What is Country?

"Pinipintuho kong Bayan ay paalam,
Lupang iniirog ng sikat ng araw,
mutyang mahalaga sa dagat Silangan,
kaluwalhatiang sa ami'y pumanaw".

"¡Adiós, Patria adorada, región del sol querida,
Perla del mar de oriente, nuestro perdido Edén!
A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,
Y fuera más brillante, más fresca, más florida,
También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien".

"Farewell, beloved Country, treasured region of the sun,
Pearl of the sea of the Orient, our vanquished Eden!
To you I gladly surrender this melancholy life;
And were it brighter, fresher, gaudier,
Even then I’d give it to you, to you alone would then I give".

Mi último adiós, 1st Stanza
(In Filipino, Spanish and English respectively)
- Jose Rizal (June 19, 1861 - December 30, 1896)

What is Country but a sacred trust? A sacred solidarity of individuals who have entrusted one to another a shared vision and the mutual protection of an ideal common good. From this sacred trust is founded the citizenry of any state whereby the strength of any nation is also the measure of this common unity.

It is important to any state that their citizenry be unified so that the collective will of the populace may be focused entirely and efficiently into the common endeavor of Country. Therfore, a fragmented citizenry is the cause and not a symptom of a weak state.

This is most especially true in the case of a Republic where in terms of the structures of govenance there is only one functioning class. A fragmented citizenry in the case of the Republic is not a weakness in social structure but a weakness in the soul of the citizenry. For the drive that advance the will of the Republic rests entirely on the will of each individual citizen. If the citizenry be unified then the will of that Republic is strong and a strong Republic is most certainly capable of advancing the vision of the ideal common good forward into reality to the redounding benefit of the citizenry.

It must first be understood that every endeavor of Country is the unified work of generations, in fact, it is the work of all the generations of one people and in principle is never finished until the age of mankind comes to an end. Therefore, the will at the heart of the soul of Country must not be thought of as restricted or bound by human limitations on time. The present citizenry must be vigilantly aware that Country have existed to shelter them from it's very conception in the living memory of the past and is expected to outlive the present where it must be provided for, sustained, preserved and advanced forward as a duty to all future generations.

For the life of a nation must live above and beyond the life and limitations of its people or it is not a true state worth the sacrifice of our memory, our energy and our lives. What makes a state true is the sacred nature of the trust reposed within her heart by her people. It is a solemn vow made before Almighty God Himself that as citizens one to another we swear to become our brother's keeper; that we will look after each other's true good even as we assidously pursue the collective ideal born of out the vision and the promise of a nation. It musts be a trust so loved, so noble and so true in each our hearts that it is worth the shedding of our sacred blood.

Now, to forget, profane, neglect or dissipate this sacred trust is to abandon its attendant virtues, both human and divine, that breathe life into the very soul of Country. Virtues that uphold and ennoble social values such as valor and justice, duty and honor, wisdom and understanding, mercy and forbearance, liberality and modesty, magnanimity and compassion, patience and unity, and most importantly peace and goodwill which lie as the very bedrock foundation of every form of functional human society.

The death of Country is anarchy and as anarchy is the death of law and reason, it is also the end of peace and goodwill.

We are the soul of Country.