it's frustrating to see the present rut our country is in. but i'm not here to state the obvious and repeat the things that we've all grown sick and tired of. i'm here to rant about UP. sorry christian, but i think we don't deserve our conceit. it's even more frustrating to see that UP, which supposedly plays a major part in the democratization of society and national progress, fails to breed the kind of leaders or public servants that this country desperately needs.
i thought UP was a place for critical thinkers and visionaries. I was wrong.
those people are few and far between. i admit i am one of those who fail to exercise what professor r. s. david calls our "faculty of reason" and critical thinking. I'm no visionary, just like all the others that seem to be unable to picture a future for this country. the problem with most iskolars ng bayan lies either with their attitude or their short-sighted and/or self-serving principles.
case in point, while UP is considered to be a promoter of a culture of critique and activism, the truth is, some students don't really give a damn on what's happening around them. Not only are they apathetic, but they don't even seek to know about or get an understanding of current issues and concerns. I know because i've known these people. some don't even care about their studies , settling for mediocrity, not paying any mind to the fact that the country shoulders their education, making it possible for the to become iskolars ng bayan in the first place. for now, i can say that i haven't fallen that far down yet, at least i care about my studies even if i'm not exactly doing perfectly well. but who knows, maybe someday i could become one of them too. i am part of this culture, and therefore, i am also part of the problem .
as for the so-called 'activists,' they are a dwindling kind. they shout all day for change and reform, but more often than not, they offer no concrete or detailed alternatives to the status quo. More importantly, the question to be asked is: what have they done in their own capacities as individuals, in their locality or their personal lives to effect the change and reform that they keep shouting about? do they even attend the barangay assemblies of their local communities? what right have they to push for change, when they can't even reform themselves? now, is that an act of a visionary, or even a critical thinker?
and what about the isko's i've met who went to UP only because they wanted to get rich, or worse, go abroad? are those the right principles by students of a supposedly nationalistic university?
of course, there are some who have the right attitude; those who have gone through hardships and are detrmined to make it good in UP. but sadly, their principles are either short-sighted or self-serving. they want to rise up the ranks because they feel they deserve it; they feel they have been deprived. nothing wrong about that. but is it enough...? where's the selflessness in that? where's tha sacrifice for country and for others? gone... lost... forgotten...?
when we enter the diliman campus, the oblation greets us with his nakedness and oustretched arms. But do we remember what he stands for?
maybe i'm too idealistic, but if young people like me lose their idealism, what will happen to nation's fate?
what happens is that those who are underprivileged want to become the same people who have marginalized them: the elite. they are what rizal calls the slaves of today that become the "tyrrants of tomorrow."
i know a guy who went through a lot in life. he says he wants to get rich because he feels he deserves if he strives hard enough. again, nothing wrong with that. but don't millions of other filipinos feel the same way? and then, what sets him apart from the countless others who aspire for the same dreams? his UP education, of course. and that same educationwill give him an advantage over the masses who have not been as blessed. what happens is that a UP education, instead of promoting selflessness and sacrifice for the nation's common good, gives an unfair edge that excludes the masses from opportunities to uplift themselves... instead of being a democratizing agent in society, it breeds elitism and fails to encourage the intellectually-gifted isko's to offer their talents to the country instead of pursuing self-serving ends.
UP is a graveyard of broken dreams.. those of its students and members of its community, and those of the entire nation that pins its hopes on it. as i make my way through the university, i step on the fragments of dreams past, shattered and scattered... i don't know how long before i too would fall and sink completely into the quagmire of cynicism, mediocrity, short-sightedness and pusrsuit of self-satisfaction. i want to make a difference, "to do something great" according to bulaan in the muscial "st. louis loves them filipinos." but how long before i forget those dreams and ideals upon which the state university is built? i don't know... just like the future of this country, it's uncertain...
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and then some good news... enough of the serious stuff for now... time to realx and enjoy... and relax and enjoy i did, along with other basement boys last saturday at the daza park at camp aguinaldo. it was a day of fun in the sun, games under the rain during the latter part of the day, night swimming and serenades, and colorful conversation. it was a great bonding activity for the ground acropoleans, even though swimming, especially under a thunderstorm at night, didn't exactly provide much relaxation. and so what if our lunch and dinner were a bit delayed by a few hours, forcing us to munch on bread with mayonnaise set to expire on that same day, and dole-outs from our hosts? but everything else went well and we had fun. that's what's important, anyway.
Labels: ragings |
