‘Impeachment fatigue’ diverts Pinoys’ focus to Alex Eala

By Alex P. Vidal

“I am a bear of very little brain, and long words bother me.” – Winnie The Poh:

MANY Filipinos who hate complications in life and those who can no longer tolerate what’s going on in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, have shifted their attention to Alex Eala’s phenomenal exploits in tennis.

There is still a broad number of sectors that regularly follow the impeachment trial while at the same time watch Eala, 21, dismantle highly regarded WTA rivals in major tournaments from Berlin to Washington D.C. and now Toronto, but many Filipinos apparently have lost interest in politics and are now hyper focused on tennis.

Tennis, or sports in general, has become the Filipinos’ preferred pastime because it offers exciting entertainment, strong social connections, and emotional excitement that help us relax and escape daily stress, especially if we don’t like the way Robin Padilla and Imee Marcos behave during the trial.

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Games like tennis have real suspense and uncertain endings that keep viewers on the edge of their seats, unlike scripted shows and the melodrama of the Cayetano brother and sister.

Focusing completely on a game every time Eala advanced in the round in any tournament rather than in political bickering, like what is happening in the impeachment trial, helps us lose track of time and forget about work or personal worries.

It all started when lawyers from both camps—the defense and prosecutors—continued to treat the entire proceeding as a judicial process resulting in lengthy presentation of evidence and people got bored and experienced the so-called “impeachment fatigue.”

When we are bored, our brains activate the default mode network, which triggers mind-wandering, physical restlessness, and a strong urge to find new activities.

And Alex Eala became the best alternative.

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It was Ilonggo former Senate president Franklin “Frank” Drilon who first waved the red flag when he exhorted the Senate impeachment court to take a firmer hand in managing the vice president’s trial, saying the proceedings have become too drawn out and risk losing public interest.

Drilon had warned there was already “impeachment fatigue” just two weeks into the trial.

“I call on the leadership of the Senate to exercise more authority, and control the way the proceedings go,” said Drilon.

We agree with the highly esteemed Iloilo leader that legal minds in the trial have treated the impeachment trial like an ordinary court case, resulting in lengthy presentations of evidence that could have been shortened.

“The tendency of the lawyers is to treat the entire proceeding as a judicial process, and therefore go to length,” he bemoaned.

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Why is it that sometimes protagonists in the impeachment trial don’t communicate even if they talk?

The lack of good conversation occurs even in ordinary setting because we sometimes take conversational ability for granted.

We think that some people have either been given the gift of gab or they haven’t.

The truth is that conversation is an art. Like any other artistic ability, it requires training and discipline.

And practice improves it. So does being constantly aware of where conversational mistakes can be made.

Asking ourselves questions is actually a great help: What are we talking about? With whom are we conversing? Under what circumstances is the conversation taking place?

Why are we engaged in this conversation? How should we say what’s on our mind? When should certain things be said?

In other words, conversation has to have a solid foundation.

We must take a cue from Winnie The Poh once sobbed that “I am a bear of very little brain, and long words bother me.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)