MERGED: Do You Want U.S. Statehood For the Philippines?

[aditti]

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"I beg you to accept that there is no people on earth who wouldn't prefer their own bad government to the good government of an alien power." - Mahatma Gandhi

"I prefer a government run like hell by Filipinos to a government run like heaven by Americans." - Manuel L. Quezon

To this day, there are Filipinos who, whenever something goes wrong, cackle and say, "Look, Quezon got his wish. We have a government run like hell!" As if it is something uniquely Quezonian -- and Filipino -- to want to run our own lives, badly as the case may be, rather than entrust it to the guidance of foreigners.

What Quezon and Gandhi said roughly a decade apart is the ESSENSE OF NATIONALISM: a people, a nation, must have the chance to make good and bad decisions, because there is simply no substitute for decisions made for one's self, by one's self. Government will not always be good, leaders will not always be the best, but in the end, a government and its leaders must be selected by the people and no one else. Love of country, nationalism, requires that a people have the freedom both to make mistakes and achieve great things. After all, the lives of individuals as well as nations require learning, and one cannot learn without, at times, doing wrong or making mistakes. Surely it is better to make one's own mistakes, to collectively endure errors of one's choosing, rather than undertake the same risks at the direction of a colonial power.

Nationalism is not my country, right or wrong, or everything for my countrymen at the expense of all aliens, but rather a more fundamental appreciation that one belongs to a people who have a country, and that the destiny of that country is in the hands of a people free to make errors but at the same time rectify their mistakes. It involves a sense of stewardship over a particular territory that geography and history have made the primary responsibility of no one else on earth but those who inhabit that territory.

When, as a child, I first asked what nationalism meant, I was simply told, "It means love of country." There are many kinds of love, as we all discover as we grow up, but fundamental to understanding love is that it requires a sense of self-worth and dignity. You cannot love and be loved, first of all, if you do not love yourself. And you cannot love properly if your love is the kind that is dependent merely on the approval of others, or measured by what you might believe to be the superior love of others. To love one's country is to love one's land and people with all their flaws, despite all their wrongs; and to maintain, at the same time, a conviction that one's love for nation and nationhood will result in a better, stronger country.


Last note :
- Arroyo is not George Bush classmate but Bill Clinton's
- Jessa Zaragosa ang Dingdong AVANZADO are not American Citizens, they're green card holders or permanent residents.

okay...bill clinton george bush.. same ra ghapon cla... ex and present president sa usa... my mistake sa dingdong dantes.. the only time i knew about it was after glancing the newspaper since not into showbiz ko.. all i remember was that they are now in the states and on their way to being american citizens

ang thot ana ni quezon mura rmana if tao pa, if i cannot love you/take care of you, no one else should/will... is it not selfish? should we allow outselves na ingani lang ang situation sa country when there is a better solution? ok ra nato na sa worse case scenario muslims go on a rampage in mindanao massacre-ing everyone in their path at the same time fpj's widow and erap team up to oust gloria and the peso hits 90 to a dollar? i think that could be realistic view of hell... and we will not allow america or whoever to help us coz we dont want the world to know na we are not self-sufficient as a nation capable of peace, safety and etc

ok rman nimo cgro coz you are not here in the philippines feeling how it is to be here veryday... you are in singapore, europe or whtever country working hard to earn your money and send it here... whereas if naa ka diri, you can really feel and see and hear na murag everything is falling apart...

[The_Child]

All the Philippines is ... is a liability when China decides to flex it's muscles.


Good sir, you say the philippines is a liability, how is that? Could you give me a hypothetical Scenario that the Philippines becomes more of a liability than an asset to the United States?

When China dares to flex its muscles, the Philippines would be one of the most important position the UNited States dare not lose. IF they really dont have an interest on our humble conglomerate of islands then please tell me why they keep an embassy here? why they consider as a very close non-nato Ally? why sign the VFA? if we are that insignificant that the USA has no interests on us, then why oh why, is their name almost always mentioned in the annals of Philippine History? The Philippines is a STRATEGIC Interest of USA most especially during the era of Chinas growth, quite obvious really, the USA is trying to encircle China, at the west: USA has forces in Afghanistan, and relations between PAkistan is getting very favorable, in the South, Thailand, in the South East ---- PHILIPPINES, in the North EAst they have Japan, and the North? the Russians their foreign relations is getting friendlier and friendlier. Take away philipppines, and you take away a strategic point, in Economics, GeopOlitics and of course a Military Strategic point

and btw, the greatest deterrent we have against China in our Spratlys Is. Dispute is our Alliance with the UNited States, and if im not mistaken, there is no altruism in diplomacy its almost always a mutual benefit from each other, its benefits us and it benefits them. so tell me again why the Philippines is a liability rather than an Asset?

[junmar4]

this would be a great idea... ang problema lang kay wa nay gusto ang kano sa Pinas.

[The_Child]

i think that could be realistic view of hell... and we will not allow america or whoever to help us coz we dont want the world to know na we are not self-sufficient as a nation capable of peace, safety and etc

ok rman nimo cgro coz you are not here in the philippines feeling how it is to be here veryday... you are in singapore, europe or whtever country working hard to earn your money and send it here... whereas if naa ka diri, you can really feel and see and hear na murag everything is falling apart...

But i beg to differ. If such is the case, then every nation would have become a vassal of another in times of their crises. When Vietnam was ravaged by War, did they ever accepted to become a part of a larger Communist state? PRC or Perhaps USSR? South Korea after their war with the North was very poor, but they rebuild their nation and now has even surpassed us, Japan after the War fixed its economy in the short span of 10 years..

Just because we are having a crises doesnt mean we have to give it up and throw away our National Spirit to someone else. No nation was born rich and perfect, there was always struggle, So its a matter of struggle, a national stuggle for progress and not a Suicidal attempt to castrate our national spirit and feed it to those who want to rape our Motherland.

Heres an Analogy:

A family is struggling, would you sell your Mother without her consent to the *** industry so that everybody else in the family would become a lil bit better? The answer is of course a matter of individual principle which would reflect how one would look at our Nation.

[Redeyes]

Look at puerto rico, its still a "third world country" and many of its citizens enjoy the free passage to America without green cards.

Majority of everyday Americans have no clue where the Philippines even is, and not to mention the MYTH of the philippines becoming 51 state(?) of the union..lol

[junmar4]

Look at puerto rico, its still a "third world country" and many of its citizens enjoy the free passage to America without green cards.

Majority of everyday Americans have no clue where the Philippines even is, and not to mention the MYTH of the philippines becoming 51 state(?) of the union..lol

adto sa DC boss ay, kita ka sa may veterans memorial man siguro to, naay Philippines alongside the US states.

[Spec-V]

@The_Child - It would've be nice if you tell that to your "Policy Makers" in your Government.

[The_Child]

theyve been told, and even though they have been its not really necessary because they know. Hey, we do have smart guys in the government.

[aditti]

i think that could be realistic view of hell... and we will not allow america or whoever to help us coz we dont want the world to know na we are not self-sufficient as a nation capable of peace, safety and etc

ok rman nimo cgro coz you are not here in the philippines feeling how it is to be here veryday... you are in singapore, europe or whtever country working hard to earn your money and send it here... whereas if naa ka diri, you can really feel and see and hear na murag everything is falling apart...

But i beg to differ. If such is the case, then every nation would have become a vassal of another in times of their crises. When Vietnam was ravaged by War, did they ever accepted to become a part of a larger Communist state? PRC or Perhaps USSR? South Korea after their war with the North was very poor, but they rebuild their nation and now has even surpassed us, Japan after the War fixed its economy in the short span of 10 years..

Just because we are having a crises doesnt mean we have to give it up and throw away our National Spirit to someone else. No nation was born rich and perfect, there was always struggle, So its a matter of struggle, a national stuggle for progress and not a Suicidal attempt to castrate our national spirit and feed it to those who want to rape our Motherland.

Heres an Analogy:

A family is struggling, would you sell your Mother without her consent to the *** industry so that everybody else in the family would become a lil bit better? The answer is of course a matter of individual principle which would reflect how one would look at our Nation.

hmm... prostitution man dayun ang gi analogy

im not a war buff or a historian huh.. pero during the ww2 or ww1 sa england, the families sent out their children sa country to be safe...get shelter with some strange ppl..strangers rana nila who opened their homes to take care of other ppl's kids...

but i guess, the truth is cgro... no other country would take in another country without trying to exploit them one way or another..

thus, if we do get reannexed to the us, we wont really be equal citizens (in terms of gov. benefits, social status, whatever) with them but just another helpless, subservient little brown brother?

[lestat1116]

pls love our country even we have the worst government ever.