Are The Youth Still The Hope Of The Philippines?

I remember that the great Jose Rizal, the Philippines’ greatest hero according to our history books, said
something about the youth being the hope of our country. Indeed, we are not the only culture to view the
next generation as such. Unfortunately, in this day and age, I can no longer agree with this sentiment unless
something is done with the kind of mindset that is prevalent with the youth of today.

I’m not saying that they’re hopeless of course. My apprentice and his sisters are among the youths of this
country and they themselves are self-admitted “squatters” but they shine with an intellect I have all but rarely
seen. However, my apprentice and his gifted siblings are just a handful of individuals compared to the ocean
of stupidity the youth of the Philippines has become in recent years.

Being part of a growing gaming community, I often come into contact with the younger generation of other
countries. Many of them also come from struggling middle-class families who are still studying to earn their
degrees but one can note a sense of purpose and determination in the way they talk about their plans for the
future. One of them has plans to become a veterinarian in her community since she lives in one of the more
rural parts of the United States where agriculture and livestock are an all-important commodity. Somewhere
in South Korea is a young woman who studies hard to become a guidance counselor as she is all too aware
of the high suicide rate in her own country and knows that even a small amount of counseling can have a
great impact. Then, in Canada, there is a young man who works at an outlet of Starbucks while he studies to
become a programmer so that he can one day become a vital part of a company and earn a good living for
his troubles. Again, these are just a few individuals but this is extremely far from what you’re likely to see in
the vast majority of Filipino youths today.

I lose heart for the youths of the Philippines because the following is all too often what I see in them:

Materialism

Granted, there’s nothing wrong with wanting things for yourself. There’s nothing wrong with having good or
beautiful things like a good camera phone, a nice car or some awesome shoes. However, what I find
deplorable is that they seem to be the only things in the minds of our youth today.

Nice things, at the end of the day, are just that: Nice Things. They aren’t major necessities because a basic
Nokia phone can still allow you to call for help when caught in a bad situation, an old but reliable Toyota can
still take you places and even a pair of cheap slippers can last you for quite a while. Nice things are things
you can have when you have the money for them and don’t need to worry about things like food, shelter and
medicine.

The way many youths today seem to value materialistic belongings is often disturbing. There are some who
will choose not to eat for days at a time just to get the latest model of smart phone and there are those would
rather be stuck with old and torn clothes just so they can buy a new pair of branded shoes. Of course, as
long as they use their own money, I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining. But then there are those who steal
from either their parents or other people their age just to get what they want.

Lust

One of the saddest things about our youths is that, thanks to our romance-centered media from the love-
songs constantly blaring on our radios to just about every movie that is made these days that doesn’t contain
hilarious ghosts, they seem to be hell-bent on breeding and very little else. Indeed, I find it utterly ridiculous
when there are so many youths discussing their “relationship goals” even though they have so little in the
way of “career goals” which is actually more essential in the long run. What’s worse is that majority of the
youth can’t even tell the difference between lust and love.

Look, I’ll admit, I’m not really an expert when it comes to love. However, I do know that love is less about
looks or platitudes and essentially more about “trust” than anything else. It’s about having confidence that
your significant other will be there for you when you need them and less about them looking like Daniel
Padilla, Katherine Bernardo or Alden Richards. Remember ladies and gentlemen, we will all age and that
pretty face you’re looking at now may very well change in the next few decades of your relationship. It’s
better to have someone you can laugh with and trust completely in your sunset years than someone who has
no sense of humor with a sagging face and an overall bad attitude.

Stupidity

Well surprise, surprise, eh? And no, I’m not just pulling this one out of my butt. I’ve met my share of smarter
youths of course, my apprentice and his sisters included. But, as I’ve already mentioned, they are easily
outnumbered by those who couldn’t tell the difference between an elbow and an oboe.

Most of the youth of today are so preoccupied with senseless things like neuron-destroying TV shows,
showing off their latest gadgets and simply bonking with one another that they are unable to see the
consequences of many of their actions. They fail to see that not finishing school will make finding a job in the
future very difficult. They fail to surmise that being unemployed will leave them and their family in perpetual
poverty. They fail to deduct that poverty will make them vulnerable to all sorts of problems from disease,
starvation to being victimized by others.

Then I run into a bunch of youths who seem not just content but happy in their stupidity, believing that being
smart means they’ll have more problems. They never realize that being smart means you’ll be able to find a
solution to said problems and that, just because you can’t see the said problems, doesn’t mean they aren’t
there.