Peter
Peter Paul CapituloによるI am often asked, “Why are you so loud about politics? Why do you waste your time writing long Facebook posts no one reads, or correcting people about things they don’t care about?” Well, let me tell you something. The people who ask that — they are not stupid, no. But they are comfortable. And comfort, my dear friends, is the enemy of conviction.
You and I — we are the so-called “educated youth.” Some of us will soon wear togas and shake hands with deans. Some will go on to study law, public administration, maybe even become the future analysts, advisers, or — God forbid — politicians of this country. But before we get there, I ask: what have we done now?
We have access to knowledge. We know the Constitution. We read about Marcos, Aquino, Duterte, Robredo, and every other political family name that passes through our discussions. We analyze systems, study theories, write papers. But let me ask you — what is the use of knowing Rousseau or Rawls, if we don’t speak out when injustice happens in our very streets?
What is the use of memorizing political ideologies, if we allow trapos to dance in our streets every election, handing out five hundred pesos, and we say nothing because “that’s just how it is”?
My friends, I leave you with this: Our democracy may be imperfect, our leaders may disappoint us, and the system may feel too broken to fix. But as long as we — the educated youth — still raise our voices, still ask the right questions, still vote with principle, still teach our neighbors, still believe in truth over convenience — then the fire is not out. The fire is alive.
Let us be the generation that does not inherit democracy passively — but defends it actively.