The Soul of our Nation

The Soul of our Nation

Recently, one of my students asked me this question: Does our country have a soul? I was bewildered by the question since it was not within the purview of our topic being discussed. We were talking about the City of God of St. Augustine. I honestly said to my student that I was not ready to give an answer and if he can give me some time to think it over.

When I got home, I pondered on the question and tried to relate it with St. Augustine’s political theory. After a philosophic reflection I concluded that our nation indeed has a soul. If man has a soul and it is being quarreled over by two forces- the force of good (City of God) and the force of evil (City of Man), our nation’s soul is being torn apart by these same forces.

The following day, I went to school with a ready reply to the question. I said emphatically that our nation has a soul. The soul of our nation is the values by which we live. We are known as a people to be hospitable, respectful, patient, working as a team known widely as the bayanihan spirit, and many others. It is sad to note that nowadays hardly any of these values are put into practice by us. It is even sadder to observe that our national leaders seem to ignore this moral malady. It is because they are the cause why the soul of our nation is unwell.

If only our national leaders are more decent and respectable, if only they appreciate a little more the value of honesty, fair play, and truth-telling, our country would be better off and the soul of our nation would become a member, by St. Augustine’s parlance, of the City of God. At present, I say that the soul of our nation is captured by the force of evil hence our country belongs to the City of Man.

In my humble opinion, the soul of our nation is not only unwell but is dying. What we need are leaders who can inspire us to live morally. We need leaders who can be trusted and has a vision for this country. We need leaders who are willing to listen to concerns and troubles and be our voices.

My students were satisfied with my answer. They even complimented it with their bright ideas like the soul of the nation needs to be spiritually and morally nurtured. However, in the closing stage of our class, one keen student said that “he disagrees with me that the soul of our nation is dying because our nation is soul-less.” The statement hit me like a bolt from the blue. I did not know how to react and what should be the appropriate reply. The bell rang and it saved me from embarrassment. As part of their homework, I told my students instead to mull over the statement and be ready for another roundtable discussion next meeting.