Today is Philippine's 111th Independence Day. This year's celebration of Philippine independence day and the Google Doodle icon at the Google Philippine's homepage made me realize one thing: that we all need to be reminded that as citizens, we are responsible for the welfare of our own country, our people, and our collective effort to face the future.

I know that the Philippines is plagued with political unrest ever since. Although I have not participated in any of these, my contribution is to make sure that I am financially responsible, someone not a burden to the government, and use my blog to change the way other nations see an average Filipino.

I believe that heroism in our time is defined differently. You don't have to die in war just to be called a hero. No one needs war and the world is tired of it. Heroism calls for a new global definition. A unity for the common good or global cooperation. We need one other to survive and succeed. Governments of the world need to educate their people about how another government's action affects the people of other nation even if they're located half way around the globe.

To be truly free means one is free from vaccine-preventable diseases. To be truly free means having a stable job to support your family financially. To be truly free means free from psychological and political oppression from any government regardless of your opinion on political issues. To be be truly free means everybody will have equal access to quality education. To be truly free means we are free to exercise our religion. To be truly free means we are free from poverty and ignorance...

I hope I gave all of you nice reflection points for this weekend.

Happy 111th Philippine Independence Day!