Bawal umihi dito
Photo by Jojo Pensica, Flickr.
This sign has more meaning than the average Filipino thinks.
To not piss on a wall means to hold a natural, human urge for an extended amount of time, just for the sake of cleanliness. And that’s it. No law and no government is threatening the life of a filipino for urinating in a public space, and no one dies whenever he urinates on a wall.
However it is this very action, the action of not “sacrificing” 10 minutes of time and perhaps 40 feet of walking distance to the nearest public restroom that more than likely prevents the Filipino from living in a country where he wants to live.
It is this action that pushes Filipinos away from the stench of poverty and corruption. To places of “greener pastures”, pastures fed by the water of forward-thought, and not the urine of instant relief.
So how do you stop pissing on a wall when everyone else does it, and no one cares if you do? How do you make that “sacrifice?”
Well, what do you sacrifice for today? You child, your parents, your spouse, your loved ones. Your job, your school, your friends… You sacrifice for them because you LOVE them.
So in order to sacrifice for something that others have no faith in, the only other way for it to work and for it to become better, is to love it.
The love a mother has for a child who cannot walk, see, or hear. The love of a man for another man whose union means nothing to those of “faith.”
The love of a child for a mother who cannot fend for herself.
That is a love the Filipino must have for his country. How can you grow a child you do not love?
The Filipino must love the women his kababayan womanize and the political positions his leaders putrify.
But first, the Filipino must love the walls that line his streets. Then he will be AMAZED at what this love can do. Not only to his country, but to himself.
It is not about sacrifice for an unseen future. It is not sacrifice, or dying for the Filipino that will make the Philippines better.
It is your LOVE for the Philippines that will make YOU better. Nothing more and nothing less.
Photo by Oliver “Jojo” Pensica Jr. Flickr: Jobarracuda