Monday, February 11

some excerpts...

i have many things to write, but really haven't found the time nowadays... too many deadlines to beat and too many works to be done... this one's related to the ongoing Lozada saga that is gripping the country right now...

(from Manuel L. Quezon III column in the Inquirer)

To illustrate. The whole country knows he said, “Thomas Aquinas said the worst form of corruption is the corruption of the best.” But he also shared this story: “Rizal asked his brother Paciano, ‘Did God make us poor and silent, or we were so misgoverned we ended up that way?’ Paciano couldn’t answer. Two years later, Rizal wrote to Paciano, and said, ‘In my travels abroad I have the answer: We didn’t get the right kind of government from our leaders.’”

And he said, with a voice beginning to tremble once more, “We must make it too expensive for someone to screw up the country. Only then will the next person will have second, third, fourth thoughts about trying to mess the country up.”

And to me and a nun fascinated by the conversation, he said, “If you want to understand my moral compass, there’s this book I read [‘Leadership: The Inner Side of Greatness, A Philosophy for Leaders,’ by Peter Koestenbaum], in which this question was tackled: ‘Why is it that billions have walked the earth while only a few have stood the test of time? And yet those few lived at a time when there were many who were more powerful or famous than them?’ When a group of thinkers examined these people, they identified four polarities. First, they had a Transformative Vision, for example, Christ’s concept of love. Second, they had Courage, even if it meant going against the trend, like Mohammed. Third, they had a Firm Grasp of Reality. Fourth, they had Unbending Ethics. The four things form a kind of diamond and with all sides present, you have a formidable leader. But if any side is lacking it’s enough to doom any leader.”