More than love, freedom

Falling in love seems so cliché. For some it may mean the world to them, but to fall in love is just too much. Or it could be just me and my ignorance love itself.

I see love when one gets all giddy inside because flowers and chocolates are waiting on their doorstep. It's all about the sweet notes and love letters signed and sealed with kisses. Romantic love stories seem to make love so surreal and even to the point of being idealistic in nature. Yet, I'd like to believe that love is more than that. That love is more than the cooties we feel from a sweet gesture.

More than the feeling of love that we celebrate every February is the celebration of freedom.

Freedom is such an abstract word. An old adage says “My freedom ends where your nose begins,” which connotes that being free does not guarantee you automatic permission to do whatever you want. Dream on.  There are limitations. They define your boundaries and your space as a person.

Just yesterday, I felt the aura of the wind turn from Valentine's passionate red to a bright yellow. Yellow has always been associated with happiness as its brightness speak for a happy aura. But the meaning of yellow transcends all happiness. In fact, it could be the highest form of happiness. This is freedom.

It has been 27 years since the march along EDSA. I was not there when it all happened, but anecdotes have served me a great deal to celebrate freedom. Martial law was at hand and out of control. People were being robbed of their rights, and even the media was caught in a bad shape.

One thing that I have admired the most about the Filipinos during the time of the people power revolution was when they knew how to stand up for their country. It was a dramatic scene. People from all sectors alike were holding hands walking towards the goal of overthrowing a dictator who has chained the Philippines. Nuns, students, even some of the soldiers and ordinary people brought down their guards and called for a genuinely free country.

We were successful at that. In fact, we even elected our first lady president who then became the symbol of democracy. It was her who changed the rule of the land into the hands of the people. It was her who continued the legacy of her late husband and bought it with her until her own death bed.

Those who enjoy the fruit of their labor are us, the generation after Martial Law. The freedom entrusted to us has become our avenue to be ourselves so we can make the Philippines a better place. Our artists can freely paint their heart's desire on canvass. Dances are expressed out of feelings and songs are sung with the greatest emotion.

The arts that we see today go hand in hand with the freedom that we have just achieved. With the changing paradigm of the country, we have to convince ourselves that we well deserved the freedom that has been fought. It was Spiderman who said, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” The power of freedom to make or break you as person must be handled with care. It is our shared responsibility to take care of this precious gift given to us.

Like a rose given that is given out of love on an occasion such as Valentine's day, so is our democracy. Once it is tattered, it may never go back again to the way it was before.

**Published in the Freeman Newspaper on February 26, 2013