Because We Are Human || The Idealists
When I look at the stories of our national heroes, they inspire me to yearn for something better, to not accept the way things are, but to pursue virtue continuously. It is for these reasons that those great men stood, resisted, and even bucked against a tyrannical system. They saw the humanity of Filipinos and placed it on par with Europeans, Americans, Japanese, and the rest of the world.
Yet this is how things stand: from a once glorious people, laboring for the restoration of our dignity, a majority of the people have now become docile bodies shunning us who dream of a better system, silencing our voices as we stand up and point out the various vices prevalent in our institutions, chastising us for rocking the boat and causing disunity, demanding that our idealism be set aside, after all, this is the Philippines and this is how things are done here. Be realistic!
Yet when the patrons are gone, everyone huddles together in dark corners, vilifying the institutions. Perhaps our idealism is palatable and ok as long as we keep it behind closed doors, preserving the appearance of unity. But is it really unity? when on the surface things look still, but underneath rolls the growing current of discontent among the people, striving to break the surface, but shhh…only in dark corners.
If silencing us doesn't work, some resort to the use of ad hominems, saying we are wicked people, shameless, willing to drag down the institutions to the point where it will no longer be able to save face in the presence of others.
But everyone knows the institution’s vices, the corruption among its leaders, and the shame that it has heaped upon itself. it is not the pointing out that causes it to lose face; rather it is the injustices perpetuated by the leaders within the institution which has caused it to lose face.
If all else fails, some will just label us idealists as lunatics, “mga sira ulo,” detached from reality, rebels of society.
It is not that we, the idealists, are lunatics; it is just that the institutions have forgotten to value the humanity of our fellow Filipinos, Filipinos whom our heroes died for. It is not that we are “mga sir ulo,” it is just that we have seen how the system no longer seeks the betterment of the Filipino people. It is not that we, the idealist, are detached from reality, it is just that we recognize that reality can and should be better. It is not that we are rebels of society, it is just that we, just like our heroes, are willing to stand and point out these injustices because we are Filipinos; more importantly, we stand along side these great idealists because we are human!
About B. W. A. H.
#BeHumanized
#BeHumanized
B.W.A.H is a project that shares the stories of people: from the common, the unheard, and the mundane, to what is popular, the unique, and even to the extraordinary. It is a place where we meet the faces behind each story: reminding us that behind each story is a person, and that every person is significant. All our stories are important because we are human.
