A CHANGE WITHIN

Half a century of oppression, tyranny, and cruelty had passed. Foreign battleships,artillery, and military
left our land. Our flag raised in full dignity and colours. An independentgovernment formed and fortified
by laws. A nation formed by people with its own rights,language, and identity to be proud of. The
Philippines is free at last, or is it? Corruption, poverty,dirty politics, and other national problems both
minor and major are present and imminentnowadays. Moral and character crisis is sweeping around the
country. We are in need for achange, a change that will not come from others but with you. We have to
eradicate the image of a common Filipino which is still bound to the old culture of being idle and going
through theflow. We have to become a new Filipino bound with the new culture of being
disciplined,righteous, and persevering, a new Filipino which is honest and loyal, and a new Filipino full
of patriotism for his country. The Filipino youth is the answer and the fulfillment of this dream. Wewill
be the future leaders and forth runners of this nation. The future of our country is at our hands and it is on
a hanging balance. If we fail to change, our country will continue todeteriorate. But if we succeed, our
country will shine again with its full glory.
So why is it that Im persuading you to change? What is the true dilemma of our society?The
truth is corruption and other problems are just contributors in the deterioration of our country. Our culture
is the one to be blamed of. Many countries such as the Koreas were oncefull of corrupt political leaders,
but where are they now? They rose as the 13th largest economyin the world. The secret lies in their
culture of being hard working. We too have our own hardworking people but what becomes imminent is
the culture of consumerism. We tend consumeour gains faster than we produce. We dont think for the
future but just think of today. Many saythat immigrating and Filipinos abroad must go back and work for
their country instead. But whatis the use of patriotism if their stomachs are empty. We have to admit that
our minimum wage isso low for a growing economy tied up with growing population trend that eats up
our economicgains and low job availability or jobs mismatch. Filipinos also tends to give importance to
whitecollar jobs and ignore blue collar jobs like welding, gardening, and etc. which are the basic jobsin a
society. We also didnt pursue agrarian reform like what our Asian neighbours had done likeJapan and
Taiwan to give importance and lift the current situation of our peasants and farmers.We also lack in
implementation. Our laws are nearly perfect but cannot be implemented andenforced properly. These are
the problems of our society and do need an immediate change.
The effects of these problems tend to amplify because of the culture of idleness. Therewas a
time when I passed along the slums of Catarman early morning and saw how the peoplethere are just so
idle, sitting, gambling, and even drinking alcoholic drinks early morning. Theyare just wasting time and
energy doing nothing instead of searching for opportunities. Thisculture is perpetuating and sometimes
we even take pride on it uttering the quote: Filipinos arelazy people. These problems are also sometimes
considered as the norm. Because everyonedoes it I will do it, a common idea of Filipinos. We are also
great show-offs. We are alwaysfond of extravagant clothes, bags, and shoes with expensive product line.
We are always sayingthat we love our country and we are proud of it but do nothing to save it from its
demise. Theseeffects conjugate together and form an impassable barrier towards a better future. The
enemy andthe one to be blamed for areour own selves. And we have the capacity and the decision to
changeand prosper. Reform in the educational sector can be an answer to these problems. On a
hundredkids only five will proceed to college and 2 will have decent jobs. If we focused on education
wecan and we will purge the root cause of these problems. Social revolutions can also be done toinduce
reform. Not the bloody one but a peaceful one. But I am not provoking a revolution tooverthrow the
government but a revolution inside our selves. Educational reforms and socialrevolutions will not succeed
if we ourselves will not change our attitude, values and perspectivein life. The sole solution to these
problems is a change within, a change that will start at us, achange that will create an unbreakable chain
of changes among others, and a change that will break that impassable barrier. We can become a new
Filipino. And when that day comes, I assureyou the Philippines is free at last.