I remember reading this essay from a high school book about how the future of our world hinges on the ones who will inherit it – our youth.
That essay postulates that if there’s one sector which can really make a difference, it’s our kids and our youth.
The reason: adults have become cynical, pessimistic, laid-back and too lackadaisical in wanting to change a system that benefits a few. To use a Filipino phrase, “nilamon na sila ng sistema.” Their aspirations have become extinguished, their drive exhausted, their principles sold for the comfort of everyday humdrum living.
The youth, on the other hand, have more energy, more drive, more determination to make things work from them. While their unyielding principles can sometimes border on stubbornness or close-mindedness, our youth, more often than not, have that boundless optimism that they could change the world – and the willpower, if not the resources, to make things happen.
Nakakatawa nga na itong mga “idealistic” na mga kabataan ang laging sinasabihan ng mga magulang nila na sumunod na lang sa linya, tanggapin na wala nang magagawa upang baguhin ang sistema, na sumabay na lang sa agos upang mabuhay sa isang mundong marahas at magulo.
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A few days ago, my boss (who himself is running for board member in a region where political dynasties and traditional politics have become part of life itself), noted the unbound energy of the youth in supporting him and another of our local editors, a millennial who’s running for the town council.
That’s when our Laguna local editor pointed out something: this 2025 elections, around 63 percent of our voting population are composed of “millennials” and “Generation Z,” or those born between the 1990’s and the 2000’s.
Ang mga kabataan na ito ay ipinanganak at namulat sa pag-usbong ng teknolohiya, social media, at nakita ang muling pag-usbong ng awtoritariyanismo, paglala ng katiwalian at karahasan, at ang tila pagsamba ng masa sa mga taong sumisipsip sa dugo ng sambayanan.
At ang mas masakit pa marahil sa kanila ay ang kanilang “disillusionment” o ang realisasyon na mismong mga magulang nila – ang mga taong dapat ay nag-aakay sa kanila papunta sa kagandahang-asal at pagiging isang mabuting tao – ang mismong lumalabag sa mga prinsipyong itinuro sa kanila.
Here’s a plea to all our parents out there: listen to your kids. Listen to their pleas of genuine, progressive and inclusive change. Listen to their aspirations of a better world – after all, they will inherit whatever choice we give to them through the choice of our leaders, right?
Huwag ninyong balewalain ang mga kabataan. Tama nga si Rizal: sila ang tunay na pag-asa ng bayan. Huwag ninyo silang biguin – at huwag ninyong patayin ang ningas ng paghahangad ng tunay na pagbabago sa kanila.
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