Sociological Profile Analysis Paper

            Of all existing personalities in society, a politician has a very unique and interesting life and lifestyle. From a sociologist’s perspective, he is the perfect epitome of an entity which is accountable to society and in return, his background is shaped by the kind of sociological environment that he has. This politician who is the subject of this paper shall be camouflaged by the name “Bombit.”

            At present, Bombit is already 43 years old. He was born to a rich family, but not a traditionally-rich one. His father worked hard to support himself to college until he became a licensed Civil Engineer. His mother was a housewife who preferred to take care of her children rather than building her professional career.

            Bombit’s family was popular in their area and they were well-respected. He was the eldest from among 7 children. He has 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Because of his father’s dedication to public service, he was elected to a government position — the governor of their province. He was elected thrice as the chief executive and he was known to be a consistent and transparent leader. However, his third term was short-lived as he suffered from a grave health condition which led to his untimely death. His vice-governor succeeded the position he eventually left.

            Idolizing his father, Bombit also studied civil engineering and he became a civil engineer like his father. He married a wealthy woman from the province and they have 4 children — 3 boys and 1 girl. To maintain the assets left by his father, they continued to engage in various business and they prospered quite well.

            Because Bombit’s father left a wonderful legacy for the province, the people urged him to run for governor. During the 2007 elections, he won the gubernatorial race after a tight competition with one of the most notorious personalities in the area. And now he has already served half of his term and so far, he is doing a terrific job as a leader and public servant, respected and admired by his constituents.

            Bombit is affiliated to Islam. As a Muslim, he believes that one wife is enough for him because as a political figure, he has no time to cater more than one spouse. He wants to give enough time for his family while advancing his political career.  He is unique in this aspect because most politicians in their place took advantage of their wealth in order to acquire as many as four wives and propagate more children. In fact, promotion of Islamic way of life is one of his platforms for the province.

            Since his province is one of the most poverty-stricken in the country, he formulated a well-studied 7-point agenda including long term productive value of infrastructure expenditures, economic development, emphasis on youth-related programs which covers health, education and sports activities, cultivating a culture of peace, commitment on environmental issues, lead and execute concepts for tourism and more importantly, predictability, regularity, consistency and transparency of all government actions inside and outside his jurisdiction. These programs are his guiding principles during his three-year governance in the region. He thinks that these strategies will take away the socio-economic difficulties of his people.

            Bombit’s area of control has a very unique culture. They belong to a tribe called “Monfi” (not its real name). The most prominent of their practices is that of weddings and election. There’s no other ethnic group in the world which is as politically-inclined as that of the Monfis. All aspects of their daily life and survival are influenced by politics.

            One concrete example is their traditional wedding practices. Commonly, Monfi women cannot marry men not belonging to their tribes. There are cases though where Monfi women marry “outsiders” however, they are usually disowned by their families. Some are even relentlessly killed. There are a few exceptions especially among liberal-minded Monfi parents and families. The most common practice is the pairing and arrangement of marriage among children of politicians. The purpose of this is for preparation for a stronger political party in the coming elections. Children even as young as 5 years old are often set to marry already. Harsh as they are in protecting their women, the Monfi tribe is definitely firm in their customs and values.

            Generally, Bombit’s province is a very secluded one. Amidst globalization and interdependence trends, it is still conservative and isolated. Their manner of dressing is restricted. Bombit’s sisters and women relatives still wear that traditional attire with long robes and long sleeves which mask the skin. Most wear veils while old-fashioned ones even cover their faces. Only their eyes can be seen. This is the reason why most educated Monfis choose to live outside their region and settle in more less conformist cities.

            Contrary to this, Bombit’s family is not traditionalist. He, his wife and his siblings graduated from bigger and broadminded universities outside of their province. They are quite updated in terms of technology and latest global styles. But being a leader of a isolated province which despise cultural diversity, he has to conform with the Monfi culture and way of living to please his people. “Outsiders” are hardly accepted by the community, which is quite hard for non-Monfis to handle.

            The culture of Bombit’s province has also this practice called “Gubfoh” (not its real term). It is a form of retaliation whereby if one Monfi offends another Monfi in any way, the offended party fights back. The series of vengeance never ends unless it is amicably settled.

During settlements, blood money and other forms of gifts are given to the part offended first. Some Gubfoh last for more than ten years; some even last a lifetime or even in the next generations to come. This cruel practice is often caused by a certain level of pride which a Monfi is too proud to deal with calmly. Monfis believe that they should fight for their pride and they should not allow their enemies to step on them. Only recently, Bombit’s family has cordially settled an 18-year case of Gubfoh against a political rival.

            In Bombit’s governance, it does not only consider government problems; it also includes cultural problems happening in his community. Minute or big troubles are reported in his office for him to resolve. Usually, this entails monetary requirements and demands so that the peace and order can be maintained. Conflicting parties depend so much on the government to reconcile their differences.

            This is Bombit’s social world. He cannot afford to displease anybody because of the fear that he will lose their support in the next elections. He has to give in and consider all requests of his people, of course, with the exercise of proper discretion and judgment. He has to listen to the needs of every constituent. When someone asks for financial aid, he has to give. This is what it takes to lead a culturally-driven society with very analogous backgrounds.

            Even if this is the situation, Bombit is striving hard to facilitate change in his community. This change includes slowly opening his province to visitors, tourist and travelers in order to gradually alter the perception of outsiders that his jurisdiction is a scary and dangerous place. He began inviting guests and dignitaries to join the provincial activities in order to expand tourism opportunities. He also sponsored competitions where constituents from other provinces are encouraged to join. Bombit thinks that opening his province to the “outside world” will be helpful for their faster progress and development.

            Bombit’s province in its 49 years of being a chartered area has been crying out for change. The people have been waiting for several decades that a leader who can uphold this change may come. His father must have been that person but he was denied of that opportunity. So now, that person is Bombit. He is the hope of the so-called promise land. The Monfis are hungry for innovation and social transformation. This does not mean, however, that culture should be distorted. What is of the essence here is that the community will learn to accept new ideas and do not remain incarcerated with very close-minded views of community organization. Unless this is done, the Monfi nation will never progress.

            Bombit’s socialization process is so far a healthy one. Despite the complexities encountered among his Monfi people, he was able to balance novelty and tradition by acting as the mediator. Being a politician, it is to his advantage that he can control his immediate society. Even if he will find it hard to determine which among his constituents are sincere, he knows that he has the capacity to convince them to work hand in hand for the betterment of the Monfi tribe.

            From a personal point of view, Bombit’s agenda for the prosperity of his province will become successful as along as he stays firm and coherent with his perspectives in management and governance. In the coming one year and half, another election will be held for governor. As long as the governor will still be Bombit, if he runs for re-election, or if the next governor will be parallel with his standpoints, the future of the Monfis will be stable and optimistic.

            The Monfi is not a terrible tribe. All it needs is guidance and proper direction so that their capacities will be utilized in the best possible manner. Sociologists must dig into the interesting and challenging culture of this ethnic group. Rest assured that the knowledge which we will learn from them will make a difference in the concept of society.

Works Cited

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MindTools. n.d. Conflict Resolution. 28 November 2008 <http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm>

White Stag Leadership Management. 8 October 2008. The Eleven Skills of Leadership. 28 November 2008 < http://www.whitestag.org/skills/>