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| Feeling a bit patriotic at the moment... |
Do not forget:
We Filipinos are the first Asian people who revolted against a western imperial power, Spain; the first who adopted a democratic republican constitution in Asia, the Malolos Constitution; the first to fight the first major war of the twentieth century against another western imperial power, the United States of America.
There is no insurmountable barrier that could stop us
from becoming what we want to be.
– Jose W. Diokno
And indeed, Diokno's wisdom is far from contestable. On a higher and almost system level, we have peacefully toppled two Presidents (three if you count the last one, who, according to an Inquirer columnist was ousted through national elections). On a much individual level, so many Filipinos have made it to the top of their chosen fields -- Charice, Arnel Pineda, and Alan Pineda; Dado Banatao and Gregorio Zara; Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Efren "Bata" Reyes; Jose Diokno, Claro M. Recto, and Carolina Hernandez; and so many more.
I was watching The Pursuit of Happyness with my sister last night, and whenever I watch this, I always feel that there's something good waiting for me, for all of us, and it is just a matter of pursuing our dreams. Again, as Diokno once said, "There is no insurmountable barrier that could stop us from becoming what we want to be."
Yun na yun. :-)
