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July 2, 2010
“My presence here today is proof that you are my true strength. I never expected that I will be here taking my oath of office before you, as your president. I never imagined that I would be tasked with continuing the mission of my parents. I never entertained the ambition to be the symbol of hope, and to inherit the problems of our nation. I had a simple goal in life: to be true to my parents and our country as an honorable son, a caring brother, and a good citizen”. Inaugural Speech of President Benigno S. Aquino III June 30, 2010 Quirino Grandstand, Manila, Philippines
If simplicity is beauty, it is also a salient face of truth. When truth comes from the evidence of life, it is uttered more credibly through the rhetoric of our speech. When speech reveals the sincerity of our intentions, the conviction we transmit becomes a belief. And when belief is spread with evidence, hope becomes a proximate fact.
The dominant reaction to President Aquino’s speech is marked with a freshness of change. From the choice of language to the street party, this segment of Philippine political history is embellished with good sentiments and mired with cynical skepticism. For those of us who witnessed the Martial Law era when we were just kids, those who fled the tyranny of an old dictatorship, and those who are in exile because of the financial gloom back home, it is not easy to deny that this event was more significant than expected.
Commentaries in cyberspace have its own genre. They reflect a potpourri of bitterness, disappointment, celebration, victory, wisdom and disgusting ignorance. The spectrum of perspectives does not reflect a dominant view, much less a unified spirit. While some expressed the need to support, whether the results were an outcome of their votes or not, there were those who cried out a sense of revolt, a negative resignation to ambivalent thoughts, alleging that after this political honeymoon, everything will be back to its old, gloomy and despicable ways.
If there should be a litmus test to the realization of President Aquino’s words, let it be according to his statement of being a good citizen, one of his declared goals in life. In the gambits of politics, the chasm between opposition and leadership is abolished by good citizenship, vanquished through true convictions of patriotism and nationalism. When those convictions are fortified by the strong moral principles of sound character and prudent judgment, it would be easier for constituents to believe and support their leader.
Although it is true that the current Philippine president did not desire to follow the same ambitions of his father or the footsteps of his mother (for which he was so inconspicuous in public life), he has now accepted the mandate of the people, the majority of which chose him to be their leader. They anointed him through the exercise of democratic suffrage as they sought a national facilitator for their needs. “We, the people”, does not differentiate between the incumbent and the opposition, the governor and the governed, the official and the constituent. The transference of this expression has now converted into a position that deems a deeper obligation more than just being a good citizen. It demands being the best, at least an effort to strive for excellence. And while our new leaders accepted the burden of that feat, we the people, from all the corners of the seven continents, in as much as we have not denied the Filipino blood that oozes in our veins, are all invited to shed a grain of thought on how we can support our own nation.
A grain of thought – this is all I requested from so many readers and bloggers on-line. I sought for ideas on what we could do to show concrete support of the new Philippine Government. I was hoping that tangible thoughts and measurable steps would be suggested. I did not expect the majority of responses I heard: mudslinging, long list of defects, alleged accusations, suggestions on what others should do, and national weakness of the Filipinos, to name a few. Is it difficult to think of what we could really do, I mean, as people of the same race, even if many of us no longer profess the same citizenship?
If Filipino bloggers can do nothing else but write and voice out an unsolicited opinion, I cannot understand some of their preference for fault finding and controversial matters, highlights of nothing else but human imperfection. On the other end of this spectrum are lofty aphorisms without tangible steps on how to proceed. Caught in between is an overwhelming space of confusion and indifference.
Filipinos all over the world are called to support the new government. From opposition to leadership, global team work can still be achieved. What can be done to do this? Here are a few:
- For those of us who are involved in non for profit organizations, find a way on how to link the goals of our respective mission statements to something concrete back home. I am almost sure that each and every Filipino or Filipino American organization in the U.S has a similar counterpart movement or organization in the Philippines.
- Those who are already raising funds through gala celebrations intended for scholarships in the Philippines, is it possible to collaborate with other small groups and form a huge group with a huge unified amount that could provide a more significant form of scholarships with a longer lasting impact? All this takes is working together.
- Those who are experts in researching hidden crimes and misdemeanors among Philippine government officials, can your efforts be geared in profiling and identifying government public servants who are totally reliable and free from any form of unethical behavior, no matter how petty they may be? We all need centers of influence in the realization of any civic effort we might embark on.
- Lastly, for activists and opponents of anyone incumbent, please review what you are really fighting for. There is a tendency for those passionate idealists to be romantically stacked with past laurels to the point they could get close to being bigots. That is definitely not a way to help support the new Philippine government.
As always, my thoughts are mere opinions waiting for a rebuttal or an agreement. They are free, unsolicited, disposable, hopefully useable and useful. We do have a new president in the Philippines. With this new era in Philippine history, it would be nice to have a new heart that goes with it. Maybe it would be not be a bad idea to start spreading the love of our people and the love of our country among those who have long abandoned traces of being a Filipino. Are you a Filipino?