Monday, August 25, 2008 Editorial: Let's give ourselves high fives
THE Kadayawan Festival drew to a close with thousands gathering along the main streets of Davao City to witness the floral float parade.
The floats were awesome, the number of participants was a peek into people's cooperation and private sector participation in city activities, and the crowd, a cheering and screaming testimony to the faith they have placed on the local government to keep them safe.
It's not easy to shrug off fears about one's security amid the tension and gunbattles erupting just outside Davao Region.
It's not easy to ignore a raging battle that has employed 30 aircrafts, including OV-Bronco bomber planes, MG-520 rocket-firing attack helicopters, and a pair of Italian-made S-211 jets delivering a total of 25 bombs and 12 rockets on Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camps in Shariff Aguak.
It's not easy to close our eyes to the security threats that surround us. But we celebrated, and so did our thousands of visitors.
The success of last week's festival is a testimony to what a city can do when all its people work together, and thus deserves a big round of applause and a lot of high-fives.
Davao has once again shown off its bounty of culture, arts, talents, and fresh produce, all in a spirit of fun, revelry, and trust of fellowmen.
Had we not trusted our government, we would have opted to stay home.
Had we not trusted the goodwill of people, we would have stayed away from crowds.
Had we not trusted in ourselves, we would not have made such a grand event and so let's give each other the "highest fives."
But now that the celebration is over, may we continue to spread the spirit of oneness, of cooperation, and most of all, the value of peace-building and the deep understanding on how peace among ourselves brings prosperity to a city, to a nation.
Kadayawan showed all these to us when we went out and appreciated the cultures, food, arts, and cheered on the young ladies representing our indigenous peoples, Moro people among them; when we filled venues showcasing our people's talents--from music, to fashion sense, to food; when we partied all night with our friends; when we welcomed into our homes our visitors. May the spirit of Kadayawan continue long after the festival is over, because this is what has held our city together during happy times and bad.
