“Red…the blood of angry men,
Black…the dark of ages past,
Red…the world about to dawn,
Black…the night that ends at last.”
- Enjolras, Les Miserables
These are the lines of school boys anticipating the beginning of the French Revolution that would finally end the regime of the monarchs and would open doors for democracy. It is a society governed and maltreated by the rich and the powerful. Does that sound familiar? Sounds very much similar with the Philippine society, right? A society where the law favors the rich, while the poor’s justice denied. A society where the cliché “the poor gets poorer, and the rich gets richer” has never gone out of style. The question is, will you step out of the theater and sing with the rest of the nation?
Voices will be heard in the 2016 Elections and people will once more rally for change. Will the ‘revolution’ prosper or will we, once again, fail? The French Revolution fell because of several reasons that could cause our same failure. Here are three of them:
First is personal interest. Filipinos had been living in a society that pushed us to the concept of mere self-preservation. We take care of our family, our career, our connections, our development and our future. ‘Our’ became part of our best interests. It has always been what benefits us. And so people relied on dole-outs whenever rich people pretend to be generous. Then more and more beggars find livelihood in the streets. And so people vote for the one who ‘gives more.’ Then we find our professionals practicing their expertise abroad, leaving the struggling nation to the dogs. Where has the fire of patriotism gone? Where has the dignity of labor gone? When will we try to save Philippines?
Second is the lack of political will. Our leaders can do a lot of things that can bring lasting change, but they were never easy. And so they find it more convenient to build covered courts and waiting sheds with their initials than building schools and libraries. The same reason why short-term projects like feeding programs are prioritized than improving health services. And so we have job fairs that offer a six-month working contract. Just that. Our leaders lack the political will. When will we try to save Philippines?
Third is the indifference of the people. A lot of Filipinos know what to do, but we choose to do what is convenient. Just as how easy it is to cheat on our working hours, break basic traffic rules, abstain from social obligations. We always rally for the best leaders, but when did you give your end of the bargain? It takes two to tango, and in this case, we have to dance with the government. When will we try to save Philippines?
Our revolt does not end in the theater, nor in the 2016 Elections. The revolution will begin and will end only when we find ourselves on the real light of democracy.
Will you sing with me?
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