It has
been one hundred fifteen (115) years ago since we have savored the sweet
trumpets of victory we fought for more than three hundred years of Spanish colonization.
As I turned the dog-eared pages of my history book, I realized that it is not
only the triumph, sweat and blood of our heroes that we celebrate but also the relevance
of their sacrifices in this modern day age of technological revolution.
In
this fast real time age of information superhighway, we cannot deny that we are
living in a drastically changing interconnected environment where everyone is
free to speak their minds and share responsibly in their own little ways on
what one can do for his or her country. Truly, who would have thought that we
have now Tablets that are not taken orally and Apple that is as enticing and juicy
as one of our favorite fruits, which we held in our hands as our platform of
communication and connection to the world at the tip of our finger prints? As youth
living in this Gen-Y, we no longer need to tear our cedulas and time warp in
the 1896 Cry of Pugadlawin lead by Andres Bonifacio, intermittent revolts across
the nation of Diego Silang and other cohorts, or imitate the commemorative
death of our national hero Jose Rizal at Bagumbayan… Our long lists of national
heroes have already done their part. They have successfully pushed for our
sovereignty and freedom as a nation to the whole world and we are grateful for
this wondrous gift. Indeed, our annual celebration of Independence Day consistently poses a challenge to all of us
on what can we do as an individual citizen to continuously ignite the glowing
and burning flame of heroism to our fellow citizen, our country and the world.
In essence,
for me, independence is no longer freedom from our colonizers –whether it be
Spaniards, Americans, or Japanese but it pertains to freedom from hunger,
poverty, economic colonialism, threat and security to our sovereignty and
integrity as a nation. It is our bounden duty to pursue our collective effort
to unleash the country from the shackles of vicious cycle of poverty and other
social issues affecting the people. It is not only the sole effort of the
government but it also requires the working hands of various non-government
organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations, civil societies and the people
from the grassroots level. The modern
day technology through various social media such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Youtube, and other social media networking sites will be our vehicle
in transforming the lethargic spirit of the community into a more vigilant, conscious-driven,
responsive and vibrant society. The historic
revolution staged by our forefathers and heroes in the struggle for freedom and
democracy would not have been protracted if they have experienced early on the fruits
of development we are enjoying right now… However, there is nothing to be
regret about it because it is only through their own way that we have known the
priceless sacrifice and burning hearts and desire of Filipinos to be free.
In
this modern age of technological revolution, we are lucky we have been
witnessed to the most coveted prize our heroes have fought for centuries---
peace. Our quest for freedom from hunger, poverty, economic colonialism, threat
and security to our sovereignty and integrity as a nation do not end with our
celebration of the annual celebration of Independence Day but still continues
as we undertake the journey towards the
path of economic growth and development.
“A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.”
