We enjoy the freedom paid for by the blood and convictions of those who came before us by treating ourselves to, say, a shiny new pair of headphones or visiting Tagaytay over the weekend. It may seem shallow, but we enjoy life to the fullest, mindful of the fact that our ancestors fought for this freedom, which wasn’t freely given to them. And by doing so, we hope that their fight, which we continue to wage to this day in so many different forms, was not in vain.
When the topic of Independence Day comes to mind, my generation won’t immediately think about the lines upon lines of information we had to jot down onto sheets of paper during those history exams in school. To be honest, if you ask me, the question that immediately pops up in my head is: “Holiday ba bukas?” (Is it a holiday tomorrow?) I even asked my friend what her take is on Independence Day, and all she could think of was if there were any Independence Day special sales and discounts that she could take advantage of.
Undoubtedly, she wasn’t wrong to assume that our Independence Day celebration would once more be drowned out by consumerism, taken over by an insatiable populace forever on the lookout for sales. Recently, we’ve seen people trying to grab a plane ticket for a destination trip this weekend through the ongoing Independence Day seat sales at both Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific. People at Shopee and Lazada have also been using this special holiday by hosting their own Independence Day sales.
On the surface, my generation’s understanding and celebration of Independence Day may seem limited to frivolous endeavors like sales, holiday trips and eating out with friends. But through these simple and similarly trivial forms of celebration, you may not be able to immediately see that many young adults like us know very well what Independence Day is all about. Through the classes and lectures we had to go through in high school and college, practically anyone now knows where and what to look for, from names and dates, places and historical events, to refresh our minds on what ultimately led to this day 124 years ago. But after grazing through the surface, one must venture deeper to start to understand what Independence Day really is all about. The most simple way of looking at it, of course, is to honor the hardships our country and our people have had to endure in order to finally free ourselves from our colonizers, breathe in the sweet air of freedom and chart our own destiny as a nation.
We fully understand and remember the heroes who laid down their lives just so that their countrymen would not have to live in fear and oppression. My generation understands the countless hurdles our ancestors had to overcome. When you see my generation, you may think that we only care about documenting our everyday happenings through a camera filter, or to keep up with the latest trend in fast fashion. Not a few of our elders belonging to older generations view us as an “egotistical generation” who have no self-confidence and only care about events that are seen on our phone screens. They’re wrong! Or, at least, guilty of making generalizations.
For me, celebrating Independence Day has become an everyday occurrence. Whenever I enjoy going out to the mall, or when I schedule dinner dates with friends, that’s how we celebrate Independence Day. We enjoy the freedom paid for by the blood and convictions of those who came before us by treating ourselves to, say, a shiny new pair of headphones or visiting Tagaytay over the weekend. It may seem shallow, but we enjoy life to the fullest, mindful of the fact that our ancestors fought for this freedom, which wasn’t freely given to them. And by doing so, we hope that their fight, which we continue to wage to this day in so many different forms, was not in vain.
In truth, we celebrate Independence Day by appreciating and making the most out of the freedom those who came before us had earned. But we don’t just stop there. We continue to celebrate Independence Day by using that freedom to fight for those who were robbed and continue to be robbed of their God-given right. We strive to make sure that each and everyone can experience the freedoms we enjoy and cherish so dearly.
A lot of my fellow Gen Zs have organized multiple efforts to fight the good fight. To seek freedom for others is to exercise your freedom properly. To end, I’d like to leave you with an anecdote from one of my friends, a contemporary of mine, regarding the subject. Of all the friends I have asked on what Independence Day truly means, his answer reminded me that my generation still fully understands what Independence Day is. Its essence and significance.
“We celebrate Independence Day to relish in the victory of our ancestors and to remember that we, as Filipinos, have a duty to continue to fight societal oppression,” he says, before we segue into discussing where to eat for today’s festivities.
Happy Independence Day, Philippines!
