A generation’s hope
Jose Rizal’s statement that the youth is the hope of our motherland is still true up to this day and age, even under a cyber world that tend to control everything, including our children’s thoughts. Sometimes, I fear over what would happen to the next carrier of our species. They seem vulnerable to the technological advances that occupy their hands, minds and hearts.
When one is so focused on the distractions provided by the advancements of science and technology, developments that are making life “easy” and comfortable for people, especially for the young, the mind stops thinking. People are disarmed and rendered unprepared to the point that they become enclosed in a virtual reality that makes them forget our real world. It is this kind of distraction that the enemies of humanity would want to happen.
It is easy to make people follow and agree to anything, even to the loss of their birthright, when they are lost in their own amusement. While many are still unaware that we are being played upon by this capitalist game--as we are being bombarded with petty things we are made to believe as “necessities” that we need to acquire and possess--it is worth noting that there are still many others who are holding on and are refusing to be placed under the influence of this seeming mental and psychological intoxication.
It is a great privilege to be part of and have the opportunity to catch a glimpse at how some budding writers among the youth are assuming the responsibilities that some scribes of my generation are still refusing to undertake.
Even with all the gadgets that the youth have in their possession and that which already imprisoned many among their peers and totally dispossessed them of their mental faculties, there are still among them who are striving to learn from the sad lessons of their forebears and dream of a better world.
It is like a breath of fresh air to see these young scribes’ insatiable search for truth, and one can note the genuine interest in their eyes when they gave me full attention as I shared some of my thoughts and humble experiences as a scribe myself.
Indeed, these children are well-motivated not only by their families but perhaps by the blight that they are seeing in their environment. They want nothing but a better world and that is what they are getting with their small efforts.
Carrying forward the torch for their future are members of the College Editors’ Guild of the Philippines (CEGP)-General Santos City Chapter who held their Regional Student Press Convention ’17 at the Science and Technology Training Center of the Mindanao State University-Gensan on October 13 to 15. With the theme, “Bahandi: Uniting Campus Press for Truth Amid the spread of Fake News and Alternative Facts,” the budding writers are truly the hope of motherland.
Thus, even if it has been said that “those who brings the light must endure burning”, it is certainly inspiring to see them pursue their quest for truth and freedom from the bondage of this oppressive system that has continued to shackle the poor and the powerless in our society.--