Stepping down

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The indomitable Fidel Castro, ruler of Cuba for the last 47 years, has finally stepped down from power. Castro is famous for his scraggly beard, rumpled fatigues, and ever-present cigar, as well as his ability to stay in power, which is demonstrated by his ability to survive numerous assassination attempts (rumored to be in the hundreds), and even fending off a US-backed invasion that was meant to topple his regime.

In spite of being able to fend off a global superpower, Fidel Castro was not able to vanquish the one opponent that none of us, rich or poor, ruler or slave, cannot fully evade: our mortality. His deteriorating health, which was started by an emergency intestinal surgery in 2006, and highlighted by his absence from public events since then, must have played a major role in his decision to relinquish his grip on power.

May Fidel Castro's decision to step down serve as a reminder to the leaders and public servants of this country that everything comes to an end, that while power may be absolute, it does not last forever. They can hold on to it until they die or are removed from office through extraordinary means, or they can let go of it when they realize that they have been wielding that power for all the wrong reasons.

May they remember that they are simply guardians of that power, and if they have conveniently forgotten that they ultimately answer to the people who bestowed it upon them, there is always that unavoidable day when we will all have to answer and be held accountable to the One who created us, and is the ultimate source of all that power.

Those of us who are tired of seeing the blatant abuse of power can take comfort in the popular belief that those who used that gift responsibly will be rewarded and those who abused that power and used it to enrich themselves and their cronies will be thrown into the eternal fires of hell, where there are no dilatory tactics and the sentence must be served because there is no pardon for those who are “connected”. May those who are caught in the web of lies and deceit of those who are using power for ill gain realize who the real boss is before it is too late.*