Vivid in my memory when one of my friends asked me, “Where did your parents get your name?” or worst, “Did you not found a better one?” accompanied with surreptitious smirked. At all times, whenever I bumped with this seemingly inevitable query, I would answer to what my parents had told me. Accordingly, my grandmother (peace be with her) cannot pronounced the name that should have been given to me. Because of traditional Filipino values of close-family ties that oftentimes needs the conformity of elders in every decision, my parents decided to look for an elder-friendly not-so-hard to articulate names. Winston was came into existence in our family. I was actually kept on reflecting why on earth they baptized me with this epithet, probably because it was a very popular cigarette thing that can be seen hanging elsewhere. And it is also a two-syllabic word that is not cumbersome to utter. But this article is not to further the story of my name. I don’t have yet the legal clamor to profess my greatness because I’m not great. I don’t have yet the story to tell because I haven’t been into an extensive battle that deserves a superfluous narrative. I don’t have yet the quality of a hero because I’m still wandering around the prairie of life’s intricacies and complexities to be honed and become one. The least thing that I could do is to tell the greatness of a man who happens to be my tucayo (namesake). I believe there is a need to reiterate the influence of great people in the long annals of history to evaluate if we fail or succeed in the present generation. Thanks to my classmate who wholeheartedly lend me his precious book entitled “Never Give In” authored by Stephen Mansfield. It is a biographical account of an exceptional man in the world history. Who is he? No less, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill. In the chronicles of leadership, this name certainly writ large. I never knew his heroic life until I read the entire text. Indeed he was a hero. With due respect to the author, I will quote some of the best phrases or sentences. Don’t call it plagiarism because I did not intend to make business out of it. I lift it because it is worth lifting for. It is just a manifestation of how your book influenced and transformed me. According to Henry Kissinger, “Our age finds it difficult to come grips with Churchill. The political leaders with whom we are familiar generally aspire to be superstars rather than heroes. The distinction is crucial. Superstars strive for approbation; heroes walk alone. Superstars crave consensus; heroes define themselves by the judgment of a future they see it as their task to bring about. Superstars seek success in a technique for eliciting support; heroes pursue success as the outgrowth of their inner values.” “For Churchill, leadership was not theater, not the assumption of a role far different from who he really was. His was leadership by example, by an authority gained through superior commitment and sacrifice, and by courage thoroughly tested in the fires of experience.” Of course, great men do not always possess great childhood, great family or even great love. This is true in Churchill’s case. During his childhood days “he was neglected, ridiculed, and misused by friends and family alike.” In addition, “he was brought up in an environment of political machinations and leisure class intrigues that seldom produces principled men of vision.” But he certainly had a confidant in the name of Mrs. Elizabeth Anne Everest – his nanny. She was one of the influences of Churchill in his childhood days. Mrs. Everest was “his comforter, his strength and stay, his one source of unfailing human understanding. Above all, “she was also his first contact with genuine Christianity.” All things has its end and so Churchill manage to stand on his own feet and bequeathed his childhood memories to stand the test of adulthood. “The eager pursuit of knowledge was a turning point in Churchill’s life, and the character he displayed in striving against his own inadequacies undoubtedly marked the beginning of his manhood.” He faces many tribulations in the pursuit and operation of wars, in the chronicles of ups and downs in his political career, and in the struggle of his own personal turmoil. That’s the intrinsic part of powerful and influential statesmen: survival and triumph beyond all odds. “He knew he was destined to play a decisive role in the history of his times.” He was a man of courage, action and loyalty. “The fact is that in an age of mounting skepticism, Winston Churchill was a man of faith, a man who lived in the light of a vision unfashionably rooted in Scripture and centered in a sovereign God.” This story is not without relevance in our society today. In the context of Philippine leadership, Filipinos have been confronted with traditional politicians that persistently penetrate the political spectrum of our polity. It is, of course, worthy to acknowledged that we owe to the great statesmen of the past for having an indomitable will and a compassionate persona amidst violent opposition from mediocre minds. Leadership is tested when the going gets tough, when political squabbles and bickering continue to provoke, and when there seem to be no hope at all. A “Churchillian brand of leadership” might be a good pattern to those who wants to served and eventually become the grand knights of the republic. Moreover, there is a growing need to differentiate politicians from statesmen. Why does being a statesman sound more honorable that being a politician? A politician is one who thinks for the next election while the statesman thinks of the next generation. As pointed out by Aristotle, there are rulers who use their power to rule others solely to serve their own interest while others rule for the interest of the ruled. According to the book I’ve read, “both kinds of rulers are politicians, in the sense that they desire some kind of order, and deal in negotiations, persuasions, and compromises, but only those who rule for the sake of the state and its ruled can rightfully be called statesmen. The next question would be; who are the statesmen and politicians in the Philippine politics today? No doubt, politicians outnumbered the statesmen. As a political science student, the study of state and government ought to be scrupulous and of much interest. Nevertheless, the degenerating political climate and on going animosities of our institutions sometimes hinders my personal view on the discipline. But this thing should not happen. Political Science as an understanding of politics and governance involves not only an understanding of “good” statesmen but also of the ‘bad” politicians. I sincerely believe and contend that the Philippines can produce our own version of Winston Churchill. But only if the future leaders especially the youth will be wary and fight for their rights. Only if the youth of today will act rationally while equally striving for personal excellence. Only if the youth of today will realized the broken promises of the past and won’t let it happen again. Only if the youth of today will understand deeply the pessimism and passion of the poor. And, finally, if the youth of today still loves his country. What we are as a country is determined in large measure by the way we were in the last generation. What we will become will be determined by the choices we make now, in this generation. The future may be cloudy but the choice we face is very clear. Indeed, the stones we throw into the waters of our world today will caused ripples that will continue to lap on our shores in the future – for better and more often for worse. I’ll take this opportunity to give thanks to my deceased grandmother for having a poor pronunciation of names (again, peace be with her). When someone asked me, “where on earth did your parents get your name?” I’ll just smile and proudly reply “got it from England at 28 Hyde Park Gate where the great man of the world lived.”
| Views: 166
