bury me in this dress

Have you ever cried because of your country? I have numerous times. I cry from frustration and pity because I know that the Philippines can be much much better than its current state. I’m frustrated with the rampant poverty, the bureaucratic red tapes, the filthy streets, the corruption in almost every system, etc. etc. etc. Years ago the Philippines wasn’t like this. There was a time when we were ahead of our Asian neighbors. There was a time when we weren’t in debt, when the Philippine Peso was equal to the US Dollar, when our rivers were blue and pollution-free. I cry because so many are leaving the country so that they would have enough money to feed their family. I think the real reason why I cry is because of the feeling of helplessness.

I’m sure a lot of Filipinos have cried for the same reason. We have no clue how to bring back the country to its former glory. The ‘cancer’ is eating us away and there seems no cure for it. The illness is in too deep now. Daily news or robberies, killings, and corruption has become normal and we hardly react anymore. We have become desensitized somehow but the wound is still there. Every once in a while, we feel the pain. Every once in a while, we begin to hope. We pin our hopes on a promising politico, hoping that he won’t be corrupt and that he would be able to change the government. We join organizations and volunteer work to do things like lessen pollution, promote women’s rights, or whatever. But after awhile, when nothing has really changed, we revert to our jaded normal self.

Tears are just that. Tears. Salty liquid oozing out from tear ducts sometimes triggered by emotion. They’re useless because they can’t change the way things really are. My tears can’t do anything to improve the Philippines.