Everyone around the world has witnessed the historic elections in the United States that won Barack Obama the presidency by a landslide. It was not simply his story and his background and his story that made his victory remarkable, but more importantly the message that he preaches. This is a time when we Filipinos can learn from his message of hope and change, because this time more than ever do we need this hope and change.

Barack Obama hinged his message on the fundamental values of the society. What he brings us is not a change in ideology, but a look back to our basic values within the family and the community.

What is also remarkable with his message is his collectivist idea of a society. He believes that it is not just the government that must do all the work, nor is it just the people who should sacrifice blood and sweat. He believes that government must do its part in providing what the people need to those who have worked hard and earned it, and the people must not expect the government to provide each and every need of the public. We cannot have a dole-out system, but we also cannot have a corrupt government.

His message on education is simple: provide quality education by the government. But it does not stop there. He reiterates that it is not the government that turns off the television sets or puts away the video games, but the parents. It is the parents' role that their children go to school and do their homework, that they are guided everyday, where the parents can work hand-in-hand with educators in providing quality education for the children and their future.

His message on health care is simple: provide quality health care by the government. This means the government should fund health care coverage, lower taxes on medicines, research in cure, and more importantly, invest in prevention. Even then, while health care coverage is important, it us up to the families that they invest in prevention by eating right and balancing their diet. It is not the government that will stop people from smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol, or keep children from eating junk food. The government and the public can work hand-in-hand in keeping citizens healthy and in-shape.

His message on economy and taxes is simple: spread the wealth around. The government must make sure that taxes are collected justly and completely not just from the middle class and poor, but from the rich as well. Through this, the poor and middle class will be able to spend more on what they need and thus stimulating consumption in the economy. The government, too, must invest in its small and medium enterprises, where the poor and middle class are encouraged to innovate. More jobs, too, are created through SMEs, that we become not simply a country of labor export, but more importantly a country of enterprise.

His view is starkly different from the basic ideas of an individualistic society that is almost edging on the dog-eat-dog world (or in our case, crab mentality). He brings a message of unity, that society is made up of a social contract where individuals each have their own role but are willing to entrust their own liberties onto others, and together they progress as a society.

He believes that everyone must do their part so that society can progress. Post-Edsa democracy has not taken us anywhere near that progress, but it is always not too late. There is still hope for a nation, as long as we all do our part. This means not taking more than what we need and should, and giving to the best of our abilities. Karl Marx said thus, "from each according to his own ability, to each according to his own need."

In times like these we need to be together and unite against the difficulties and challenges. Our government is marred with scams and scandals amounting to billions of pesos; Barack Obama's message is a reminder to our public officials to use only their power for the good of the many and not in their own selfish agendas. His message is a reminder to the general public that we also must do our part, give what we can, and not selfishly keep to our own and distrust everyone around us.

Obama's victory in the US presidential elections reminds us that there is still hope for change, we only have to be ready, take on our roles, give what we can, and unite as a nation