After A Hundred Years

 Next year will be the commemoration of the centennial of Philippine Declaration of Independence. Its primordial goal is to relive the spirit of nationalism and heroism among the Filipinos which our forebears had perpetuated in their upheaval against Spanish colonialism through blood struggle that led to the attainment of freedom and independence aspired for more than three hundred years.

 

Indeed, the proclamation of Independence was not a work alone of one man or a single organization. In fact, it was the collective efforts of many Filipinos who could no longer endure the cruelty and abuses, oppression and exploitation. They had succeeded. Primarily because of their adherence to their ideals strengthened with faith and vision, courage, sacrifice, solidarity and determination.

 

After the long one hundred years that passed, was the dream of our heroes realized? Or was in vain? Does the spirit of nationalism our forebears extolled upon us remain? Or did the Western imperialists who mentally and psychologically colonized us wipe it out? In these contemporary times, can we still show nationalism amidst challenges?

 

There are different challenges in different times. If during the Revolutionary period, we were confronted of foreign oppressors, today we are now faced with multitude of problems like bureaucratic inefficiency, environmental degradation, poverty, political instability, burgeoning foreign debts, and human rights violation. Not to mention massive graft and corruption. All of these require nationalism to be solved. Nationalism, which our Asian neighbors say, “must be used as an instrument of change and honest-to-goodness reforms.”

 

Three years is left, we will be facing the next millennium. If we will remain passive and inactive, problems will go unabated. It will continually multiply and just like microbes eventually deteriorate the system. Then, we will lag behind from the intense and dynamic clash of economies. Would we just say bahala na when these are already unleashing destruction on us.

 

Finally, in the spirit of nationalism we must strive hard to reevaluate our history and rectify mistakes in the past and learn from it.

 

We must be guided by moral values our heroes had extolled to us that provide us wisdom to forge ahead with vision and energy.

 

We must do our share by using our reservoir of intellect to provide solutions to the countless problems of our times. Specifically in shaping a better future for the majority of our people languishing in poverty. We must reach out to them.

 

We must be a part of the solution not of the problem. We must possess determination and sacrifice as what flowed in the veins of our heroes during the dark days of colonialism.

 

At this point in time, we should reaffirm our dedication in our quest for progress, peace, and prosperity now and in the posterity to come. (Published on the 2^nd sem issue of The Spectrum, 1997. I was 18 years old.