A Day In The Life Of RJ

Now, this is wrong. Very wrong. I’m not a Gloria fan myself but hey, I won’t do such a thing. Not because I’m an elitist (how can I be an elitist when I don’t even belong to the “elite” myself?) but because it is indecent, downright dirty and stupid. I mean, come on people! How many times have we seen such display of rudeness? This is not helping anybody. In fact, it is adding problems to our already problematic country. If you want to do protests on the streets, then fine, do it anytime you want but do not destroy, and spray-paint public property! I understand you don’t like PGMA, I don’t like her either. But hasn’t it occured to these people’s minds that this is but a waste of time and energy? If you want change, (more…)

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Tomorrow, June 19 we celebrate — with much gratitude and adoration, Jose Rizal’s birthday. For the uninformed few (okay, very very few, if there are actually any), Jose Protacio Rizal is the Philippine’s National Hero. I guess there’s no need to elaborate on that.

I have the pleasure and honor of living (for almost 2 years now) in the same city where he was born — Calamba City, Laguna. And so, being a few kilometers away from Rizal’s Shrine ( Rizal’s ancestral house), I feel that it is only appropriate and yes, expected that I blog about him today — not discounting the fact that I genuinely have the urge to write about him. Before anything else, I have a confession to make. In the (almost) 2 years that I’ve moved here with my family, I have not ( and I am ashamed to admit this..) visited Rizal’s Shrine — not even once. And it’s not for lack of anything but “effort”. The seemingly patriotic and nationalistic side of me resents that. I pass by that area almost everyday and yet, all this time, the closest that I got to showcasing it is through a “photo post” about a usual journey home from Crossing, Calamba. Pathetic, I know. But it’s true. And what’s troubling about it is that if someone like myself haven’t been there for lack of “effort”, there is a great chance that many people share the same pathetic story of “lost patriotism”. And for a small country like ours who depend highly on a few country-loving citizens to put some sanity in this crazy-politician-ruled country, that is a loss we cannot disregarad, however little it may seem.

Rizal’s birth is not significant because he is our National Hero. In my opinion, it is his death that ultimately summarized all that he wrote about and inspired us to do — to die for love of our country. Rizal definitely “walked the talk”. So, yes, it is not his being a National Hero that prompts us to honor his birthday, rather it is his “being Filipino” and the resounding truth that if he has created an impact so great so as to inspire and stir a revolution, then that means that any Filipino CAN do the same. It is in our blood, in our culture and in our beliefs. Each and every Filipino can be a new Rizal — inspiring people not just by words but by actions that speak louder, battling with today’s oppressors and colonizers in the form of economic sabotagers, extremist groups, abusive media groups and power-hungry and self-obsessed politicians — all painting the country’s grim future while wrecking havoc in the present.

We need new Rizals and we need it now. Jose Rizal is dead but we are still alive. We may not be able to do what he has done over a hundred years ago but we can do something like it today, one form or another. Showcase the Rizal spirit in you today. Showcase the Filipino spirit!

Posted on “MyCheapThrills.com”

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When asked about the Philippines’ biggest problem, specially now that the Presidential elections is but two years away, I suppose one would answer education, governance, poverty, criminality and hordes of others. Not to downplay all the major problems we speak of today, i believe there’s an underlying problem that’s being overlooked right now — and that’s attitude. Simple, plain attitude. Because the way I see it, these problems did not happen overnight. We didn’t just wake up one morning dead broke as a country. All these problems started small and eventually accumulated and worsened by the day. All because one, two or more people decided not to act and remained indifferent to the issue at hand. These people were short-sighted enough to see past than the current situation or were simply insensitive enough to care about the adverse effects of their negligence or indecisiveness to other people’s general well-being and right as this country’s citizen. And having felt neglected and uncared for, most citizens responded the same way to other people they’ve dealt with. They too became indifferent and assumed that they won’t be as directly affected as others. This has become a vicious cycle, as never-ending as our struggle as a nation to rebuild our reputation and economy. Remember “pay it forward” — but the opposite. That’s what happened. But what can we possibly do now to address this problem, you may ask? The answer lies within ourselves. We need a radical “change of heart” and we need to do it now. It’s always been said and quoted from one of the greatest philosophers, “Aesop”, that “one little act of kindness, however little — is never wasted. Everyone must act now and contribute what they can to push for “social transformation”. You don’t need to run for President. All it takes is one little act of concern. Let us care enough to throw candy wrappers in trash bins, to segregate our trash at home, to obey traffic rules, to help people in need as much as we can, to think twice before speaking ill of another, to scrutinize election candidates before voting for them, and many, many more little deeds that we’ve abandoned because of indifference. I know that social transformation, like the current problems we’ve created will not happen overnight. But if we do something now, it will make a world of difference today and in the generations to come. And it’s definitely better to do something about it than to sit and wait for the ultimate destruction that is to come.

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