Reliving Ninoy Aquino's wisdom through his own words

MANILA, Philippines (Originally published August 21, 2014) - Today, Filipinos celebrate the death anniversary of Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino Jr. More than just the father of the current President of the Philippines,  Benigno "Noynoy" S. Aquino III, and more than just the husband of the late and former President of the Philippines, Cory Aquino, he is also one of the esteemed historical figures of the country.

His assassination in 1983 has brought about anguish in the hearts of Filipinos and has steered the wheel of Philippine history forever, but the bullet that ended his life did not end the wisdom he has bestowed upon the nation. He may have stopped breathing, but the words he has left behind will be carried on for as long as Filipinos recognize that there is hope amidst the debilitating crises that the country is battling.

Here are some of the memorable quotes by Benigno ‘Ninoy’ S. Aquino Jr.

He believes that failing knowing that you tried and gave everything that you could is better than failing because you did not do anything at all.

I will never be able to forgive myself if I will have to live with
the knowledge that I could have done something and I did not
do anything.

He taught us that the key to winning a battle is not the greedy money, all we need is an impregnable heart and invincible spirit.

What can one man do if the Filipino people love their slavery, if the Filipino people have lost their voice and would not say no to a tyrant, what can one man do. I have not army, I have no following, I have no money, and I only have my indomitable spirit.

Dictatorship was never the solution to combat the nation's crises.

There has never been a single dictator in history that has lived forever and so I tell Mr. Marcos to study the lessons of history before it's too late.

He believes that talking using soft words rather than sharp words is the key to having good communication with the people.

I believe that the Filipino will respond to the call to greatness not by coercion but by persuasion, not by intimidation but through the ways of freedom.

He believes that there is a hero in each and every one of us.

We should not depend on one man; we should depend on all of us. All of us are expendable in the cause for freedom and therefore I say stand up now and be a leader, and when all of us are leaders, we will expedite the cause of freedom.

He does not believe in victory by shedding blood.

I do not hold the key to our liberation, I do not know all the solutions to our many problem all I know is that if the situation continues in the Philippines, then blood will flow, and when blood flows, there will be no victor and there will be no vanquished because all of us will be victim of our folly.

Equality is the true sign of freedom. He does not just believe that everyone has the right to share their opinions, but also to be heard in return.

First we must return the freedom so that all segments of our community whether from left or from the right will have the right to speak and then in that open debate in that clash of debate in the marketplace we will produce the clash between the thesis and the anti-thesis and then we will have synthesis for the Filipino people.

He has told the Filipinos for so many times that he does not fear dying nor death.

We must not only preserve yesterday's heritage fight for today's ephemeral interests, but die if need be, for tomorrow's hopes.

A time comes in a man's life when he must prefer a meaningful death to a meaningless life.

I have weighed all the virtues and faults of the Filipinos, and I have come to the conclusion that the Filipino is worth dying for.

Ninoy Aquino's nationalism will always be relived and his legacy will always be recognized not only in history books, but in every hearts of Filipinos fighting and fencing for injustices against tyranny.