EDITORIAL - No heroes left to inspire

The editorial of the Philippine Star last Monday, August 29, began with this paragraph: " This is so like the Philippines. On National Heroes Day yesterday, the main concern of most Filipinos was whether or not today is a non-working holiday. "

That editorial, however, went on to dwell on the bad habit of President Arroyo to declare instant holidays on whatever pretext and at the drop of a hat, and how this mania for " holiday economics " often causes confusion and disrupts lives and business operations.

We would like to extend the discussion further and dwell on the concern of most Filipinos about whether there is work or there are classes during any given holiday and completely ignoring the holiday itself or what it means.

This almost complete lack of any regard for the meaning of a holiday and the almost complete absence of any enthusiasm to participate in any observance of that holiday has become very apparent today.

Whatever observances or celebrations that are still being held today are held mechanically and perfunctorily, rituals kept alive more out of the need for appearances than a genuine desire to remember and draw inspiration from heroism and heroic lives.

In Cebu City, for instance, the birth anniversary of the late president Sergio Osmeña Sr. has become almost pathetic, failing to even compel the attendance of most of the Grand Old Man's direct descendants.

But much as we would like to criticize Filipinos, especially the younger generations, for this " neglect and disregard, " we cannot do so with absolute conviction. This shortcoming, if we can even call it that, is not entirely their own fault.

The trouble lies in the death of heroism in the contemporary setting. The heroism of those who have gone ahead of us grows static and will eventually fade unless it is sustained by acts of contemporary heroism inspired by those by-gone heroes.

Sadly, instead of contemporary acts of heroism, the environment in which Filipinos live today is awash with all the bad examples that, rather than serve to inspire a nation, stabs the heart instead with despair, frustration and cynicism.

There are no heroes today that remind and inspire us about heroism. What we glorify today are thieves and crooks who dominate our lives. If any examples are being set, they are far from heroic. Ever wonder then why, at the mention of a holiday, we think only of no work and all play?