U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said, that America was born with a birth defect, that of slavery. And that it was only in the sixties, in the rise and the death of Martin Luther King Jr., in the civil rights struggle, would this birth defect be corrected.
And now, as by fate, the old gives way to the new, the man, who made it possible for a Black Man to be elected The President of United States of America, is celebrated. Martin Luther King Jr. Day today, and Inauguration of Barack Obama tomorrow.
As a Filipino-American, I have had the privilege to see the beauty and wonder of two nations with a rich history, both with much turmoil, and much struggle, and when I see the possibilities of America all around me, I have this undying hope that indeed, it will be our turn to rise to the challenges of history, The Filipino people can do this, and sometimes amidst all our problems, we can not see all the possibilities and potential this nation and our people can accomplish.
If Martin had a dream, then I must admit, that I too have a dream. That the injustices of poverty, lack of education, and that of human rights violations will be lifted from our beautiful land. That we will be able to escape from the grips of mediocrity towards the vision of a nation that can provide for all its citizens, that we will no longer be a nation where a third of our brothers and sisters know hunger all too well.
And so, on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I ask our readers what are your dreams for our nation, and for our people?
Popularity: 1% [?]
Having lived in the South, the one that Dr King referred to, let me give you my thoughts.
Driving along a levee in a New Orleans parish, I came to realize that America’s “birth defect” as Condi says is just below the surface.
On our left was a black neighborhood where none of the houses were rebuilt. On our right was a predominantly white neighborhood where insurance payoffs have helped in the rebuilding.
I have a dream. I have a dream that justice should flow like the mighty Mississipi and obliterate these racial distinctions!
Let me paraphrase Dr King for us Filipinos
I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the Filipino dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its inheritance from the United States: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the green hills of Bukidnon the sons of former tenant farmers and the sons of former land owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even in Manila, a city sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppressive corruption and poverty, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom, wealth and justice for all.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the education they have acquired (and whether they can speak English or not :-) ) but by the content of their character.
Let freedom ring from the forests of Isabela!
Let freedom ring from Mt Kitanglad!
Let freedom ring from the garbage mountain of Payatas!
Let freedom ring from every Chocolate hill of Bohol!
Let freedom ring from every “pilapil” in Nueva Ecija!
Then will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
The truth is that Dr King’s dreams are also our own!
Nick,
I am afraid that poverty, lack of education, violation of human rights, and hunger – are all beyond dreams.
We have a beautiful land and supposed-to-be beautiful people as foreigners tend to believe.
But there is nothing we can really do to scrape these problems out of the surface.
We dream alright for a better Philippines but if our leaders cannot quite provide the means to these noble causes, there is nothing that can be done.
Dreaming can only go so far; there is work to be done.
I speculate that blogging from the comfort of his bedroom or office will NOT be the medium-of-change that a Martin Luther King will use.
Dear all
To help fulfill Dr King’s dreams, I suggest
Be a teacher!
Antonio,
Well said, but the reason we can afford to fight our dreams today from the comfort of our homes because our predecessors have already paid for that dreams and we are just reaping the fruits of their labor. Rizal and Ninoy Aquino are but the prominent ones who redeemed us from tyranny so we can speak our mind freely and for us to continue dreaming. Our only problem lies in our failure to nurture the very ideals of that dream, that we become finally free from want and deprivation.
We return to an easy path of complacency and live our lives unmindful of the sufferings of others.
Some media practitioners are free to express the very dreams that our ancestors have dreamt about and they continue to purchase that dream with their blood, but the same genuine dreams of our bloggers today to continue to fight for the right to dream is never diminished by the forum for which they wished to lived out that dream; in the comforts of their homes.
Technology has obliterated the traditional terrains by which “freedom fighters” engaged their wars. Today, traditional combatants do not limit their wars in the battlefield; they make use of the technology information delivery, (you tube and websites) to win the hearts and minds of their audience.
You cannot see the power of bloggers today because only few in the Philippines can afford the luxury of internet service and personal computers. But once these become household items, our dreams can be lived out through the infectious contagion of the entire populace who are willing to act out that dreams.
Yes, blogging is done in the comforts of our homes and that is its own strength, not its weakness. Most bloggers do not make a living out of it and they do it for passion. A passion to share a point of view, ideas, and yes a passion to share a dream.
Hey, wait, did you all see the part where Nick starts his 3rd paragraph with “As a Filipino-American…”.
Nick…. I suppose you refer to Philippines when your last sentence mentioned “… our nation”, but that is an assumption on my part. Maybe already, but for sure, next year if not the next, I expect you to hew closer to Bencard who unabashedly embrases USA as his nation and the Philippines as, well, his heritage-nation since I am lacking for better words.
with due respect to sec. rice, it’s not only america that was born with birth defect, rather it’s the whole world. i think, in global context, america is a relatively perfect creation in comparison with most 3rd world countries. the plight of the blacks in america pales in relation to the disparities among nations, e.g. economic, racial, geographical, political, intellectual, physical. one thing i can be sure of: most of the disparities are self-inflicted and man-made.
question to Nick: How long have you lived in the USA? How much of life in the US have you lived?
I guess the other question is valid to ask, too, namely how much of life in the Philippines have you seen?
My mistake… I had presumed that you/Nick had been avoiding mention that you are an American citizen. But now I see that in your tingog November 4/08 blogentry, you did mention that you were going to vote for Barack Obama, so you were quite clear that you are an American citizen.
I don’t know if you’ll agree, nick, but my opinion is that a Filipino holding American citizenship (and definitely American citizens with Philippine heritage like Abe Margallo or Bencard who live in US-of-A) feels slightly less of the pressures of living in metro-Manila than, say, a Marck or a schumey.
What has someone living in the U.S. to do with his passion as a patriot?
Whatever Nick’s circumtance abroad as well as others similary situated, does not void them out of their birthright to speak their minds as Filipinos.
Those who equate their stagnation in the country as the zenith point of their love for country and flag should look at those who continously repatriate part of their earnings so the country remains economically afloat and provide some modicum of comforts to those “pseudo-nationalists” whose only claim to patriotism is their inability to look for some opportunities outside the country.
Back to Barack…. I wish him well, and I am glad that he appears to know (and his circle of advisers know as well) that the romanticism about CHANGE/blahhh-blahhh-blahhhh-blahhh will peel off quickly and the American population will want “points on the board” — results, results, results.