Navigating freedom
How a once bright, sturdy ship called ‘Independence’ has gone to seed
Published in the print and online version of the Philippine Panorama of the Manila Bulletin. Read more at http://2016.mb.com.ph/2016/06/12/navigating-freedom/#EZg53iAYiTp6Thor.99
THINK OF OUR country as a ship—its crew are us, the citizens; the captain, the government. The ship, now riddled with holes and cracks in the hull, is rusty and has seen better days. To make matters worse, almost all of the crew are fighting amongst themselves, while some have gone overboard to swim to better ships, no matter how far they may be. Some, however, carried on repairing the cracks and dents in the ship.
That ship is what our forefathers fought and paid for in blood. Our forefathers never minded how expensive the struggle was as long as the ship was theirs and theirs alone. .
Many wanted to have the ship, many tried to steal it, but eventually, we inherited it bright and sturdy, and ready for the open seas.
But overtime, we grew tired and weary from maintaining it. Over time, water started seeping through the cracks, which became longer and more pronounced. Over time, we grew more complacent and detached, to the point where some of us would say, “I wish we never got this ship. I wish it was just sold.”
The captain has also neglected his duties of manning the helm; the crew, however, isn’t helping him either. The crew grew more hateful towards the captain—a mutiny is not far off. Our ship is sinking, and as more crew abandon it, the faster it sinks. The name of the ship, by the way, is “Independence.”
I grew up in Manila. I’ve had my fair share of experiences from its people—from the calm, to the arrogant, to the troubled, the best, and the worst, from its blue backsides like Tondo, where I live, to its posh, airy facades like Rockwell and Bonifacio Global City (BGC). Still, the city remains fascinating and exotic, even for a local.
In the years I grew up here, I realized one thing: we Filipinos are individualistic. Indeed, contrary to our portrayal to the outside world as extroverted and friendly people, we Filipinos keep mostly to ourselves, minding our own business, and not caring about others who get in the way of our daily lives.
We avoid conflict and issues as much as possible, and we favor conveniences even at the misfortunes of others, hence, corruption. While it is natural for people to work for something they want, it becomes a problem when that desire to acquire becomes too much, to the point when almost everybody begins abusing independence and freedom.
And this vicious individualism transcends classes—even supposedly educated people resort to lowly acts when the difficulty arises, like cutting in front of a queue, or making an illegal U-turn, to name a few.
Anyone who has ever ridden the LRT would realize that no one really cares if people are shoved aside when boarding or alighting, or when there are no lines to begin with and people are cramped precariously on the edge of the platform, or when one squeezes desperately into an already tightly packed train.
No one really cares about what others feel, and people just take the bumping and the shoving as normal. Add to that our impatience and our infamous imprudence, it’s no wonder why we suffer daily. This complacent attitude has allowed a desensitized society to persist.
You think you’d know the meaning of independence when you’re in Manila because streets are named after heroes and other notable people. You think you’d know because of the promise of a comfy life in places like BGC. I mean, why else would it be named after the Supremo of the Katipunan himself?
But independence doesn’t mean being able to climb upward in comfortable society. Independence is a shared endeavor. On a larger scale, a country cannot be called as such without independence. Our independence as a country was just an agreement on paper.
True independence, however, entails a solid interdependence between a country’s people, and between these people and their government—a mutual symbiosis. The chaos in Manila reflects our failure to realize that independence does not mean absolute freedom, but recognition of others’ freedoms. As the old legal maxim goes: “Your liberty to swing your fist ends where my nose begins.”
At the same time, independence is personal, too. In fact, it is so personal that we constantly face hurdles that challenge our concept of independence every day, like in the LRT scene, where our independence from inefficient services is challenged; or like when someone doesn’t give you the right of way on the road, which challenges our independence from being stuck in traffic; or, more commonly, when we find strands of hair in our meals while eating out, where our independence from health hazards is challenged.
But the good thing is the desire for freedom and independence contiue to burn in countless different ways. Every new generation guarantees that this independence is enjoyed thoroughly through, say, music, literature, film, and other art forms.
Because minds are also being opened to the truth, and our state as a country, more are inspired to save it, more and more come to the aid of “Independence,” to meld its dents and damages. This is manifested in how engaged we are in social issues concerning basic human rights like freedom of speech. You could say problems and solutions work like theses and antitheses. One could not stand without the other.
We Filipinos may be very individualistic, but that doesn’t mean we’re not compassionate. Our love for independence may sometimes pull us away from pressing issues, as often is the case, but in the process, of exploring ourselves, we become more human. We may shrug off people in the daily hassles of life, but we know when to love life when it’s most needed, when it is most imperiled. You could also say that we have “tough love” for one another, and these are the things that, I believe, would keep us afloat.
Our ship will continue to float for as long as we maintain respect for one another, and put others before us—to recognize that the independence of others is just as important as yours and mine. And all these can be done through one free and simple gesture: kindness.
