Video Essay: Remember

F. Sionil Jose penned this timeless truth: “We have the wrong memories. We remember the slightest injury to our pride … but let someone do us a good deed, and we forget it easily. We are also a nation of ingrates.”

Look around, and it would not take a historian or a poet to see this sad truth demolish the very morals this society is supposed to thrive on.

We rejoice in returns however little and fleeting they may seem, despite having suffered for an even larger cause. We claim to be victors for the crumbs that are fed to us in exchange of the sweat and blood of those who sacrificed their lives for generations to come. For a taste of momentary relief, we forgive our adversaries; we act as if they do not owe it to us. As if we are not entitled for more.

On the other hand, the very few voices who refuse to succumb to such injustice are called shameless and unthankful. They are painted as the true evil who only cause chaos, who would not be satisfied by the crumbs thrown at them, and who persist to resist in the face of a seemingly satisfactory governance. The divergent is now deemed to be the enemy; the one standing between a supposed manifestation of peace and order, and uncomfortable change.  

And perhaps it is for this reason that among the most dangerous weapons a deceiver can employ, the most fatal of all may be his ability to change the course of discussion, to wash clean his blood-stained reputation, and to make it appear that all is well in this land of the morning. For he knows that in order to advance his selfish purposes, he has to bury the truth, and worse, change the narrative that was once as clear as noon day.  

It is a tedious task and may seem to appear like an impossible feat, but give him bottomless resources, a vast amount of supporters, and time to retell his side of the story, and black magically turns to grey, and may even appear to some as white. The wolf in sheep’s clothing succeeds to turn the tables and manages to get back in the pedestal of power. Despite all these, the truth, as cliché as it seems, always prevails, guarded and championed by its crusaders.  

However, the fight for the truth requires a never-ending dedication to relay the facts of the past as it is to the young ones. The youth, on the other hand, is also duty-bound to discover the truth from the right sources, to listen to the whispers of the downtrodden, and uncover the motivations behind the perpetrators’ atrocities. In fact, it is not only the duty of the youth; this is shared by all who want to make a difference, to unearth all factual sides of the story, however ugly and uncomfortable they may be.  

Let us not forget the past. Let us not be ingrates to the sacrifices of those who came before us. Remember the cost of freedom, that was bought by thousands who strived to break the shackles of oppression, so that we may be free. May their lives not be put to waste, and may these lines guide the dictates of our conscience:

Aming ligaya na ‘pag may mang-aapi,

Ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo

This is an excerpt from an essay entitled "Remember," an entry to the essay writing contest during the Law Week which earned the 2nd place.