Dr. Jesus P. Estanislao
By Jesus P. Estanislao
At this juncture, let me share with you this poem – Our Dream Philippines
Let us dream of a Philippines that is beautiful in its march to progress and prosperity, where there is enough for everyone, where no Filipino is left behind in poverty, where every Filipino family lives in comfort and dignity, a country that seeks prosperity for all and not only for a few.
Let us dream of a nation where love and solidarity are its highest values, where people live as one family and one community, where every person is a brethren, where our love for one another is our strength, and our best contribution to humanity for a better world.
Let us dream of a country where the government is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people; a country where all people are equal before its laws, where the government strengthens the weakest and controls the excesses of the mighty.
Let us dream of a society where dreams are possible, however high they may seem; where every child has hope for a beautiful future, and may attain the fullness of life as he or she conceives it to be; a country where the poor can also be wealthy, where the weak can also be strong.
Let us dream of a country where our people, wherever they maybe in the world, will always be proud of themselves as Filipinos and consider themselves as part of the Filipino family, as sons and daughters of our Motherland, as part of the answer to our nation’s dreams, as part of the hope of our country’s future.
Finally, let us dream of a Philippines that can bring out the best and the highest in our people, so the Filipino may enrich mankind and ennoble the world, so our country may become a light and a hope to humanity, so the Filipino may become truly great and respected, not only in the eyes of this world, but moreso in the eyes of our Creator.
This is the country we and our children deserve to have.
This is the dream Philippines we must all seek, pursue and build.
But of course, how to build it is the big question and challenge for us.
Before we go into the details and specifics of building a great nation with a soul, we need to remind ourselves that God, our Creator, also desires for us to make something beautiful of ourselves and of what He has given us, to build a beautiful nation of our people, and to build a beautiful country in the land where He planted us. God has wonderful plans for us as a people, plans to make us a prosperous people and a great country.
But while God so desires all these things for us, we also need to remind ourselves always that we are the hands that must toil, that we are the builders of our dreams. We are the architects of our success. We are the engineers of our greatness.