Many mourned the death of King of Pop, Michael Jackson. I do not in any way demean the man’s great and unmatched contribution to pop culture, music and history. But I think the death of President Corazon Aquino merits more attention, if not from the whole world, at least from our nation.
History is one of my least favorite subjects. And I was only taught to be a critical thinker when I entered college. So needless to say, I know little about Cory and her administration. What I do know is that she was a strong, determined, well – educated woman, who fought for her family, her faith and her nation’s freedom.
My parents are Martial Law Babies. And it was inevitable that they became sentimental when they learned of Cory’s death.
My dad said that Cory’s death somehow represents the marking down of their generation’s history. Sooner or later, young people would only have heard of the Martial Law, the People Power Revolution, Ninoy and Cory inside their history classes. Soon, Cory’s memory and her passion for democracy would only be read in books.
My mom on the other hand, chose to see the “drama” in all of these. She said that Ninoy wrote a poem for Cory when he was in prison. I think it has the lines “I fell in love with the same woman three times…” or something like that. She was almost in tears when she said that she hopes Ninoy and Cory would find each other on the other side of life.
Do you want to know what my reaction was upon hearing about the news? I immediately thought of Kris and how she would present herself before the media. I’m sorry for my superficiality. I was sick and I slept through the whole Saturday. It was just today that I fully understood how much Cory meant to the Filipino people.
“I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life.” - Cory
I think President Aquino lived a life brimming with meaning and purpose. And in her death, the passion for which she did the things she so bravely accomplished reignited the fire in each and every Filipino's heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment