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| Photo by the Author |
I'd like to believe that all of us always look forward to this specific day during the last week of August because it is another holiday where classes and work are suspended, and we get another day of rest from our busy lives. As much as I love an extended break, it is quite upsetting that many do not know the significance of this said date. Throughout the years, National Heroes' Day became synonymous with “ewan ko kung ano meron pero basta walang pasok!” or “holiday ata?” when people ask what is up when we look at our calendars to mark our free dates.
Every last week of August, we celebrate National Heroes' Day, looking back and paying respects to our Philippine heroes who bravely fought for our freedom and defied what was unjust and wrong even if it meant sacrificing their lives for our motherland. The blood they shed is the same blood that keeps the Filipinos and the Philippines alive today and the reason why we are able to stand independently on our own.
The significance of the stories of our national heroes should not be taken lightly. The day we celebrate them is no ordinary holiday—it is more than that. Every National Heroes' Day is a reminder that we, ourselves, are our own modern-day heroes. We are reminded that as Filipinos, we should hold the same amount of respect and love for our country the same way our heroes did. I do not mean this by going to war and experiencing bloodshed or other extreme means, but through the simple things we do every day and through the morals and values we uphold and live by.
Our modern-day heroes include our doctors, nurses, and hospital staff serving as our frontliners in this current pandemic. The same goes for our retail workers and security guards who never fail to greet us, the service people who make our lives easier, the drivers who get us from place to place safely, and the teachers who continue to teach us the truthful version of our history amid uncertain times, and even our own families—all of these people are examples of modern-day heroes in their own way.
When we speak our minds, write our thoughts, make art that disturbs the comfortable, and fight injustice, let us think of our fellow Filipinos before ourselves and continue to resist what we know is wrong and unfair. Young as we are, we can already be heroes ourselves. Our national heroes paved the way for our freedom to become a reality, it is now our duty to do everything we can to fight for and protect it.
This National Heroes' Day, may we continue to take a stand and keep the fire our heroes instilled in us burning.
