16/05/2026
Our children are listening.
One of the tragedies of modern political discourse is how easily disagreement turns into humiliation. The word 🇵🇭 “bobo” has become casually weaponized online — thrown at ordinary supporters, voters, friends, even family members — as if intelligence belongs only to one political tribe. But democracy begins to fracture the moment people believe those who think differently are lesser human beings. To call millions of Filipinos “bobo” is not intellectual superiority, it is moral laziness.
Around the world, societies are trying to teach children about bullying, mental health, inclusion, and dignity. Yet in politics, cruelty is still rewarded when aimed at the “right” enemy. Our children are listening.
They are learning from the way adults speak to one another online, in homes, in schools, and in public life. They are inheriting not only our opinions, but our language, our anger, and our inability to listen.
A healthy democracy demands criticism, accountability, and hard debate. But it also demands humility. No citizen — regardless of education, class, or ideology — deserves to be reduced to an insult.
Once public discourse becomes a contest of who can shame louder, the country loses something deeper than civility. It loses its capacity to hear, to understand, and to heal.
