Ang Kabataan ang Pag-asa ng Bayan?

Shades of Grey

Reflections of an Ex-Future Messiah

Previous posts:

The Conferment of Laurel Wreaths in Philippine Society

Santa Claus and parental control

In my father's house, there are many rooms.

When Rizal said, “Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan”, he probably was referring to himself and to others like Bonifacio who were still kabataan when they stood up to Spain. Now, the phrase is usually uttered by adults who try to exhort the youth to some patriotic or philantrophic activity. I’ve always thought that making that statement now smacked of adult irresponsibility, of passing on the buck to a new generation who, in turn, can always resort to the same tired old aphorism once they seize to be kabataan.

The sad thing is that the young do look at the old for models (I do not use the words “look up to” on purpose) and all they see are adults passing on responsibility for all the difficult stuff to the young and unencumbered. Why do adults then even bother to wonder why the young do not want to take on the responsibility for doing something about all the big-stuff (ex. Corruption, political crises) in our society? I think the fact that students are not involved is just a reflection of what they see among the adults.

Some of those who were active in the 1970s and the 1980s look back with nostalgia at the time when the young, even within the Ateneo, were involved. They even wrote a book about it entitled Down From the Hill. But what rarely comes to consciousness (especially when talking about the youth of today) is that even back then, administrators and faculty paid a key role in encouraging student involvement. Many people have told me about the instrumental role Fr. Nebres played back then when he was Dean of the Arts and Sciences. They said he was even giving seminars on Marx. Then there were faculty who were asked to leave the University because of their radical views.

Fr. Nebres is still at it, of course, but this time he’s taking on a more pragmatic, results-oriented line. If some wonder why students and student organizations are becoming more pragmatic and results-oriented (and less involved with macro-level reform and politics), it probably is because this is the only model that they see.

Not that there are no other models that are out there nor does it mean that all adults are apathetic. It is just that there is no consciousness of the need to be a model, to set aside any issues with modesty and realize that it is our responsibility as adults (and teachers) to show students (and not just tell them) through our lives what they can do. Is it any wonder, for example, that Team Gabaldon was formed after students saw the work of Bobby Guev in Nueva Ecija? Or that Alay ni Ignacio and Pathways were formed by students under the dynamo himself, Harvey Keh?

So if all we see among the youth is indifference, then we must assume responsibility for what we see and check what they see in us.

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