics, as much as possible, for it may just aggravate our bad feelings. We should open our eyes and look around us to know where we could pour in our support. And, we could best do it if we are non-political so that regardless of who wins in an election, we can still wholeheartedly extend our hand without any trace of pretension.

Finally, the focus of our loyalty should be the “place” not the “people” who administer it.