What happens to a nation when politics becomes nothing more than a choice of colors?
We choose our leaders like choosing colors from a crayon box. These vibrant shades, carefully lined up, represent different personalities, and whatever hue catches the eye best usually takes the seat of power. The more we patronize this system, the more we overlook the fact that no matter the variety of colors, we are still reaching into the same box – one built by the same system, designed to keep us divided.
Nikka C. Gaddi, a social media personality, called this the ‘crayon box politics’. This term comes from the seemingly colorful political party system in the Philippines. It all comes down to how politicians market themselves during campaign seasons. They choose colors that best represent not their platforms or ideologies, but their personalities. Unlike the United States, which uses only two colors to represent the two main parties – red for the Republicans and blue for the Democrats – the Philippines presents its candidates in a wide array of hues.
How exciting, right? A whole spectrum to choose from. Yet if our politics is this vibrant, why does it feel like it’s been drawn with the same blunt, worn-out crayon?
Beneath this illusion of variety lies its most damaging effect: division. As we pick and choose from the crayon box, we unconsciously create a group identity – drawing the very lines that divide us. What begins as a simple preference quickly becomes an emotional allegiance. Suddenly, disagreements become personal. This leads us to attack those with opposing opinions and engage in meaningless social media wars just to prove a point. We go as far as labelling each other ‘pinklawans’, ‘dilawans,’ and ‘pulangaws’, along with other derogatory terms, just to defend these politicians.
Not only does this create a barrier separating us into groups, it also becomes an effective tool that blinds us from systemic issues we should’ve been fighting in the first place. From group identity grows another toxin in the box: blind loyalty.
These crook politicians have perfectly devised a system that benefits them most. So much so that they’ve created a step-by-step process on how to color our perceptions to their advantage. Once they’ve established their chromas, they now incorporate these into buildings, establishments, relief packs, and anything else they can mark with their colors. Citizens see the shade and think of the politician, forgetting the taxes that built it. In turn, people feel indebted – compelled to show loyalty.
This “favor” is then returned by voting them again in the next election, leaving the problems they painted onto the nation – the gaps in healthcare, the decay in education, and the corruption in public offices – unaddressed. While we argue over colors, policies falter and the nation suffers in never-ending corruption – all while the true powers remain unopposed.
As we continue coloring inside their lines, the system endures, the cycle repeats, and the nation remains trapped in the same box. The crayons we wield today don’t just divide us – they leave stains that last for generations.
For instance, the grudge between the Marcoses (Red) and the Aquinos (Yellow) – two of the most prominent political dynasties in the country – has endured the test of time. Beginning during the time of Marcos Sr., the division persisted and has assumed many hues. We now have the Reds versus the Pinks, and the Pinks versus every other anti-Pink propaganda, and even the Reds versus the Greens – who once vowed unity but eventually let their loyalties fall in line with their colors. From school debates to family arguments, these colors seep into daily life, shaping who we side with and whom we oppose.
The colors we cling today leave permanent marks, like ink that seeps through generations. It becomes a perpetuating cycle, with children inheriting political biases, ensuring that the crayon box of the nation remains full, yet forever broken.
Every time we reach for a color in the crayon box, we risk forgetting who we are and what we stand for. It’s a damning truth: the more we choose colors, the less we choose ourselves. We must not focus on picking sides and remaining loyal; we must focus on defending our rights and our country. It is high time we focus on the actual problems and refuse to let color divide us. We must learn to demand accountability without coloring ourselves into partisan lines. In times like these, unity is non-negotiable.
We have spent decades reaching for colors, picking our favorites from the crayon box, convinced that each shade would paint a better tomorrow. No matter how vibrant or familiar the hue, the same poison still seeps in the same box we were reaching into.
The box is full, the poison lingers, and the future waits for us to face the truths we have ignored.
Written by Gweneth Pablo (odile), Insight PH
Gweneth Pablo (odile), Insight PH is a dedicated campus journalist and contributor. Their insightful writing sparks meaningful conversations and keeps the community informed.
