On eve of the anniversary of Ninoy Aquino's assassination,
Jotham made me watch the last part of a documentary called, "The Last
Journey of Ninoy."
Three minutes into it, and I was sobbing. I mean, here
was a man who gave up everything for the likes of you and me -- people he would
never meet, people who would only remember him once a year, people who would
take the freedom he fought so hard for, for granted.
Whhat have we done with this hard-earned freedom? Why are
we so forgetful as a people? Why are we so selfish, so undisciplined and so
ungrateful?
If we all just took to heart what Ninoy stood for, maybe
the Philippines wouldn't be in such a mess. Listen to what Ninoy said in his speech, "We should not depend on one man, we should
depend on all of us. All of us are expendable in the cause for freedom. And
therefore, I say stand up now and be a leader, and when all of us are leaders,
we will expedite the cause of freedom."
Doesn't this also echo the words another
great political leader who stood for very much the same things Ninoy did?
"Ask not what your country can do
for you, ask what you can do for your country," John F. Kennedy said in
his inaugural address.
But look at most of us. We blame, we
point fingers, we whine, we gripe. And we think that by doing this, we're somehow
making the Philippines a better place.
Don't get me wrong, I know that our
government, our city officials are all accountable to us, and we should speak
out when we think that they are not doing their jobs. God knows Ninoy did.
What I am against is, if this is all we
ever do. We're free to to condemn and complain all we want, but we don't see how imprisoned we are by the walls of our own laziness, self-entitlement, and self-centeredness.
Why don't we also take a good, hard look at our own lives and see what
we can do daily to contribute to the cause of the Philippines. Because
let's face it, most of us will never be mayors, senators or presidents.
Not barangay tanods, even.
Most of all will not have more than 500
Twitter or Instagram followers. We won't be opinion leaders, beauty queens, columnists or
talk show hosts.
But it is in the hundreds of things we do
and the many decisions we make daily, that we can be 'leaders' in our own way. Because,
after all, a leader is someone who doesn't go with the herd, but instead,
blazes a new trail.
What are things the average Filipino can do to help the country that Ninoy died fighting for?
1. Throw your trash properly.
The Philippines is not your trash can.
Hold on to paper cups, plastic bottles, ticket stubs, and candy wrappers until
you see a proper trash can. Otherwise, stuff them in your bag/pocket and wait
until you dispose of them properly.
2. Follow traffic rules and regulations.
By this I mean breaking at
stoplights even when there are no other cars around, walking only on pedestrian
lanes or overpasses, obeying the number-coding scheme, falling in line behind
other cars and not cutting in at the very last moment.
3. Pay your taxes correctly and on time.
With the recent pork barrel scam, I've
read and heard so many people griping about paying taxes when it has only gone
into certain people's private pockets, and spent on luxury cars and
condominiums, Herve Leger dresses, movie premiere tickets and Chanel bags.
Nobody likes paying taxes. NOBODY. But
we have to pay it. Not only because it's the law, but especially if you are a
Christian -- because the bible is explicit in its command to do so.
I've heard preachings about this and
they explain it better than I do, so here are two links if you want to learn
more about what the bible says about taxes.
4. Live below your means.
Living from paycheck to paycheck,
because you want to buy the latest cellphone, dine at the most recent foreign restaurant that has opened a branch here, or buy the newest style of
clothing from the current high street brand t -- will not only
keep you in the rat race forever, it also robs you of the many opportunities to give your money more mileage.
Why not create a budget so you
can spend on your needs first? Then with the rest, save for the future, invest in the Philippine stocks,
give to your church, and to worthy causes? Then if you have a little extra left why not enroll
in a class or a short course -- so that you can better yourself, and hopefully you can be an asset to our country.
5. Stop spending too much time on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, stop watching too much TV.
And
try to do something tangible that adds value to yourself, to your family, your
work, your community, and your church.
6. Pray for the Philippines ALL THE TIME.
Let's not make it a seasonal thing that
only becomes a popular hashtag when our country is being ravaged by monsoon
rains. Prayer works, prayer is powerful, and prayer accomplishes what NONE of
us has the power to do. But more importantly, prayer changes us -- to hopefully do our share, and do what's right, even when no else is.
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