Nineteen years after EDSA 1, excessive politics has divided this country into even more factions.  After EDSA 2, hatred and anger for the people who deposed Joseph Estrada has escalated this vicious cycle of politics into the rule of the mob.

In this proxy war, the Opposition is trying its darndest to stoke the flames of anger and discontent among the masa against the administration, which Opposition strategists are picturing as the ruling, unfeeling elite.  Unfortunately, GMA, even if she's no longer popular with the upper crust of society, still belongs to that level.

Consider the disparity between the images of GMA and Joseph Estrada.  One is pictured as a privileged and pampered snob while the other is being portrayed as a champion of the masses, everybody's pare whose screen image has successfully merged with real life.

The very poor have tasted what it was like to be at the peak of power, vicarious as it was, during Joseph Estrada's term.  It is exactly this hankering that the Opposition is trying to feed.  And now rising fuel costs and an impending economic crisis provide a convenient setting for the final showdown.

Instead of devoting resources and ideas to finding solutions to the problems, people have been subjected to endless wrangling.  Politicians from both camps are seemingly intent on debating themselves to oblivion for their agendas.  That's the level of devolution our politics has sunk to.  Something's got to give and it should come soon.

Credit should go to El Shaddai leader Mike Velarde for brokering a peace agreement before the situation turns into something uglier.  He offered his 66th birthday celebration as a staging ground for the dramatic meeting between GMA and Erap.  Brother Mike had hoped this would pave the way for the signing of a "Covenant of Solidarity."

Failing that, he proposed a blueprint of reconciliation through a coalition government still headed by GMA that will gather the best political minds and including those from various sectors.  As Congressman Boying Remulla put it: "Blessed are the peacemakers."  And we certainly need more of them at this time.

What politicians need to do is to really seek lasting solutions to the problems that our country is facing.  Their efforts alone may not be the answer.  The bottom line is people are really getting tired of this whole crisis.  They want it to be resolved one way or the other.

We cannot keep going back and forth like this because business has slowed down, to say the least.  And the economic slowdown compounded by the rising cost of fuel is really a major problem.  For this to happen, we must also be prepared to change our politics.  We cannot keep on expecting one person to change overnight the ills this country is experiencing.

True, our politicians have a hand—and a big one at that—in what is happening in this country.  However, it is also our lack of maturity and responsibility that has brought us to the hole we find ourselves in.  It is understandable that people are getting more frustrated and disappointed because no solution seems to be working.  While most people are plodding on and making do, politicians continue with their "Viva la pepa!" attitude.

It is really time for this country to start moving forward and for people to begin looking beyond their petty selves.  If the country as a whole could forgive the Japanese their atrocities during the war, then it's time to forgive.

We cannot keep on carrying the baggage of past transgressions because it will always bog us down and prevent us from moving forward the way we should.  Some financial analysts are saying that our economy will zoom up if we show political maturity as a people and succeed in solving our differences in a peaceful and constitutional manner.

Common sense dictates that the perceived change in the political situation will positively affect the economy.  There's so much anger in the air.  One can learn from Richard Nixon after resigning during his farewell speech to the White House staff when he said, "Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win—unless you hate them, and then you begin to destroy yourself."

When you hate the people who have done you wrong and cannot forgive, then you're allowing them to get the better of you.  In the end, you will be like them—bitter for the rest of your life.  In my case, I have long forgiven all my enemies, but certainly have not forgotten their names.

At the end of the day, fear, anger and hate form the vicious cycle leading to suffering.  If we don't put an end to this vicious cycle of politics, we will end up like Rwanda, Somalia or Liberia that became failed states because of the warlordism and factionalism by their leaders.

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda between the Hutus and the Tutsis killed more than half a million in just three months, and the repercussions are still being felt to this day.  Somalia has no national government and seems to be cursed with famine and factionalism from all sides driving people to hunger and abject poverty.  Factionalism has destroyed these countries.

There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel.  There are still a lot of young businessmen ready to take risks in this country as they continue to put up small and medium enterprises.  Jollibee's recent purchase of Red Ribbon prove that businessmen are here to stay because they believe in this country.

We also have a lot of young, idealistic military officers who are prepared to die for this country.  These people to whom the torch will be passed on—give this country hope.

In hindsight, perhaps it would have been better if GMA had not run in the last elections.  The Opposition would not have fielded FPJ and perhaps he would still be alive today.  GMA's role would have been to make sure the elections was on an even playing field and then there would be no question on who would have won.  But be that as it may, the candidate she had beaten is no longer around.

Nevertheless, we must resolve all the issues surrounding the impeachment sooner rather than later.  The vicious cycle of the politics of destruction must stop otherwise we will ultimately destroy ourselves.

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Email: babeseyeview@hotmail.com

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