Saving the country with honesty

By Roselle P. Gale

IT feels like hope for our country to bloom is just a myth or a legend that is still in search of a hero.

Some believe that there is already a hero, some do not, and some do not really care. What if there is no hero? Or that we are just waiting for nothing?

I do think there is a hero, a seeker who can raise the throne of our country. And that is you and I.

Everybody is a hero. We should not wait for others to save our own country. We must do it ourselves.

As a Filipino, I will save my country without using any magical powers, like those coming from air, water, fire and earth as in the anime I used to watch, nor by holding a sword in my hand or a wizard stick to defeat the villain. I will do it by using my values. Maybe that sounds a bit naive, but values are more powerful than any weapon or magical power, for it is a gift — a gift that is rare and was bestowed upon me by the Mightiest up there.

Corruption is a word you cannot separate from our country, and crimes are everywhere – stealing, abusing, and killing. These ghastly occurrences are diffusing like a potion and absorbing it may be the easiest path to take but it is also the worst move one can make. There is always a choice and I choose to fight that potion and find an antidote to defeat it. Compared to other countries, our country could be said to be one of the smallest, so why does saving it need to be that tough and dangerous? Lack of determination is really the problem.

Now, we all tell lies. Yes, I am a liar.  I have been telling lies since the day I learned how to lie and that brings me bad consequences – I got beaten up by my father, my friends shunned me, and was left with just a few who trust me. These were awful experiences.  Now see the connection between lying and the worst situation of our country. With corruption at work, an official tries to benefit from donation money which is supposed to be for the victims of a typhoon that hit the country. That official will declare the amount of the donation money less the money he gets from it. As a result, people think that no one cares for them, so rebellion will arise. And because rebellion is an act of violence and a threat to national security, killings will emerge. Cheating in an election is the worst lie a president-to-be can ever make and that lie will lead people to lose trust in the leader and a revolution could ensure, therefore it will lead to the country’s instability. A lie could lead a country to doom.

Can you imagine how many prisoners are suffering and paying for what they did not do. They are victims of powerful lies. How about a person being shot dead because he was pointed at as the thief, but actually just a passerby? Can your conscience take it? Well, I cannot. I’d rather tell the truth and suffer than let someone suffer because of me.

Can you imagine how peaceful, organized and pleasurable our country could be if we choose to be honest? I know it is not easy, lying is sometimes the painless way out.

But saving the country can be possible by not telling a lie, it will lead people to trust each other. You cannot win the trust of others unless you are honest and once trust is broken, conflict could easily ensue. Peace and prosperity will not be achieved by our precious country until we stop stabbing each other’s back. It’s the crab mentality.

I believe that if I started to be honest from this day on, it would be a great help in uplifting our country.

Being honest means being fair to yourself, to others and to the country.

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