polsci hangover

"what you do as an individual is as important as anything the government does." -bush
today's the last day for our polsci class. this was the first time i attended classes on a wednesday. and it was ALSO the first time i felt depressed after our class dismissal. yes. you read it right. even though i was always complaining too loud of how dull our class was, my polsci class made a lot sense for me. in those lazy afternoon class hours of polsci14, i realized how the philippines needed transformation so badly and that our country still has hope despite of its many internal and external crises. prof. rye rekindled my passion for nationalism.
damn, i'm beginning to sound a lot like him. but the truth is, if you think about it, politics really is not just all about graft and corruption. it is supposed to be the way to progress if handled properly. in fact, i'm even having thoughts of joining the politics someday. not too bad for me, because i wanted to be a media practioner, too.
many people think that Philippines is a doomed country. a big chunk of our population migrates to other countries simply because our country can no longer provide the basic necessity of its people. yes, maybe our status is problematic today but if we work now for its sake, it will no longer be. i still hope that in the years to come our country can achieve sustainable growth and development. we have to strengthen the state by poltical and institutional reforms. we have to disempower the military in playing a big role in our government, instead we must empower the poor, the civilians. as what prof rye had said, we have to realize that our problems as a nation are not unique and that other countries have passed through the same course and have come out with success stories. philippines had one major strength other countries have been dying to have and that is: democracy. we are great nation. yes, we may have a lot of problems today but we also have the potential and capacity for transformation.
as citizens, we should not be apathetic to the reality. awareness is the first step. the answer to our problems lies within ourselves. we have all what we needed to transform, the question is: ARE WE WILLING TO DO SO?
prof. rye shared these 12 THINGS YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY by alexander (i can't remember the surname).
1. follow traffic laws.
2. ask for an official receipt.
3. don't buy smuggled goods. buy local. buy filipino.
4. when talking to others, especially foreigners, speak positively about us and our country.
5. respect traffic enforcers, policemen and soldiers.
6. do not litter. dispose garbage properly. segragate. recycle. conserve.
7. support your church.
8. during elections, perform your solemn duty.
9. pay your employees well.
10. pay taxes.
11. adopt a scholar or a poor child.
12. be a good parent. teach kids to follow laws and love our country.

well, honestly, i could not follow all these 12. but in one way or another i can help.
i think i have been touched by our polsci class. i can hardly believe what i am writing right now. i never write anything political before besides my works during my press con days. but hey! i am proud of myself!=)
i think this is good. i think i'm changing.

i am a filipino. and a proud one.