Philippine-American Relations

Title

Language

English

Source

The Cabletow I New Series (No. 4) April 1959

Year

1959

Subject

United States -- Foreign relations -- Philippines

Philippines -- Foreign relations -- United States

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

'Who is this ^Brother? Philippine-American Relations For one who lives in the Philippines of the Filipinos, there is hardly any justification for writing on a broad and delicate subject, especially at the mo ment when the situation is charged, irritating, and irritable. Even my hav ing been to several United States in the Philippines and my having lived in the Philippines of the United States do not mitigate my indiscretion. I do not wish to be an irritant on the subject, but i* I happen to scratch open an old wound, it is onlv on mv sincere desire to dig in so that the cyst may be removed. Tme or no Thue, visa or no visa, omnibus claim or no omnibus claim, military bases or no military bases, Philippine-American relations is not salu tary at the moment; there is need for the Americans and Filipinos to examine the causes of the rift at the grass-roots. It is conceded that anytime the Filipi nos can recite a littanv of sins of com mission and omission of the Americans against them; in like manner, the Amer icans can have a long list of what the Filipinos have done against them or failed to do for them. These tales of woe will 'be long and wcarv and bcfor each group is half-done, they will have been worn out. No need of go ing into that. It is more important for the two peoples, lovers of their coun tries that thev arc, to be nationalistic enough to correct the errors of their We have prided ourselves in the "lasting” friendship of our two peoples; but that prideful assertion might as Well be gone for even now there arc not a few who glory in the estrange ment. Like boxing fans, ready and more than willing to root for their favorite contenders. There is nothing better than for the two peoples to sit together, friend to friend, and talk things over to thresh out the irritations and forthwith evolve solutions of permanent and far-reaching effects. There is no need to wait for our respective governments to settle the differences on the conference ta bles. Diplomats can lie to each other with utmost courtesy; but nearly al ways, their agreements are affected and adulterated. We, the people, in flesh and blood, are the ones who can be honest and sincere; our motives can be above bias, our conversations, without affectations. A storv is told that in the golden wed ding anniversary celebration of a lead ing and highlv respected couple, a ladv guest sidled up to the wife, want ing to know how they have stayed married so long. The wife in all candor said: “You know, there were times when I wanted to shoot mv husband; hut wc talked things over, sometimes coollv, sometimes heatcdlv; and each time we finished, we came out loving each other all the more.” Filipinos and Americans of goodwill should show a better way among our peoples here in the Philippines and in the United States. This is an industry that is not taxed; an export that is not controlled; an import that needs no dollar allocation. But, for this adventure in friend ship to succeed, it should be without dissimulation; without ulterior motives; without any thought oE business deals, commodity loan agreements and the like. In other words, the project to refurbish friendship and goodwill in and among our two peoples must be onlv friendship and goodwill, period. That the discussions may be frank, sincere, and forthright, thev should be based on understanding. Bv under standing each other's point of view, we can be tolerant. More than ever, we need tolerance from both sides. For instance, the Filipinos still feel verv much the "underdog”. Our country has been a colonv of no less than four countries in over 426 years and inde pendent onlv 13 years. The United States has been a colonv some 280 years, but independent for 183 years. We Filipinos arc adjusting ourselves and our economy to the demands of this new freedom; we arc making mis takes; they arc embarrassing; but, we would that no one treat us with con descension or patronage. Another basis for the discussions might as well be equality. As Shakes peare has so aptly put it, "there is something bad in the best of us, and something good in the worst of us." No nation should really put on airs for the complex of superiority in one engenders hatred and envy on the part of the one who has the complex of in feriority. In fine, let us start with the assumption that both our nations are essentially equal regardless of creed, co lor, social attainment, or wordly pos sessions. It is nice to be important, but icallv, it is important to be nice. With understanding and equality, we can be free. We will have no in hibitions. no mental reservations, no secret evasions, and we can be forth right and sincere. The net results will be mutual trust, mutual respect. The proposition is: we start dis cussion and study groups on this vex ing situation of Philippine-American relation. Dig into the why’s and where fores of the impasse, and when we come up with solutions, tell the world. Set the light on a hill. Who knows but that other clubs, chapters, and ag gregations, on seeing the goodwill and understanding engendered bv our ef forts, will go and do likewise. Borrowing a statement of President Sinco: “The time has come when we . . . must know each other bet ter and must understand that our na tional interests, whether economic, poli tical, educational, or social, arc closely interwoven.” This desire to know each other better is at once local, national, and ultimately worldwide; no nation is an island unto itself. This adventure in goodwill and friendship may be met with chagrin by cynics; but the respon sibility is still there. This friendship and goodwill must be made manifest, real, and unswerving in the lives of our two peoples if we are to show to the world that the democratic way, even with its faults and weaknesses, is still the best way of life for all peoples withthersoever dispersed; communist pro paganda notwithstanding. AAA When a young assistant asked Dr. Charles Mayo why he hadn't dressed down a patient who had spoken insultingly to him, Dr. Ma yo answered: '‘One darn fool in the room was bad enough; there was no sense, in having two in there." —Dr. Walter Alvarez, Live at Peace With Yoitr Nerve::. 138 THE CABLE TOW April, 1959 CAPITOL MASONIC TEMPLE ASSOCIATION, INC. MOVES FURTHER ONWARD The Capitol Masonic Temple Asso ciation, Inc. which has been thought of and planned for since the incum bency of Most Wor. Bro. Werner Schetelig, the Grand Master at the lime, became a reality on May 22, 1958 when the corporation was registered with the Securities and Exchange Com mission with an authorized capital of P135,000.00 divided into 2,700 shares at P50.00 per share. At the time of registration, 72 mem bers subscribed P29.600.00 and paid P8,990.00 on their subscriptions. About the same time, the corporation paid the sum of P7.839.21 to the People's Home site Housing Corporation as down pay ment on a lot of 4,611.3 sq. m. on the block behind the proposed Quezon Ciiv Hall. The total cost of the lot is P78,392.1O payable in ten years. Wor. Bro. Angelo Bayion, Secretary of the coqx>ration, has high hopes that in time many more brethren will buv shares to enable the corporation to keep the payments on the lot and begin building the Masonic Temple in the capital city of the Philippines. The building when completed will largely be for the use of Masonic lodges and allied fraternal organizations such as: shrine clubs, Eastern Star chapters, DeMolay chapters, Rainbow assemblies, Job’s Daughters bethels, Amaranth’s, etc. FREEDOM FIGHTER, FREEMASON Prof. Janos Horvath of the faculty of Business Administration, University ot the Philippines, has recently been raised to the sublime degree in Rafael Palma Lodge No. 147. Bro. Horvath, before coming to the Philippines, lived in New York where he was active in looking after the interest and welfare of Hungarian patriots who sought re fuge in the United States after the short-lived revolution of 1956. Bro. Horvath is himself one of the revolutionary leaders in Hungary when Hitler's hordes held his homeland and also when Stalin’s satellites overran his country. He was a member of parlia ment and of the executive committee of the short-lived Hungarian republics after Hitler and in 1956. Currently, Bro. Horvath is a Profes sor of Economics and Cooperatives in the U.P., under contract with the Asia Foundation. He still keeps in touch with other Hungarian patriots in Eng land and the United States and hopes that in the future a permanent democra tic government will take over Hungary. It will be recalled that a Hungarian patriot, three score vears ago, in the person of Bro. Louis Kossuth, was made a Mason in the United States. The present generation of Hungarian pat riots arc inspired bv the free ideas of Bro. Kossuth and have established the Louis Kossuth Foundation in England and America to train leaders for de mocratic government. Bro. Horvath is Executive Vice-President of the Foun dation. AAA The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking. —Christopher Morley 139

pages

137-139

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