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Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Bravado and Bravery

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The country celebrated the birth anniversary of revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio on Monday. Bonifacio is often referred to as the brawn behind the upheaval that set the Philippines free from the clutches of Spain in 1896.

Our mental picture of Bonifacio is a bolo-wielding man, dressed in peasant shirt and farmer pants, rallying ordinary people to take up arms against the colonial master. He led, for instance, the tearing of cedulas—an act of refusal to be counted as subjects. Courage is a virtue associated with him, because despite his humble roots, Bonifacio gathered up the bravery to challenge the status quo.

He was not killed by the foreign enemy. When he died, there was no last-minute struggle to turn around and face his executioners and look them in the eye. Instead, Bonifacio was killed by fellow Filipinos who felt his presence was an inconvenience to the new order they were seeking to build.

And so we celebrate his birth instead, deliberately shoving the manner of his death out of our common consciousness.

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Bravado is showing off that one is incapable of fear, often to make a good impression on others. It is fake—fear is a universal human sentiment.

Courage, however, is pushing along despite fears, human weakness, and the knowledge that the fight ahead will not be easy. Courage is trying to effect lasting changes despite the odds.

This election season, we see far too many examples of personalities claiming to be God’s gift to the people, saviors, knights, problem-solvers, heroes.   They will project themselves as harbingers of a new era in Philippine history, where corruption, poverty, ineptitude and lawlessness would be a thing of the past.

Many voters will believe their one-dimensional portrayal of themselves, just as the people believed previous leaders who promised many things and later failed us.

We don’t need saviors in government. We need capable managers, level-headed individuals, passionate public servants who will create an environment conducive to growth and opportunities for mobility. 

We do not need someone calling attention to themselves as bastions of uprightness. We need leaders who will enable the people to do so much more with what they have. And then only history will judge whether they are heroes—or just one of the many who wanted to be.

This is the more daunting task, because this is the real task. Only the courageous ones will be bold enough to shed pretenses, roll up their sleeves and face the work ahead. 

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