Past is past. From whom do we often hear this quote? We frequently hear this from different people around us which experienced a lot of things in their lives such as: those people who experienced falling in and out of love and do not want to talk about what they had before hence they bring the flow of their conversation with their friends to another topic; those who are mistreated in their past, avoiding to remember what happened way back then and don’t want to think all over it again; and, those who had a bad experience in their day-by-day dealings in work, school and anywhere else, which they do not feel like to make statements about.
However, how could we relate this quote to the history of our country? It was my first visit to the Philippine National Museum and I began to wonder what things I am going to see there. It somehow looks like the other museums here in the Philippines except that there are more artifacts to see, more information to gain, and more real place to look at. It felt that the present time shifted back to past where you will see the happenings way back from the primitive times up to the present time.
It was a flashback though I am never from the past. It was a flashback because exploring around the museum let me remember those times I was holding a textbook and listening to every single thing my teacher said during our discussion in History. Then, there was a question that popped out of my mind. What is the sense of all these things inside the museum and the History classes if only few Filipinos really care on our country? Before the end of our tour in the museum, we requested a certificate which certifies that we visit the museum.
While waiting for it, a few of us were standing around the counter in the lobby of the museum and I went to my friends who read a logbook. I saw comments written there and a comment attracted my eyes because it was longer than the others, the penmanship was in some way good, and it seems interesting to read. I don’t exactly remember what she had written there but the idea goes like this: she was disappointed because among the museums she had visited around the Asia, this one has the poorest facilities and this lacks some parts especially during the Spanish era.
If you are not an open-minded person, you will surely get mad at this woman. It was my initial reaction, though, upon reading it. But then I realized that she has a good point there. I thought about the comment for many times, and somehow it was true. I haven’t gone to any museums of the other countries but I saw some of them in TVs through documentary reports. What’s in the museum are just the things regularly seen if you’ll compare these to the others. The museum still lacks some vital information each visitor must keep in their minds and hearts once they have gone through the place.
And, the way how the artifacts are displayed was good yet some of these were displayed just simply how it is at home. As you navigate around the place, sometimes you’ll get the feeling of “Aaahh…” not “Whoa! ” The place lacks excitement for the visitors to enjoy the time travel in the olden times, and there are times that the tour was boring because the artifacts were seen all over again. A lot of us think that history is just a history, a time gone by, and so what? Would these events change if they would study it?
Many people think that way and just get bored during their social classes. What they don’t realize is that their past makes up the present and what is present now will soon be their past. Relating it to History, without those things that happened in the past, we are not here now, maybe there would be neither Philippines nor Filipino people. And, those events that happen now and those current issues we heard from news will be just part of our History later on. History is still very important in our lives.
It is an essential part of our nationality as Filipino. It defines the traits, the culture, the traditions, and the ways of living we have. It shaped and molded us through all the years. It helped us to be stronger and more competitive to the world. It clearly shows us what we, Filipinos, can do for our beloved country in order for her to attain freedom, independence and peace. According to Dr. Jose P. Rizal, our national hero, “To foretell the destiny of a nation, it is necessary to open the book that tells her past. Having an indigenous yet rich culture wherein there are different traditions practiced by different groups of people from the different places here in our country, we are still linked together by the same Filipino blood that runs in our veins. Bonded by the same blood, we share the same past as well as the same present and also, the same future. We, the Filipino people, share the same fate in our hands. Thus, it makes the oneness in us as a unified nation. And in order for us to determine our “destiny” as a nation, we must look back on the time past, our history.
Whether good or bad, those events formed what we are now. It is not a bad thing to pause for a while, and reminisce the past because it may help us to find the answers to those questions that bother us, and to find the solutions to the problems our nation faces right now. Yes, past is past. But, we must not forget it like it didn’t happened. Remember, it will always be a part of you that you can’t live without and it will never change but rather it will change your future.
