Choosing Courage: Moving Forward, Looking Back

When we think about courage in the shadow of the EDSA People Power Revolution, we usually imagine confrontation, bold action, and great risk. Today, courage has taken a different, quieter form, it is choosing to do what is right, even when being complacent is the more convenient option. Actions now that seemed normal before have become acts of courage in the face of widespread oppression and corruption. Things like sharing truthful information, supporting those who stand for justice, or being there for someone in their time of need can be easier said than done for many people. Today, courage is more deliberate, as speaking up often means risking criticism, isolation, or misunderstanding. For many, this risk is intensified by the online spaces where opinions are often shared and scrutinized. For the youth, technology has become central to how we define courage today. It has changed how we speak up and organize. However, it has also introduced more obstacles to those who choose to speak up. Things like censorship, cancel culture, and echo chambers have made it more challenging and dangerous for the youth to express themselves. Despite that, it remains a powerful tool for sharing information quickly and it allows movements to go beyond physical demonstrations. For the people during EDSA, courage meant something different; it meant going against a system that wasn’t afraid to silence dissent. Filipinos faced tanks, broke barriers, and overcame the fear instilled in them by the years of oppression and persecution to fight for freedom and democracy. Today, while not in the same form, truth, freedom, and justice still continues to be pursued within our country as well as around the world. This raises an important question: what will we, the youth, do? Will we stand by and watch it happen, or will we take up our cross and do what is right when push comes to shove? I remember a time when I noticed misinformation going around my friend group. Even though I knew that speaking up might lead to criticism and misunderstanding, I still did it, as I knew, in my heart, that it is the right thing to do. With it, I put truth over silence, refusing to let the consequences scare me into doing nothing. That experience made me realize that finding courage today doesn’t require myself to face tanks or fight armed police, rather to push past consequences to fight for what is right. 

Courage doesn't always reveal itself in grand gestures or online discourse. Often it begins in small moments where being silent is easier. At the heart of these actions lies the value of honesty. It concerns being truthful and diligent in our thoughts, words, and deeds, even if it is inconvenient to us. Honesty and courage go hand in hand; in order to fully understand what courage means to a young person today we must first understand why honesty is especially important in a world filled with misinformation and lies. For most of the youth today with myself included, honesty is difficult. Even in everyday situations, we often opt to tell white lies to avoid consequences, thinking to ourselves “it wouldn’t be the end of the world.” However, this type of mentality is dangerous now more than ever, as it can develop into silence and apathy which leads to division, conflict, and indifference in our society. If we let dishonesty become a habit then courage might be near impossible. This brings me back to the moment of hesitation with my lola. I had to decide which was the better option, correcting her, or staying silent. Whether the comfort of silence outweighs honesty. While telling the truth may not always be easy or end in agreement, it does allow barriers to be broken paving the way for truth and justice. During EDSA, the youth were demanded of the same thing. Before the grand rallies and protests, people had to confront the oppression and corruption before them even if it was dangerous. That allowed courage to enter, empowering the Filipino people to fight for democracy. When we take everything into account, it reminds us that from even before EDSA courage has always begun with honesty and that fighting for what is right can change the course of a nation. 

Throughout this essay I have been constantly contrasting the events of the past and the actions of the present. However, there is one thing that stays common between both time frames which drove the people then and will continue to exist in the hearts of youth today, and in the future. Hope is something that may seem naive today in a world constant with conflict and uncertainty. But, hope isn’t just about wishful thinking, it's about moving forward even if it means traversing uncharted waters in pursuit for a better tomorrow. Hope isn’t mutually exclusive either, it can exist alongside fear and doubt but it refuses to be overcome by them. It was also hope that drove the Filipino people to fight for their freedom during EDSA despite the risks. Until now, that hope has continued to challenge the youth to choose integrity and honesty in the fight for truth and justice, proving that the spirit of EDSA does not only belong to the history books, but also to the future we are fighting for.