“I die without seeing the dawn break of my country…You who are about to see it, greet her…do not forget those fallen during the night!”. This is an excerpt I borrowed from one of the last chapters of Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.

The thought-provoking and ominous words of dying Elias to young Basilio. In effect, it was the author speaking. The same words that crept up to my senses as a reader.

“Could Rizal ever know - over a century later since he wrote the book - that it is going to be the same plea we need to hear as a nation? Why wouldn’t he?” I wondered. Whenever I see the current political backwardness, I couldn’t help but sigh my disappointment. Those who are living in the Philippines know what I am talking about. We are so back seated now from among countries claiming democracy as their foundation.

The first carpet to freedom was laid to us more than a century ago. We lost it a few times along the way, and yet we always managed to grab that well-fought beacon every time.

In 1986, the first People Power I became part of was so sweet. It was our moment and we owned it; we were the centrepiece of the world, the envy of other nations who haven’t had the taste of democracy, and the cut-out pattern of our neighbouring countries whose wish was to emulate us. As a young student back in that year, my dreams profoundly flew along with the single collective success of our nation. One of my proudest moments of being a Filipino. Singly, I am not the right person to be asking for a better Philippines. I may have the right to wish for it though, as Filipino-born.

By his sacrifice, a deep-seated image in Rizal's mind was the freedom to be loved and to be treasured by his future countrymen, and not one being degraded through a display of betrayal, repugnance, and disarray. As one with a common pulse and blood with the rest of Filipinos, we need to revive the sense of patriotism and real love for our country.

Because the minds cannot comprehend changes that our senses first have to recognise. Changes have to come from our inner and heart-felt desires in order for them to work - by then our minds will be the cog in-synch with our senses. We need a nationalistic sensibility at work!

Whatever walks of life we have right now, there’s always this common string that binds us, and an imaginary torch that we all are carrying passed down from the time Rizal drew his last breath in Bagumbayan.

In essence, let us be responsibly mature while enjoying the freedom of democracy our previous and current generations fought hard for, and not to be so consumed with self-fulfilling political desires, especially those who are in it.

We cannot afford to have the joke on us, can we?

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