RIZAL ORATION PIECE

When I was young, I used to dream of wonderful things for the Philippines. I wanted to see tall sky
scrapers reach as high as the clouds. I wanted to hear people sing songs, holding each others hands and
laughing out loud as if there were no tomorrow. I dreamed to see the Philippine flag hoisted in each and
every household shouting,Viva las islas Filipinas! and at the same time singing the Lupang Hinirang in a
blaring voice.
Ten years later, these dreams were shattered to the ground. I dont see tall buildings but I see
unfinished construction sites because of poor planning and development. I dont hear songs and laughter
but I hear gunshots, cries and remorse, witnessing how people kill each other on television screens
because of self-centeredness and inequality. I dont see flags in peoples households but I see households
broken, its members venturing to other parts of the globe because of scarcity of jobs and opportunities.
This was not the Philippines I was dreaming of.
Our society needs an immediate reorientation and reinventing of values. We need a real president
who can bring about real and tangible transformation. According to Rizal, as Filipinos we should not exude
the smell politicians, but should advocate the endeavors of ever-loyal nationalists.
Politics when it blazes between tyrants and oppressed people, has no heart, nobrains but fangs, poison and
vengeance.
As Filipinos we need not sensationalize our achievements and charity works. Rizal didnot show off
his achievements because people already know him as someone great. He need not dance and sing in
commercials because his works spoke for themselves. I Rizal were my president, I would gladly repeat that
words of Padre Florentino.
I do not mean to say that our freedom must be won at the point of the sword. No! Absolutely
not! The sword now counts very little in the destinies of our time. But I do say that we
must win our freedom by deserving it, by improving the mind and enhancing the dignity of the individual.
Loving what is just, what is good, what is great, even to the point of dying for it.