I was only 7 years old when EDSA People Power 1 happened. I was old enough to remember, but I wasn’t there. I couldn’t remember seeing it on TV. I couldn’t remember reading the news, or hearing from radio. What I knew I had read from other people’s accounts, so I cannot share anything at all. I do remember one of those coup attempts afterwards. I can vividly remember those planes they called tora tora encircling Manila. I was about to go to school when a neighbor sent me back home due to the coup.

Twenty two years later, and six years after EDSA 2 and 3, we keep on asking ourselves, where did we go wrong?

Some people call people power as a revolution. Was it? If it was, then that is where we went wrong. It was an incomplete revolution.

Many keep on harping about change. Some of them tells us to start within ourselves. I agree. And I think the next revolution should start within ourselves.

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During the heyday of Hello Garci (back in 2005), when Black and White Movement was born, many people smirked and argued that it is not simply black and white – there is always the shades of gray. This thinking may be realistic, but it has brought us to where we are right now. Jun Lozada‘s expose brought home this point, using a line that will probably symbolize this regime forever: moderate their greed.

Life’s ambiguity can lead to confusion. Subscribing to shades of gray thinking has brought about the confusion that we are in now. We refuse to tag evil as evil, hence evil has persisted. We accept that corruption is a way of life, and we tolerate it to a degree. And what has that brought us? Confusion. Darkness.

For me, there are times when we have to end ambiguity and call evil as evil. Only then things can be clear, and by that time, perhaps we as a people can come into a consensus and agree on what to do. Until then, we are just enjoying our days in the mud.

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So, where do I begin? I don’t know about you, but I know where I shall begin. I will begin with small steps.

1. I shall obey traffic rules. Since I don’t drive (and I don’t have a car anyway), I shall follow all pedestrian rules. I will cross the road at the designated places. I shall use the pedestrian lanes and overpasses and underpasses. I shall wait for the green signal before I cross the street where traffic lights are present.

2. I shall throw my garbage at the proper places. I shall keep my bus tickets, water bottles, and candy wrappers, and put them for recycling. I shall never pee at the wrong places.

3. I shall vote on every elections, whenever I can. I shall vote for those who are capable and willing to do things the right way. I shall listen to candidates’ takes on issues, and I shall refuse to be entertained nor to be paid to vote. I shall not sell my vote.

4. I shall do my best to be a good citizen by following the rules and convincing others to do the same. I shall continue to blog about issues, and try to convince my readers to talk about ideas and issues. I shall engage my blog readers into a meaningful exchange of ideas.

5. I shall exercise my freedoms responsibly. I shall respect each other’s right to express their opinions. I shall agree to disagree with you.

And I may translate this inward change outwards.

This is now my challenge to you: what can you do to enable change in this country?