Perhaps there is nothing stronger than the ideas of hope and change. In 2008, Barack Obama ran on a platform of hope and won the US presidency. It was the promise of change that helped elect President Aquino three years ago. And again, change was what people looked for in the May 13 elections.
But the sad thing is that this word—change—is often misused, abused, and fashioned to fit political aspirations. The very essence of change—to transform lives—has taken a back seat to political slogans. Very rarely do we see politicians who genuinely believe in what change can do, and what change can really bring.
Having lived in a city where change has become a part of our daily lives and of its past and future, I have seen what the promise of change can do and how powerful it can be. It is a potent force not to be trifled with. It can inspire, influence, infect, but only when change is genuinely needed and clamored for. You see, change is something that people should aspire for, and not something imposed on them. Change is most effective when the people realize that the only way forward is through it. It is not something that should be cheapened through empty, seasonal promises. Change is the product of a people yearning to break free from a scarred past, often into a future that may seem unclear.
Running on a platform and promise of change alone does not guarantee better lives for a people. It is never enough to promise hope and all that comes with it; there has to be a manifestation of the promise. People have to be informed that with change come frustration, desperation, and even despair. It is not an instant solution to a nation’s problems or society’s ills. Decades of continuous degradation cannot be easily countered by a mere change in leadership. Years will pass before the effects of change can be felt. Patience is a value best employed with change.
Perhaps the hardest thing with change is its vulnerability. It is a fragile idea, a dangerous concept in the wrong hands. Left on its own, it can become a runaway train, gathering momentum, gradually becoming something it wasn’t meant to be. It can be a powerful tool, as well as a dangerous weapon. We need leaders, and more importantly, followers who have firm principles and know the strength they yield to the leaders they elect.
Yes, change is inevitable. But powerful political scions can easily manipulate a people’s hopes for change. People are afraid of what they cannot understand, much less predict. Will someone really abandon traditions and habits and choose the uncertainty that change can bring? Will people really choose an uncertain future over a past which, according to how they have been conditioned into believing, is
better than what tomorrow promises?
It is because people do not understand change that they are unwilling to embrace it. For change to take effect, it has to affect. People have to understand that change, although painful, is necessary, and that without it, nothing good will come out of great ideas. Without change, ideas remain ideas, dreams become false hope, life remains bleak, and the future turns into just another day to get through.
Change is not just another word in a campaign jingle. It is not just another promise made to woo people. It is a challenge to us as a nation to act on our hopes as a people and transform our words into choices that will either lead us into an unknown future we can mold, or leave us in a past full of desperation, oppression, and hardship.
It may seem a cliché, but change has to come from within. It has to spring from the people’s innermost desire to see and experience a better future for themselves and their children, and their children’s children. Change has to become a rallying point for a people who want to be in control of their dreams and aspirations.
Change has to inspire people to do something meaningful, no matter how small, to help make a lasting difference that will define our history and future as a nation.
We have to become the very change we want to see in our country. Change is a choice we hold in our hands.
Alec Francis A. Santos, 26, heads Naga City’s tourism and publications offices.