I STAND ACCUSED
I stand before
this grand jury accused of a crime I was never aware. I have been scorned,
laughed at, lampooned in every newspaper in town in every periodical, every
sermon or speech. I have offended the delicate sensibilities of my elders, of
every adult in the so –called civilized or polished society with my flair for
atrocious clothes, my taste for boisterous music, my affinity for impious
dances, my blasphemous profanities and bungling responsibilities in everything
I do. Yes, I stand indicted to all these blunders to which I plead guilty,
absolutely and irrevocably guilty.
Ladies and gentlemen, surely I am far cry from the youth which you and Rizalhave always dreamed of being the fair hope of the fatherland. My actions have
denounced me as utterly unfit to grace the halls of my school, my church and
even my own home. My own body joins in the hue and cry against my incompetence,
my clumsiness, my shocking inabilities. Look at me and see if I am not the
symbol, of helplessness. Look at me long, long and hard and think whether I am
Rizal’s idea of youth whose brows he found serene whether you my parents my
countrymen and my friends like it or not I am the youth of the Twenty-first
Century. I stand for the youth of the present time, I am that youth morally
crippled, spiritually disarmed, a neglected bundle of fears, dreams and
frustrations.
I appeal to you all, not only for myself, but for all those who like me have
been morally and spiritually crippled. I appeal for them because I am afraid
they too might go the way of abandoned and neglected children. I speak for them
because I know that given the same chances that Rizal had, they will prove
themselves worthy of the expectations of their great hero and their parents.
Let them feel the ennobling influence of the DOÑA TEODORA. Let them have the
inspiring guidance that Rizal’s mother have to her son. Let them master the
rudiments of arts, of science, of philosophy, of religion and of love so that
they may acquire the wisdom that can dispel all fears, all doubt, all
confusions. Let their own mothers be worthy of the sweet name… “Mother”. Let
their own father deserves the honourable title “Father”! Let them have all
those blessings and I assure that there will be no more outrageous exhibitions
of bad manners, no more scandalous of bad thoughts; no more unchecked display
of shameful passions, and no more malicious exercise of dare devil attitudes.
Ladies and gentlemen, as I stand here awaiting to be convicted of all the
crimes youth has been charge of , I think of the many crimes far worse than
mine. And feebly ask: Why are they not here with me tonight? It is frightening
to be alone……
As I stand here pleading guilty to the charges they have hurled against me, I
demand the presence of my co- partners in this crime. I demand that my own
parents be summoned in this august body and stand trial with me. I demand that
they may be made to answer the same questions that have ruthlessly flung before
my face.
But hear me! Give me a chance to vindicate my self. Are my parents here? No;
how can they be? They have no time for me. They never took the matter of having
time for me. When I needed them for guidance because my untutored mind couldn’t
grasp the ways of the world, they were nowhere to be found. When I cried for
their help because I lay night troubled and awake, I couldn’t find them, when I
craved for their affections, nobody seemed to want me. I had nobody to turn to,
what am I? Bone of their bone? Flesh of their flesh? Or just a meaningless,
useless mass of nerves and muscles, terribly confused? Terribly disillusioned?
I ask in all sincerity. What I have always longed for…… the protecting arms of
my folks. For haven’s sake give them back to me before it is too late. Give me
back my mother and bring her to my side. Give me back my father, and make him
speak to me man to man. Give me back my ideals and let me not fall into the clutches
of the godless.
