LIFE is not about you and me. Life is about the trail we leave behind when we travel through life. If we leave a pack of lies, this will haunt us the rest of our lives. If we leave a trail of truth full of convictions, these will empower us until our last breath. This empowerment could be our legacy.
Some politicians chose to leave a legacy they think suits them best. They create statues and sculptures of themselves. Remember the bust of Ferdinand Marcos? Right after the Edsa Revolution, his bust along the route to Baguio was brought down. The life-size statues of Saddam Hussein and Stalin suffered the same fate.
Other politicians name major thoroughfares after their family name. Well, it is okay if the family name has integrity attached to it. But if shame has marred the name, it would be a disgrace to even suggest naming a street after them.
I really do not mind naming a street after the late Jesse Robredo, the former Deparment of Interior and Local Government secretary who figured in a plane crash. He was the epitome of a good public servant. I think everyone will agree with me on this.
Other politicians use the Philippine currency and stamps as constant reminders of a legacy. I do not see any historic significance in some of them.
The more artistically inclined have museums named after themselves. Some of their personal items are part of a memorabilia. I do not have an issue on the learned ones who build libraries and name them after themselves like former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the great communicator. The Thomas Jefferson library in Manila was to honor a statesman.
The late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. left us a legacy of empowerment when he said that he did not believe that one man could dictate which way the nation should go. Aquino wanted Filipinos to break the chain of bondage.
In the present time I believe we ought to be freed from the bondage of corruption. Someone from the Department of Education who retired some two years ago allegedly tried to facilitate the processing of a permit to operate a new school.