The National Heroes’ Day came and went on August 31. Is the sense of heroism still alive among the Filipino youth?
The Manila Times Editorial didn’t think so. But perhaps, the lament is not only directed to the youth but to the overall Filipino society:
“It is not just the youth, though.The majority of Filipinos in every generation—young and old—do not have the proper sense of history, no thirst for knowledge about our heroes and the conditions they labored in, no wish to learn what the Filipinos of earlier generations did to survive and develop, what amused them, what made them weep, what gave them joy.”
Let’s break down these accusations and try to address them one by one.
No Proper Sense of History. Filipinos, in general, do not have a strong sense of history. This can be seen in the way that the voters keep on electing people accused of wrongdoing against the Filipino society in the past. In this time and age of globalization and increasing online connectivity, most young people become interested in computers, fashion and gadgets.
A week ago, I posted some thoughts on the Christmas Institute of the UMYFP. There is a need for rethinking the concept and execution of the Christmas Institute. It needs to be integrated into the overall ministries of the local churches in the district and annual conferences so that the passion of the youth who get involved there would have a channel for such passion.
Here are further suggestions to the leaders and organizers of Christmas Institutes. If you don’t have a Christmas Institute, then these suggestions could also apply to your youth camps (Christmas, summer, or any other time of the year).
Bible Study Material. The leadership of the National United Methodist Youth Fellowship in the Philippines (NUMYFP) annually prepares a Bible Study material for use in the Christmas Institutes. This Bible Study Material is usually written by an experienced pastor or a bishop of the United Methodist Church. If you want to have an access to the Bible Study material for this week, contact your Annual Conference UMYFP leaderse and they can give you a copy. If your AC officers are not very active, then send me an email at penstalker(at)gmail.com and I will get a copy for you.
The Philippine Bible Society is sponsoring an event for young people so they can be more aware of how the Bible can help them in their lives and the issues that they have to face.
Have you seen the Dove commercial about true beauty? The one playing the song “True Colors”? I saw it again in YouTube while looking for video clips on self-esteem of youth. I was supposed to deliver a talk about the issue. I’m sharing the video here from You Tube.
As part of the revitalization of Pinoy Youth, I have been thinking about the issues that Filipino youth are experiencing nowadays. I have dwelt on issues about the OFW phenomenon and how it is affecting the Filipino youth. Internet and video-game addiction is another issue being faced by the Filipino youth and that’s something that transcends economic class. Whether we as young people are aware of these issues or not, they do affect our lives.
The problem is, it is difficult to get young people to think through these things. Besides, if this blog talked about issues and problems all the time, how boring could that get? Heheh. So, Pinoy Youth will also feature the things that young people love–music, websites, social networking, bands, movies, books and a whole lot of things. It will also feature the lives of young people who made history!
The Pinoy Youth Blog is a work in progress. So as time unfolds, we’ll see how this blog evolves.
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