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Form us, the Union of Progressive Students: We vow to develop our strengths for others weaknesses; Go to the right direction, and never quit; Respect each person as a person; And respect nonetheless the truth; Promise commitment not only to the organization But also pledge to be responsible students and worthy citizens; And more at the end of the day, Contribute to the best of what we can do. Not for pride, not for self glory, nor for credit. Give love, and be loved. Value and be respected. Honor and be appreciated. Act and make a difference. Stand up and move forward, From here then, until time needs us
II. The Text The positioning of the text is also a symbol of the UPS configuration in the political spectrumi.e., Radical D, also known as centre-left, which is shown in the centered positioning of the text and the left-side highlighted words. The highlighted words are the core principles of the organization. Explicitly or implicitly as it is described, it refers to the formidable foundation of UPS. The tree-shaped text of the oath is a metaphor of the precise application of the principlesa well grounded and fruitful TREE. UPS believes that if you have the seed of principles, with proper readiness and willfulness to imbibe the principles, you will deeply ground it so that it wont easily collapse as storms may come along, and as it grows, it grows with maturity and in the right time it bears fruits of success and we can harvest aplenty fruits of experience and growth, that the society can benefit from. Also, allegorically, a tree is a symbol of life, a very symbol of UPS. More politically speaking, the hierarchy of thoughts of the oath as arranged and as it appears, is intentionally amassing in the first stanza and diminishing as it continues. This image the oath is trying to portray is the actual power hierarchy of the social classes, where the upper class holds the most power, the middle class follows and the lower class holds the least or no power at all. This can also be seen as the countrys educational system where elementary school stockpiles and the higher the grade progresses, the more inaccessible it becomes due
3 to insufficient government funding and improper allocation of the national budget, hence a crisis. So as you may see, it is not only a source of inspiration, like the tree, but also a spring of moral, political and social challenges. III. Revelation If you read the oath from the very last verse going up, it will still make sense and will still convey the same meaning. This is why the very first verse of the oath is also called the revelation. Another explanation of the said label as revelation is the revealing of the bearer of the oath, an unclothing of the identity of the oath-taker, named as the Union of Progressive Students. Also, included in this verse are the words, from us, which tells us that everything under the oath, is FROM US, the Union of Progressive Students. With that, the oath-taker automatically assumes the responsibility of everything stated under the oath taken with, for and by truth. This is the revelation of the organization as well, the very purpose of the origin of the oath. IV. Strength We vow to develop our strengths for others weaknesses As the most primary principle of the organization, we begin with strength. This strength here is described not that of the destructive nature, but of the constructive one. We will be using this strength not to devour our own weaknesses and hide them, but to help out others conquer their limitations and go beyond the line. Real strength is inexhaustible, it only goes at its peak forevermore. It is even the refusal of power, but the will to change that shows real strength. UPS believes in the capacity of individual strength to create a magnanimous effort to develop weaknesses and turn it to strengths instead. We all have different strengths, but if we work with all strength at hand, we can complement each other and work in harmony and progression. V. Direction Go to the right direction, and never quit Our strengths would be futile without channeling it properly. And as we guide them for others weaknesses, we go to the right direction. UPS believes that everyone has a direction as everyone has strength, but it is up to us to turn right and not just get whats left behind. UPS never quits. The roads we take for the right direction might be rocky, shaky and stormy, but if we pursuit what we really believe into, we will get into that direction soon and with the further prize of courage. Thats when we transcend our limitations and develop our strength. A few more steps forward and we will reach success.
VI. Respect Respect each person as a person; And respect nonetheless the truth Success, does not source only from strength and direction; without respect, what you built for a lifetime might be destroyed overnight. As the long and narrow road winds like the wind of change, we learn the value of respect! Respect not only to all human valued as equal and equitable, but also to ideas and perceptions. However, it is also our due responsibility to organize the ideas we encounter and as a form of respect, push for what is the better idea. VII.Commitment Promise commitment not only to the organization But also pledge to be responsible students and worthy citizens The first two words alone capture the whole of the picture, PROMISE and COMMITMENT. If left those two alone, it would sound redundant; however, i also shows real commitment. Commitment is not just staying active; it is more of being progressively responsive and responsible. It does start from a small circle then it enlarges as experience goes along: starting from the organization, going to being responsible students, and lastly, full-time worthy citizens. Commitment comes from the heart, and it only dies when the heart stops beating. VIII.Contribution And more at the end of the day, Contribute to the best of what we can do The first verse illustrates a picture after the end of the day. It may seem unimaginable and abstract, but it only shows that there will be more than what we expected. Following this line of thought, going to the second verse we should contribute the best of what we can, because the actions of today may be the inspiration for tomorrow. This line also underlines the word best; however, it does not necessarily mean BIG. The smallest contribution will always be big enough, as long as it is the best. Labeling the principle implicit in this verse as small contribution shows the humble character of the contributor: that however big the contribution is, treat it just as small so that there will always be space for another one, and the contributions shall never end.
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Disclaimer Not for pride, not for self glory, nor for credit. This disclaims the qualities that other people may look into and may start a misinterpretation of the oath. The oath disclaims pride, self glorification and self credit because it is not the qualities that govern UPS, nor does it help to have them. Standing in these worth (worth of pride, self glory and credit), would not hold the center, and may stumble if humility passes by. The oath, as have been emphasized, is not an oath of quality but an oath of principles and challenges. Active Non-violence Give love, and be loved. Instead of having the word love in an action-form, the oath chose to retain its abstractness so that it may be viewed as powerful. Love is truly powerful and to be able to GIVE that power must be more powerful; more strength is needed, and there is direction still. The implicit principle cited here is active non-violence formed by love. The principle of active non-violence does not assume that the worlds is non-violent; however, with that, we still continue to show peaceful and active ways of changethe very characteristic of love. Love everyone including your enemies and be loved back, maybe not by your enemies but by those who believe in you. Authentic Humanism Value and be respected It is only when you value things of your own that you get the true meaning of PRINCIPLE. Valuing something earns not only a principled you, but in effect, a respected you. And respect is the root of authentic humanism. Authentic humanism is the umbrella principle of UPS, which means that everything else can be encapsulated with this principle alone. Value is the word that describes a worth in someone or something. Being in an authentic humanist organization, we value human with all its parallels and perpendiculars, as truly and valuably human. Look at this principle in a universalized manner: if everyone in this world would value authentic humanism, wont you get respect too? And with respect, wont you get love too? Then with love, everything else follows. Value as stated here is presented in a bipolar manner: that which moves (give value), and that which stands (value or worth).
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Enlightened Student Activism Honor and be appreciated KNOWING its value and LEARNING it as true, leaves you in ACTING out what you learned and knew, thus you HONOR the truth and honor what is honorable. This is the process of Enlightened Student Activism. The syntactical form of the phrase is intentionally arranged in such a manner as to convey a progressive form of learning and action. You become enlightened when you know, and in knowing requires not only one angle, but everything that is involved. Student is a metaphor of learning. Knowing is one thing, learning is another. It is when you learn that you know what you know is truea revelation of the truth. And after all, it would be exhausting and disappointing if you never apply what you have learned. True learning is when you learn to apply it, thus enlightened student activism. Quite confusing? Heres the catch: honoring something or somebody has a prerequisite of knowing and learning. And when you honor, you give a part of yourself too. It is only when that you give a part of you that you create change. Appreciation is just the by-product of honor, the real measure is change. And by change, the oath means growth. Pragmatism and Dynamism Act and make a difference Make a difference implies that the status quo is filled with similar qualities, characteristics or actions that may not bring progress at all. Act is a action-oriented word that simply requires you to do something. But its not that simple at all. In UPS, every action must be pragmatic and dynamic as to answer the problem with complete and clearest solution/s. Pragmatism means that you dont have to go to the top to make a change, what is pragmatic is you change first what is in your sphere of influence, and progressively be dynamic to influence a bigger group, and align the changes you want with the changes you need. Dynamism on the other hand, requires not only activeness but also the creativity and initiative that will lead to other solutions that will direct the problem to the answer suited with time, people, nature and characteristics, also with other factors involved. Act with pragmatism and dynamism side-by-side and to make a difference you start from the inside.
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7 XIV. A Promise Stand up and move forward, From here then, until time needs us The first verse indicates that stands alone do not move a feet even. Change is not always growth, and movement is not always forward. As UPS, we stand up and move forward; having the strength to stand, and the direction to move forward. The respect to stand in your own two feet without stomping on others feet, and the commitment to move forward, all for the sake of small contribution. Stand and be pragmatic, move forward and be dynamic. Stand up and move forward for enlightened student activism. Stand up for active non-violence and move forward with a blue heart. The second verse ends with an ellipsis that says we will be looking forward when the time will need us again. And again from here then, until time needs us. This shows the fervor and commitment of every UPS member. This also shows that the principles embodied in the oath do not bound anyone to stop living, or stop believing when one is over. The UPS principles will always be there and forever unceasing, evermore incrementing, and perpetually progressing, because our principles are not just principlesUPS is a way of life (we just dont know the name yet). And thats our promise. Lingaw. Seribisyo. Pamilya. UPS.