The reluctant symbol. Cory Aquino, the self-effacing politician’s wife, became a national figure only—but immediately—after the assassination. Perhaps we can consider her speech during Ninoy’s funeral Mass on Aug. 31, 1983, as the moment she assumed her new role as the true leader of the opposition.
***
“If my children and I appear to be brave during this, the most difficult period yet of our lives, it is because we know this is what Ninoy would have expected of us. It is also because of our faith in God, and the belief that he is now helping us in this, our greatest need.”
This idea of subordinating personal need (giving in to one’s fears, in those uncertain days) to something greater than one’s self (“what Ninoy would have expected of us”) is the true legacy of the Aquinos.
Haven't I said something like that in this piece?
If there’s one thing that Cory has taught us, it is that we have to rise above our petty concerns, above our predicaments, and indeed above ourselves.
But I hasten to add that this virtue is not solely Cory's or Ninoy's. It is also Rizal's and Bonifacio's and Mabini's and all those who have fought the conquistas.
This lesson was imparted to us a long time ago by our founding parents. Cory is merely re-echoing, by example, what Emilio Jacinto, the Brains of Katipunan, wrote as the first of the thirteen teachings in “Kartilla,” the primer of the Katipunan: “Life which is not consecrated to a lofty and sacred cause is like a tree without a shadow, if not a poisonous weed.”
No comments:
Post a Comment