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What does it mean to love one's country? |
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Monday, 24 July 2006 |
What does it mean to love one's country? One way to address this question is to look back at our own history and examine the lives of people whom we associate as the models of patriotism and love for one's country. Names like Rizal, Bonifacio, or Ninoy easily come to mind as people who lived with extraordinary passion and love for their country. They dedicated, and ultimately sacrificed their lives for the sake of freedom and national unity. Their words and deeds are forever enshrined in our national history where they are honored as heroes whose love for country should serve as an inspiration and as a model of patriotism for modern day Filipinos.
Despite all these things, it seems that their deeds and their method of showing love for their country seems somehow distant to an ordinary Filipino living in the present day. We worry about the bills, our jobs, the kids, or the price of gasoline. Loving our own country, a vague idea if based on the example of our national heroes, is simply an idea we leave at back of our minds. We tell ourselves that we live in a world far different from the one inhabited by Rizal and Bonifacio. It seems that most of history's stories about patriotism and love for country involves death in one way or another. Even our national anthem, breathes the words ang mamatay nang dahil sa yo... We wonder how such an idea can possibly apply to us? Patriotism and love for country seems like a deed for great people with extraordinary dreams and ambition and even if I was actually such a person, would I be willing to die for my country tomorow if need be?
Maybe the problem lies in the way we understand and push the idea of love for country. Personally, I don't believe in the idea of dying for one's country as an ultimate sign of love and patriotism. I think it's in living for the country that one actualy shows love for country. What is living for one's country? It's mostly simple things. Living for one's country means thinking good things about the country. It means speaking about how great the Philippines. It means focusing on how we can improve as a nation and not focusing on why our system stinks. It means paying taxes on time, following traffic rules and regulations, avoiding littering, recycling and segregating trash, or even watching Filipino movies a little more.
Living for one's country also involves fulfilling one's role as part of the society. It means being the best veterinarian, accountant, or manager one can be. It means knowing vacation spots in Mindanao as intimately if not more so than those in Europe or the US. It means appreciating what we have and doing our best to preserve it for future generations.
by: Roel Concepcion
(Son of Ted & Susan Concepcion)
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Last Updated ( Monday, 24 July 2006 )
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