The
Philippines’ relations with the US can be generally deemed as the most
important and the most complicated bilateral ties. It highlights active
interaction between the two countries’ governments, economies, and
societies. Since American colonization
of the Philippines, this bilateral relation has seen many bright and dark
moments that give color to Filipinos’ perception of the US.
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| taken from: http://www.crossed-flag-pins.com/Friendship-Pins/Philippines/Flag-Pins-Philippines-USA.html |
My class on Philippine foreign relations got everyone
thinking about how Filipinos view the US. Based on our discussion, Filipinos
generally have a clear distinction between the US government and society. Basically,
what the Filipinos may think about the current US administration does not
necessarily affect how Filipinos view the Americans.
When it comes
to state-to-state relations, the Philippines has a very convoluted relationship
with the US. This is mainly because of the enduring security alliance and the
corresponding issues that go with it.
Though the US government provides security guarantee, it can also compel
the Philippines to be directly or indirectly involved in its security issues
(e.g. war on Iraq) and its strategic interests in the region (e.g. hosting American
military presence in line with its rebalance in Asia). The Philippines may have
a love-hate relationship with the US but there is no doubt that despite this,
it is the country’s most important bilateral partner.
When it comes to people-to-people relations,
Filipinos have a very entrenched affinity with the Americans. This is mainly because
we share a lot of commonalities with them--- our regard for democracy and
freedom, our friendliness to other people, and our openness to other cultures. There
may be some negative impressions based on personal experiences by some
Filipinos but overall, we have a very positive view of them. In fact, most of
us think highly of the Americans. We admire them for their independence,
individualism, coolness, and creativity.
Essentially, we may sometimes object to the decisions
of the US government, but we still love American culture and society. We
consume their brands, study in their schools, patronize their popular culture, and
admire their state-of-the- art technology. Despite the awkwardness, we attempt
to have that fluent American English with the twang. And despite the
difficulties, we pray to the heavens to be able to migrate to the US in an
attempt to live the “American dream.”
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| Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and US President Barack Obama, photo from the Associated Press |
Generally, our deep-seated enchantment of everything
good about America has led some of us to think so highly of them at the expense
of appreciating the good in us. This is especially evident in our entertainment
industry when we tend to ape American artists in how we sing, act, and dance---and
less attention is given to Filipino artistry and ingenuity. It is no wonder
that we have several Filipino versions of American acts--- “Michael Jackson of
the Philippines” or the “Elvis Presley of the Philippines”--- to certify an
artist’s talent as being “good enough” to be compared to them. It is as if we
need to reach an “American standard” to be affirmed of our own talent and
artistry.
It is also no
small wonder that we have the penchant to claim and share in the glory of
several Filipino Americans’ achievements in the US, even though they consider themselves
more as Americans than anything else. This is clearly apparent in how we
“idolize” Jessica Sanchez and Jasmine Trias in the American Idol and readily
adopting them as our own. And year after year, we anticipate for any Fil-Ams
who can break into the Top 20 so that we can fiercely root for them as if they
are in an Olympic competition carrying the Philippine flag. It is as if we need “validation” from
American singing competitions to feel good about our talents and to be proud of
being Filipino, never mind if they are Americans in the first place. We tend to
forget how they usually identify themselves as American citizens who happen to
have Filipino blood.
This is not
to discount the talents and achievements of a growing number of Fil-Ams in the
US, for they deserve the accolades and honor bestowed on them. It is sometimes
the swift manner in which our nation claim these Fil-Ams’ successes as achievements
for the Philippines that personally bothers me the most. We tend to instantly declare
them as one of us even though they sometimes do not recognize us first. Oftentimes,
only until they become famous in the Philippines that they publicly declare
their affinity and pride to this country, which some of them have not yet personally
experienced nor visited.
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| Some of the successful Filipino Americans featured in a book by Gail Snyder |
I personally
have nothing against the Fil-Ams nor am I judging their “Filipino-ness,” in
fact I welcome their quest to explore and appreciate their Filipino roots and
heritage. But what I find vexing is the apparent adulation most Filipinos give
to Fil-Ams that somehow reinforces our colonial mentality.
As I discuss
this issue in my class, I asked my students one question that got them
thinking: “If we think this way about the Americans, then what does it say
about us as Filipinos?”
And my class
came to this realization: It speaks about our belief in our smallness to their
greatness. It reveals our insecurity. It shows our lack of confidence as a
nation.
These are
just some of the personal reflections and observations about our relations with
the US and our perceptions about America. On the government level, we reveal
this inequality in how we greatly rely on our security alliance and development
aid from the US government, and how sometimes our government allows these
factors to influence our foreign policy. On the socio-cultural realm, we
display our insecurities with our tendency to seek validation from the
Americans as if we need their “pat on the back” for us to believe that we are
good or at least “good enough” for them.
In order to
slowly transcend from these perceptions, it is important for Filipinos to be
confident about ourselves as a nation. Though the Philippines will never be
equal to the US in so many ways, our government need not equate our smallness to
mean constant deference to the Americans. We only need to think of our country’s
strategic value to the US in terms of its regional interests to raise our
leverage. Though Filipinos may learn a lot from the Americans’ ingenuity and expertise
in various fields, our nation need not feel constantly inferior to them. We
only need to constantly learn and improve ourselves and be reminded of the many
unique accomplishments of Filipinos acknowledged all over the world to feel
proud of ourselves.
Though these observations are still evident,
they are slowly changing. According to World Focus video report presented by Mark Litke and produced by Ara
Ayer, the Philippines is home to talented, industrious, resilient, and yes, independent
people. Towards its conclusion, the video highlighted Manny Pacquiao, a
pure-blooded Filipino from a poor background, who rose to the top and captured
the attention and respect of the Americans and the international community. He
is certainly an epitome of who we are and what we can become as a nation. He is
definitely a symbol of the Filipinos’ humble roots, proud achievements, and growing
self confidence.
And I could
not agree more. There is indeed a “Manny Pacquiao” in us that we should
unleash. In the future, I hope to see more Filipinos who are self assured and
proud of our nation. I also look forward to shaping the minds of more young
Filipinos to be more confident and positive about the country--- one class at a
time.
