polotiks. o ya.

There's an election coming up in the Philippines, so at the church I've been hanging out at on Sundays, they've been talking about how to be involved in politics from a Biblical standpoint. Last week they used Romans 13: 1-5 as a teaching platform. The first part of which says the following:

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves." Romans 13:1-2 (NIV)

The idea that struck home for me was that we Biblicaly have a civil responsibility, and it makes sense. The speaker said that they all wanted foreign investment in the Philippines to boost the economy, but that if the Japanese (who shows up 15 minutes early for everything) books a meeting about it with a Filipino (who is often late), the Japanese investor will walk away and a deal will never go down. Point? The civilians need to do their part. If they want the traffic situation to improve, then they need to obey traffic laws. If they want the Police to be honest, then they need to dispute an unfair ticket. If they want less kids out defaming property, then parents need to take more responsibility of those kids. etc.
A society doesn't rest on a government alone. The government has "ministries" to "serve" the public so that it can work alongside the establishments of family and jobs and church to uphold an unbroken system. Makes sense right?
Means that I should think twice about running the light that they apparently put in just down the road from my place in Canada where the Four way was.

The success of a society requires unity on part of the civilians; an agreement to work together to making their society a better one. Unity.
I was thinking about this and about the social barriers that this means crossing in many societies. In Canada not the least.

In Canada, we are especially known for blaming the government instead of getting behind it. And that with a... fifty-something percent turn out to vote?