Dr. José Rizal once declared, “The youth is the hope of the motherland.” But looking at our streets today, especially after the September 21 protests, one cannot help but ask with deep dismay: Was Rizal wrong?
The rally was meant to be a thunderous cry against corruption, the arrogance of officials, and the shameful silence of a President who pretends to be blind to the people’s suffering. Yet, what should have been a historic moment of moral courage was tarnished by the very sector once hailed as the nation’s hope.
Instead of rising as principled defenders of truth, many of the youth descended into disgrace. They clashed with authorities not in defense of justice, but in reckless defiance. They set tires ablaze, destroyed property, and even looted shops like common criminals. Their anger did not illuminate the fight for freedom—it only darkened it, giving the corrupt leaders exactly what they wanted: an excuse to dismiss the people’s struggle as chaos.
How can the youth claim to be the hope of the motherland when they mirror the very corruption and indiscipline they claim to oppose? When respect, discipline, and patriotism—once sacred virtues—are thrown aside for instant fame, social media clout, and reckless rebellion, what future are we left to hope for? Rizal’s dream turns into a nightmare when the youth become destroyers rather than builders.
Let us not romanticize rebellion without responsibility. The truth is harsh: the youth can either be the sharpest weapon for national renewal or the deadliest poison to its future. What we witnessed on September 21 was not hope in action—it was hope on fire, consumed by the flames of arrogance, rage, and moral decay.
If today’s young Filipinos do not rise above this sickness—if they continue to abandon education for entertainment, discipline for disobedience, and patriotism for selfish gain—then Rizal’s words will rot into nothing more than a cruel irony.
The youth are at a crossroads: to remain a force of destruction or to reclaim the honor of being the nation’s true hope. The choice is theirs. But the warning is clear—if the youth fail, then the future of the motherland fails with them and becomes the enemy of the present.
