Honesty, it’s a lonely word

By Jun Velasco

WE are reprinting the gist of an oratorical piece by a high school student because we find its cutting relevance to the times.

Here goes:

“On my way to this meeting, I noticed the resplendent beauty of our beloved Philippines – its blue skies, the warm and friendly people, the robust and leafy trees lining our highways, our sparkling sea and breathtaking brook, abundant fish and marine wealth. why, I told myself — this country is, indeed, a paradise!

We are the envy of the world. Foreigners – Chinese, Americans, Japanese, Koreans name any national from any part of the globe, they look at our country with lust in their eyes.

I am both happy and sad to tell you that they are now here in our midst.

I told myself: our prize gift from God has become our liability. If we don’t watch out, if we are taking things for granted in this our paradise – country, we might one day wake up to find ourselves strangers in our own country.

Pondering this thought, I overheard from the radio a haunting song, which goes, “Honesty, it’s a lonely word, everyone is so untrue.”

The song has struck my heart, hard. Why are we lonely when we are surrounded by dishonest people?

Because where there is distrust, when there is so much dishonesty, we cannot advance. How can we move forward when we can’t take the word of the person beside us? That’s worse than talking to a blank wall.

The impact of that song — honest, it’s a lonely word – hinges in our nation’s struggle to push the Sisyphean rock to progress. It calls to mind the lonely struggle of our people to be free from what is fast and progressively bringing them down.

I submit: It is not lack of industry, it is not lack of intelligence, it is not lack of money that has hindered the full flowering of our nation.

In fairness, our leaders, from Rizal to Quezon, Magsaysay, Marcos, Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Erap and to our dainty President Arroyo – have done their best to push the nation forward..

I say that it is our enslavement to an ‘imported’ attitude that has alienated us to our real and true selves as Filipinos.

We have been living a life that doesn’t belong to us. We copy other people’s lives because some smart and powerful forces have stolen our correct view of ourselves. They fed our young, pliable and absorbent minds values that cater to alien ideas. We have known the ridiculous and pathetic character in Dona Victorina in Rizal’s novel, as a classic portrayal of the false and the dishonest in the Filipino.

In government, we have many people who live far beyond their means and therefore resort to stealing public finds.

It is next to impossible to fight this imposition upon our national psyche foreign values and a foreign culture that glorifies our weakness as a people and a lifestyle that doesn’t belong to our nature.

My fellow youngsters, I invite you here and now to make the first step to eradicate this culture that has been imposed on us. We can start starting with ourselves.

We can begin now, right here, in our homes, in our classrooms, in our friends’ circles, with our girl friend and yes, even with our enemies. Let’s tell them the real score about us. It may not be easy the first time but that is part of excising the disease. We shall feel relieved later, we shall be cured.

Then and only then are we be able to shore up our latent genius, summon the best in us as we join our fellowmen – heir to a great heritage – in carving a real, true, and honest mass of brilliant, creative and industrious Filipinos.

And we can say with confidence: we are proud and progressive Filipinos —and heir to a great heritage – because we are honest.”

(Readers may reach columnist at junmv@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/think-about-it/ For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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