Most Anti-Constitutional Reform Advocates I Run Into are Stubborn Boomers

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As an advocate for constitutional reform, I've been looking at the campaign for more than just voting wisely. Sadly, the Vote Wisely campaign hardly works since the presidential system focuses on popularity. Some people think that a trolling campaign is going to help. I try to explain why the parliamentary system will be better. However, they will continue to throw in the same old narrative where it says, "But we were a parliamentary system under Marcos!" The idea itself has been long refuted. The late Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" A. Aquino Jr. even mentioned the absurdity of it. The way he mentioned, "We had a parliamentary without a parliament." (read here) showed how the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines wasn't a real parliamentary government. Even the words of the late Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. showed that his government wasn't parliamentary (read here). More importantly, I noticed that many of those I run into on Facebook are actually stubborn boomers. These are the people who continue to insist on the Tagalog phrase, "Wala sa sistema ang problema, nasa tao lamang." In English, it would mean, "The problem is not with the system, just the people." 

Trying to explore the mind of a typical boomer may be interesting. As a child born of boomer parents, having boomer elders, and a stubborn boomer nanny I'm glad is no longer working with me, I really want to recall the good times and bad times. I would like to recall some crazy stuff over time and why it can also be very irritating with the typical OK Boomer:

  1. People who are stingy instead of thrifty. There's a fine line between a person who saves money for a rainy day and a person who refuses to spend even for necessities. Even worse the opposite of being spendthrift is also there.
  2. Parents who demand their children to be exactly like them. Come on, since when will the son/daughter become the father/mother? The parent and the child have their own unique genetic code. Most children aren't born a carbon copy of their parents either and will share mixed traits. 
  3. I remember the time I talked about buying a PC. I was called lazy and some will say, "Back in our day, we used the typewriter and never complained. We never complained about how we kept having to rewrite! You're just lazy!" Never mind that typewriters are hardly used these days and how much a PC actually saves more paper and time. Just think of it you can edit and edit before you finally print. The only reason why PCs can be a paper-eating monster is if the person's too lazy to edit before printing. 
  4. Some people complain when things have to change. They can complain over stuff like a newer clothes iron, a newer media player, and anything that threatens 
  5. Insisting on that same old pattern of marriage equals maturity. Never mind some boomers have been quarreling like children in front of their children. Maybe, they need to ask themselves the question of why many of their children don't want to marry or are afraid to marry.
  6. They still insist on the old education method. Some of them tend to brag about how they were honor students and get mad about why their children never followed in those footsteps. I was reminded of what one of my classmates said, "What year was it when your parent became an honor student? Nineteen-forgotten!"
Well, that's just a short list and I'm getting high blood pressure now! These OK boomers that I keep running into on Facebook (of all places) have been insisting that nothing's wrong with the system, just the ones running the system. I find it ironic that I'm actually quoting studies from some boomers older than them or from people older than them. Maybe, it could be a study from the late Albert Winsemius, the late Lee Kuan Yew, the late Fidel V. Ramos, or Kishore Mahbubani (who happens to be their fellow boomer). Some of them try to defend the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines as if it's some infallible piece of paper. Never mind that the framers did put provisions to have it amended if necessary. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines has never been meant to be set in stone. Even worse, they can start using insults to try and win the argument. Never mind the old age statement by Socrates that only losers use insults to win an argument.

I guess it's all about the threat of change. If they can even complain about the slightest change than see how this change can help--the same goes for the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. Maybe, they're so used to the EDSA 1986 narrative and now the 1987 Constitution is their "biggest triumph". Never mind that inventions have to be upgraded. Can you imagine if we were still using the old vaccination methods by Edward Jenner? Can you imagine if Louis Pasteur never discovered better ways to create vaccines for humans? Can you imagine if Alexander Graham Bell's telephone was still used today? Can you imagine if people had to write on stone tablets using a hammer and chisel? I can talk about that but they still feel the threat to their comfort zones.

Then again, the real statement goes that the only thing that can't change is change. For these stubborn boomers, well their clocks are ticking. I guess they want to leave this world leaving their legacy of stubbornness. If that's what they want, ironic that they should even be on Facebook and use modern gadgets like tablets and smartphones. Ironic if they should go against jeepney modernization on Facebook. Ironic they should go against any newer and better ideas on Facebook. I can't help but laugh at such stupidity. 

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