The look of most of the young soldiers in Vietnam who were dying of bullet wounds was one of bewilderment. They seemed not to believe that they could be hit. All the while their mortality was never a reality. They must have believed they could live forever.
That seems to be what appears whenever strong rulers are facing their end as such. Did the Dutertes think their days as powerful people in Davao City will go on forever? How about the Marcoses? While their having been booted out from the country happened not so long ago, it might have been lost on them how humiliating it was.
It appears though being in power erases a lot of realities from the minds of people To the extent they become arrogant and believe they can hold on to power for eternity and they make all the preparations. One way of doing it is to amass as much wealth as they could. There is that idea they could buy anybody. Yet that is exactly what will bring them back to square one. For enriching themselves means the suffering of the multitude. Another way is to have as many loyal followers as they could convince. Surrounding them with sycophants though will only be good while the majority are behind you. But as time and again was shown by history, a lot of these people will be scampering away to protect their self-interests.
How many of the so-called DDS (Die hard Duterte supporters) are really picking up the gun to wage battle on their behalf? You can only count them, not even with the fingers of one hand. How about the Marcoses? The same thing. When the shit hits the fan, not so many will be by their side. So the best way is to think in an inclusive way. To try to include everyone in the plan for the common good. That is the only way. Anything short of that would mean thinking only of one’s selfish interests. But that is what politics is all about. With the selfishness of politicians and the resulting bickering, we go through a lot of struggles and strife. Which also takes care about the lessons we have to learn so we can progress.
Thus, when the time comes for a change, as they invariably will, politicians might only have their immediate family members to count on. As social changes happen.**