“A Great Vision from the Past”
“Viva La España!” If you are a person who is living during the Spanish regime in the Philippines, you might frequently hear this tag line being said by the Spaniards and also being forced to inculcate in the minds and hearts of every Filipino people. Despite of the demoralizing and abusive oppression by the Spanish, we could not deny the positive attributes that they left to us. For example, “the oldest universities, colleges, and vocational schools and the first modern public education system in Asia were all created during the Spanish colonial period, and by the time Spain was replaced by the United States as the colonial power, Filipinos were among the most educated subjects in all of Asia.” (www.wikepedia.com). During the 19th century Spain invested heavily in education and infrastructure. For this, I am having this imagination if how is it to live during the Spanish occupation. What could possibly I do to contribute in the development of the future lives of my fellow Filipino people? How could I possibly show my love to my country despite of the fact that I am a prisoner in my own homeland?
If I will be given the chance to live during the Spanish colonization here in the Philippines, I will still choose to be a Filipino and I will not and will never deny that. I am thinking if I can be a daughter of the same parents which I have today and I imagine that we belong to the upper Filipino class in which I was able to finish my study in Education course. Being a daughter of a well-known family clan during the Spanish era, I am also known to my fellow Filipino people. As an educated person, I will secretly (secretly because during the Spanish ruling schools are only formalized by the Spanish Friars and non-formal education are not allowed to be conducted) teach the poor and the oppressed on how to read and write. I will teach them their alphabets that they might use as their weapon in defending not only themselves but most especially their country. Besides of these, as the Spanish oppression is really morally destructive, I will also teach these people to have a broader perspective for themselves and also a greater love for their own country. I will teach them to pray just like the Spaniards taught us but unlike them, I will impart to them not to use religion in abusing and stepping others. As I belong to a wealthy family, I will use my means to somehow help them in attaining equality and love which they did not experience from the Spaniards. In the end, if the cost of these things is a firing squad in “Bagumbayan” just like the fate of Rizal, I will not hesitate to be shot for I’d rather die fighting for the freedom of my people rather than live in cruelty and hypocrisy.
Those things which I imagined may be simple but I believe that in my own simple and limited way, I can show my love to my own country and contribute to the development of the future lives of my fellow Filipino citizen. These visions may not materialized in the same time as I live today. However, as a future teacher I will still do such things to help these poor children attain a greater vision for themselves so that someday they will not be prisoners again in their own country. I may be very idealistic in thinking but realistic in doing for a saying goes, “a man without a vision is just like a stone without an ambition” and I am not a stone. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
