Exercise 47 - Write an Obama Speech

I hosted this week’s writing exercise.  The instructions I emailed are below:

The Philippine election season is nearing.  Trapos (traditional politicians) will once again be in the spotlight.  To be expected will be the mudslinging, character assassinations and dirty politics that follow the perverted golden rule – He who has the gold (and the guns, and goons) rules! 

Enough of that!  The Filipinos deserve better.  In less than 400 words, write a speech announcing your own candidacy for the country’s highest post on a platform of ‘change’.  Be convincing and inspirational.  In short, do an Obama. 

Turns out, this exercise was much harder than I thought.  Our reading ended up getting delayed by one week.  Our heavy workload didn’t help.  Below is what I put together.  Exactly 400 words by the way.

I am a Filipino -- inheritor of a glorious past, hostage to the uncertain future.  So starts Carlos P. Romulo’s famous ode to our nation.  The opening line was written many years ago.  With the bleakness of our country’s future, it may as well have been written yesterday.

Yes, we are inheritors of a glorious past.  But nothing about our present is.  Just read the news.  This in spite of a president named Gloria.  If anything, it is exactly because of Gloria that our future is uncertain.  Then again, that is exactly what being hostage means.

But we can’t give up and remain hostages.  True, the Filipinos did elect Gloria for a full term in 2004.  We deserve what we get.  Then again, there is the argument that we never did vote for Gloria in that election.  It was stolen from us courtesy of Garci.  But what did we do about it?  We decided we wouldn’t let another actor sit in Malacañang and collectively looked the other way.  We deserve what we get.

I say now we are hostages only if we choose to be.   This coming 2010 election, we need change. Out with the trapos, in with new politics.  Out with corruption, in with transparency and genuine good governance. 

My name is Orven Enoveso and I offer myself in service to this nation as president if given the honor.  I am not a traditional politician.  In fact I hate politics in the traditional sense of the word.  But I would like to see the government working again. I know you do too. 

One of the things I’ve learned in the corporate world is that if you can’t trust others to do it right then do it yourself.   Here I am now, eager to do it myself. 

I don’t lay claim to an Ivy League economics degree nor am I of elite pedigree.  But I know I can do better.  A lot better.  For starters, I won’t steal, I won’t cheat, and I won’t kill journalists.  Just doing those will be a huge improvement. 

Let us heed the call of the times – volunteerism, understanding the issues of the public, being involved in politics, sacrificing personal careers to serve the people.  Our times call for true public servants.  And I would like to be one.  Together, we can do great things, and this nation can be glorious again.

Maraming salamat po.

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