Actor-Politician

The other day, I was listening to the good times morning show on the radio and Grace Lee made an interesting comment about actors who are running for public office and turned down Mo Twister’s invitation for an interview on his show. Apparently Ara Mina had a very memorable experience on his show. She was able to uplift the morale of showbiz personalities who turn into accomplished politicians. She did this simply by her wit and intelligent answers to extremely regular questions. (What the ?)

Grace pointed out, they are afraid to come to Mo’s show but they are not afraid of the people they will be held liable and accountable for if and when they win in the coming elections. True. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against actors who become public servants. The constitution does not in any way prohibit them from doing so, but holding a public office is no walk in the park, there’s no director that shouts CUT! if you make a mistake, once a decision is made, it is the people who voted for you that reaps the benefits of your good decision, and they are the same ones who suffer if you made a bad choice.

I wonder what’s going on an actor’s head that very moment when they make that life changing decision to run for public office. I mean what were they thinking? Weren’t they just bored with their lives and thought they’ll raise up the bar a bit and make their lives more interesting. Or is it really the will to do good that pushes them to take the challenge and pray that God will do the rest? This country has suffered enough with one big mistake in the person of Erap and I wish we’ve gained a bit more understanding that good acting doesn’t translate to good public servant.

The fact of the matter is, people are stubborn, it’s the kid in us that gets the better of us, when we make tough decisions that we feel doesn’t directly affect us. We look at elections like it’s a game, we pick those who we think are most likely to win, notwithstanding their credibility and all other factors that makes for a good public servant.

We fail to realize that if they win, we lose.