Do the Youth still know Ninoy Aquino?

Written on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 pm | by Carlo "Wauks" Ople

Ninoy Aquino

Does the Filipino youth still know who Ninoy Aquino is? Or is he just a face that they see on the P500 peso bill? With all the problems that we face these days as well as the great digital divide between generations, it’s not hard to imagine young men and women more consumed by the drive to survive and going through the daily grind than to actually give a damn about the country. Let’s face it… I myself am only 26 years old and I come from a political family yet I’m not fully aware of what Ninoy was all about. All I know is that he “died” for the country. What more for the younger generations?

While writing this post, I made it a point to do more research on Ninoy. In my journey of getting to know him more, I stumbled upon this uploaded video on Youtube which really made an impact. It’s his last interview before he boarded the plane to Manila and eventually got shot when his feet finally touched the Philippines once again.

Ninoy Aquino: Last Interview

This is such a powerful interview. You can really feel the passion and love he had for the country and for the Filipino people. I remember watching this when I was still in Grade School but I really didn’t appreciate it back then. But now I fully understand what Ninoy was about.

He is something that we actually need now more than ever. Ninoy’s memory offers a solution to all the conflict happening in Mindanao, the blatant corruption in government, the constant killing of journalists, and the declining economy. It begins with all of us - by personally acknowledging that we are Filipinos and that this is indeed a country that we can be proud of. Bottom line is this: we need to teach the youth to give a damn about this country and not to teach them that the future to a good life is outside the Philippines.

In this day and age, we don’t need one hero to lead our nation into greatness. We all have to find that Ninoy in our own hearts and and we need to start believing. Ninoy Aquino believed that the Filipino was worth dying for. Do we feel the same way?

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About The Author: Carlo "Wauks" Ople is the Head of Casual Games and Responsible Gaming for the leading online gaming publisher in the country – Level Up Philippines. He is also a New Media consultant for various politicians and government agencies. You can read more about him in his personal blog at www.carloople.com.

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Comments

8 Responses to “Do the Youth still know Ninoy Aquino?”

  1. Mich O. on August 22nd, 2008 2:24 pm

    I agree that the youth need to take time to look into the lives of such heroes like Ninoy. Getting to know such important people in our history isn’t just about fact-gathering and studying them academically. It’s about knowing the ideals behind their actions and implanting that love for country into the next generation, so that someday the youth may also strive to make as big a difference in the lives of our people as Ninoy and other heroes did. It’s that love for country that will ultimately make our nation stronger and better.

  2. Ding G. Gagelonia on August 22nd, 2008 2:43 pm

    Welcome aboard, Carlo. Your Lolo Blas whom I recall so fondly am sure is proud, very proud of you, and your Tita Toots. :)

  3. Ding G. Gagelonia on August 22nd, 2008 7:19 pm

    P.S.
    A minor correction lang, Carlo, youth is a collective noun, so the proper title is ‘Do The Youth Still Know Ninoy Aquino?’ :0

  4. Juvenile Economist on August 22nd, 2008 9:30 pm

    I’ve heard of stories of Ninoy being a feared leader, ordering killings of criminals or parading them on stakes like lechon. Don’t know if its true.

    I could never get myself hyped over Ninoy. All i know is that he died on the tarmac. I want to know who he was before he died, before he became an opposing force to Marcos.

    There’s a nice article on Ninoy in the Inquirer today — about Marcos telling his generals that Ninoy was the best successor.

    http://musingsofayoungeconomist.co.cc

  5. Carlo "Wauks" Ople on August 23rd, 2008 3:33 am

    Mich:

    Wooo, thanks for the comment dear. :)

    Ding:

    Thanks for the kind words and the correction, hehe.

  6. Dean Jorge Bocobo on August 23rd, 2008 2:49 pm

    I am not so sure that the “youth” (or even the not so young) would really like to know everything there is to know about Ninoy Aquino. It’s much better to let him be the plaster saint he has become. I think it’s enough we see his great sacrifice as heroism and martyrdom. But I hope it is his example in the first instance that sticks and not necessarily that of the second. Just watch, it’ll be just like with Rizal whom we allow to be murdered and re-murdered annually by the Spanish Taliban whilst we sing Bayan Ko. Ninoy’s death has come to mean more to us than his life Which I find perverse because it’s so…Roman Catholic.

  7. GM Tristan on August 25th, 2008 4:40 pm

    Great article!

    Keep it up!

    GM Tristan
    http://gmtristan.com

  8. JC John SESE-Cuneta on August 26th, 2008 10:26 am

    “we need to teach the youth to give a damn about this country and not to teach them that the future to a good life is outside the Philippines.”

    Can’t agree more. I’m tired of hearing Filipinos saying that “there is good life abroad” when if you ask those Filipinos abroad, they themselves will tell you to stay in the Philippines because it is not anymore a “good life” there.

    Time has changed but Filipino mindsets still hasn’t. It is true a few decades ago, but it isn’t anymore today and much more not in the future.

    Today is the era of East Asians like us. Opportunities are plenty and abound especially here in South-East Asia. We don’t need to go abroad and go back as corpses after we die.

    Ninoy died in this country, for this country NOT abroad, unlike all the other Filipinos who died abroad, for that foreign soil and then was buried here.

    Time to change Filipinos, time to change.

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