Vicente Mendoza Jr.
Naomi Tadifa
Sherrimee Joy Morilla
Mary Joy Mari
Rose Palapar
A pen is mightier than a sword. Do you till remember the day when your grade one teacher introduced Gat Jose Rizal in the class for the first time? Do you still remember the time when your teacher mentioned him as the national hero? Or can you still remember the moment when you idolized and challenged yourself to be a hero like him? Because we, we can still remember.
I believe that without him, we'll never achieve and celebrate our Independence. His written works mark a boundless influence in our Philippine History. Two of his novels "Noli Me Tangere" (Touch Me Not) and "El Filibusterismo" (The Reign of the Greed) had exposed the cruelties of the Spanish friars in the Philippines, the defects of the Spanish administration and the vices of the clergy, in which these books expressed the oppression of the Spanish colonial rule. It made him a marked man to the Spanish friars and the start of the revolutionary acts of the Katipunan. An impeccable illustration, indeed a single piece of a pen can dominate and is mightier than a sword.
It has been a century since we achieved independence as smile and laughter are to be found in the eyes of our motherland. We didn't even recognized how time flies so fast. However, the saddening part is the same as time, everything in our society changes so fast. It's getting worse and it's getting scary every day. What happened?
"Youth is the hope of tomorrow". I know we have heard this so many times and it is already a pain in the ears. But what have we done to make this statement possible? Are we really the hope or the destroyer of tomorrow?
Youths are the storm and stress in today's generation for they are more likely to become perpetrators. The dream of our national hero for the youth had failed over the decades. Not to discriminate but youth nowadays are drastically destroying our future. They are into drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or any substances. Girls at a young age get pregnant. Some are not giving any value to education. And some are committing suicide because of depression from heartbreaks or any other reasons. Is this really the society we wanted to live in the future? Is this really the attitudes that we are going to inherit to the future generations?
If only someone has an enormous power to awaken their blinded eyes that today is not the day to be in the wrong path then it might gratify the hero's soul. It may be alarming that youth nowadays had made a radical change. But it is not yet the end of everything, and we can still do to change this adversary culture. Through technological advancement, we have the capacity to do more, reach more people, and act more. However, the caveat is we must use these resources responsibly.
To our Filipino Youth, let's revisit the life of Gat Jose Rizal and let's try to see the world without his works. Let's imagine if there will be a realisation of what we have right now without him. Let's reconsider the fact that what he offered for us is more than we can give to this country. Let's appreciate his works, labour and his love for the country. Above all, let us be inspired to do the same thing- to be Rizal in the world full of ME. We have to think about the welfare of our nation and not only for our own happiness. By doing so, we will live in a society where peace and harmony do exist.
