In our veins run the blood of heroes, men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so we may have the freedom we now cherish and enjoy. They asked the question: are we willing to die for our country? Now, however, the question is: are we willing to live for our country?
For most of us, the big moment when we have to choose between life and death may never come. For most of us, there will only be the small moments of everyday life when we have to choose between honesty and petty corruption, between developmental projects and re-election projects, between being vigilant and being a trapo, between being oneself and what others approve of.
What our choices will be, what our challenges will be, what our engagements will be, we have to find out for ourselves. Nobody can do it for us. The past is not there to copy, it is there to learn from. The future is not there to escape into, it is there to work for. We can’t expect change to come from trapos or even those already in power. We are the change we seek.
As we commemorate the 72nd Leyte Gulf Landings, we may all be enlightened with hope and courage to be our own heroes as we traverse life.
We live in exciting times, we live in an exciting period of our lives. We can choose to be blind to that, and give up hope altogether. Or we can choose to stare it in the face, believe in our inherent capacity to effect change, and help carve the glory of our towns and the grandeur of our time.
Happy 72nd Leyte Landings Leyteños!
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