A Wake Up Call

“Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

Ever since democracy found its way into the Philippine government, corruption, seen or unseen, came with it. We do not deny this fact; why else would our country be poor when it is considered as a “potential Asian powerhouse”?

The resources around us are proof that we could have a better economy. But the government is improperly using these resources, leaving the Philippines poor and deprived. Take it any way we want it: whether the government is stealing it or not, our country has enough potential to relieve us the title of being a third world country. But we must stress on this… if it truly is a time for change, the Philippines is in dire need of it.

Where will the change start? The government, we say. The government, we blame. Yes, our government may be corrupt, but it seems that only a few Filipinos are trying of making change. The People have grown accustomed to poverty, to corruption.

The Philippine History. When we first encountered foreigners, they conquered us and ruled over us for more than three hundred years. Filipinos were deprived of their rights, and the rebels died. Then, we were fooled into thinking that we were being educated. And Filipinos were again deprived of their rights. A few years after, the Philippines was again dominated by foreigners. These outsiders slaughtered our countrymen, and the Filipinos were again deprived of their rights.

Over and over again, the Filipinos have been subjected to suffering and affliction: and sadly, most of us have been used to it. We are not anymore bothered by the issues of dishonesty and corruption that occurs in out government. We have grown blind to the thieves that steal from us everyday. We have developed deaf ears, that hears not the troubling signs that our country is about to fall.

No, the Filipinos are adapted to the corruption of our government. We are not ignorant; we know of the wrongdoings in our society. But we make no effort of changing this. Few Filipinos still do remember that we must fight, that the Philippines is truly worth dying for.

Life for the Filipinos has grown dull and dark. Like slobs, we ramble on through our lives living without a damn to give about our country. If this is truly the case, then we truly do deserve the poverty we have! Have we forgotten that life is not simply existing, but living like there’s something to die for?

We must wake up, Filipinos! We must prove that we truly are the descendants of Rizal and Bonifacio! The growing poverty of the Philippines is a wake up call for all of us. The time has truly come for change; let us live differently.

Let us open our eyes, fellow country men, and show the world the true meaning of nationalism.