call me apathetic but celebrating Independence Day today (and spending millions to commemorate it) spells hypocrisy. this money could have spent giving decent homes to displaced families, new books and classrooms to public schools, additional allowance for teachers or improving government hospitals, especially their pediatric wards.
i don't think one big-time celebration would remind Filipinos of our history or what freedom means. poverty kills freedom. corruption betrays independence.
on a personal note, however, independence day ought to be celebrated every day. to be free to make choices, to live out those decisions, to be able to understand others, to be accepted despite our uniqueness, especially if those feelings and opinions are different from the rest, to be respected, to be recognized as a person despite your limitations --- these are only some manifestations of what being independent means.
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