"Trying to break away from Mendicancy"

"Trying to break away from Mendicancy"

Ramblings on same old mendicant policy surrounding US-Philippine relations

And the pursuit of a nation moving forward with self-determination 

and a reclaimed dignity

Quite lamenting especially when the concerned sees reports related to corruption, extrajudicial killings, lack of peace and order, and this: when Filipinos who afforded to "take pride" in its colorful history, is still defending and worshipping the United States and Americans better than they defend and cherish its own country.

Starting from its occupation in the late 19th century, to its still indirect domination in a form of a vassalage (sorry for the term but inconveniently true), the Philippines is struggling, if not trying to break away in the name of independence in every policy.
And in it somehow created an ire from those who enjoyed from that decade's old vassalage. For sure everyone knows how President Duterte babbles much against the United States and the European Union, what more of trying to deal with "rouge" countries like China or even Russia. And these be reinterpret as a violation of a decades-old "tradition", that is, being a non-NATO ally supported by bouts of cold war hysteria.

If so, then the late senator Claro M. Recto was right after all. That for all those times, ranging from cherishing its culture and reluctance to non-Atlanticist support, makes the Filipinos as the biggest defenders and fanatics of the United States and does it a lot better than Americans themselves. The Philippines is where the United States' policies, people and products are worshipped and considered perfect.

It also explains how the United States has been desperate in controlling and keeping every nation, every people as its own vassal or even slave, especially ever since that country known for being an "International Policeman" is rather an irrelevant entity if not as a terrible laggard amongst the superpowers, especially in a time when it's economy and industries are dying while churning substandard products by its outsourced companies, whose people wallowed in its idiocy, especially with its national fabric gone deteriorating thanks to crass consumerism and its culture of exploitation.


Looking back at history
And to "move on" carrying self-determination and dignity

Ironically, it is the same people who wanted to "move on" from its own history, on its own heritage, on the desire to stand up as what its founding fathers desired for as a nation. They would say about the needs of the present, of admitting inequalities in every transaction or agreement "least they provide something" with words like "partnership", "alliance", or any other word trying to mask an unfair and exploitative nature between a master and a vassal.

But come to think to this, if people wanted to move forward, or as what they say "move on" and be at par with its self-sufficient neighbours, then perhaps forget about frustrations of being one of the stars in the American Flag nor become a commonwealth nor an associated state under the United States, but instead, heed the demands of the people ranging from self-sufficiency to those of fair and just relations with every country including those of the United States.
For besides having unfair and unequal set of policies and agreements, of interests in which mostly satisfies those of Uncle Sam than those of Juan, Its so-called aid or "support" isn't even enough to sustain a so-called "growing" economy nor provides "development" what more that Americans themselves has to focus much on their own matters as taxpayers and as citizens, trying to think about the need for additional budgets in health, education, and social services if not muttering how that goddamned third world country fails to flex its muscle better and yet enjoys hot money from their struggling pockets.

Sorry for those remarks, but for as time goes by, and in seeing same old mendicancies and unfairness prevailing as so-called policies and agreements, it makes Philippine-American relations more of a parasite, a commensal-host, a master-vassal, instead of an "equal and just" brotherhood as ideally blabbered about by its apologetics. Quite inconveniently true though to think that with a mendicant policy towards and from the United States, and its effects on the sensibilities of the Filipino people, the concerned ask them: "why the contentment? Why the reluctance to be self sufficient like its neighbours? Is self sufficient be limited to the individual than those of the society?

In fact, as this person sees much how people been appealing to nostalgia through "history-related" pages in social media, that if to compare both the past and present  then maybe from that past, through the interwar years least tried its best to be themselves in producing things that Filipinos matter for a nation despite producing cash crops international trade greatly needed such as Manila Hemp and Sugarcane; that a Sweet Potato and a Saba Banana may have been enough to consider for lunch and supper besides brown rice (rather than imported rice from China), but all in all, those times and its efforts did show how Filipinos before as trying to survive with dignity proudly embedded not just telling the whole world least it is edible and worth filling especially during the war.

And now, contrary to the still patriotic sentiments of the past, it seems that everybody sees that the country, despite claiming to be "proud to be independent", be like crying for hot cash from other taxpayers (and calling it as foreign aid) and interest seeking traders who focused much on profits than on development (and be redescribed as foreign investment). So why not handle financial resources wisely by creating new foundations such as industry (besides agrarian reform) and focusing on production, innovation, and development? Of allocating efforts in ensuring the well being of the citizens?

Anyway, despite people whining about the need for outside aid as part of the economy, makes one think that in Randian terms, that the country has been rich in natural resources and sufficient manpower, but the inherent Americanism in its frustrated form, brought by its mendicant socioeconomic policy makes themselves moochers.


Following Hamilton's suggestions:
A treatise for an "aid"

If there is an aid that should Filipinos benefited from these Americans, then it must be likely in a form of a treatise, such as "On the subject of Manufactures" as what the late founding father Alexander Hamilton envisioned. Quite real and necessary for a developing country to have that treatise though, especially that in a developing country one has to have a collective political will to create major changes especially in pursuit of breaking from dependency and of building new structures meant to ensure peoples welfare and promoting development.

Sorry if to call that treatise as an "Aid" coming from a concerned American instead of the usual hot money meant to be for American needs (health, social services, housing, etc.), but at least that treatise has provided lessons for a developing nation rather than relying on "just" hot money and speculation. The need for industrialisation, agrarian reform, and an end to indebtedness and dependence on compradore-multinational interests is as same as what Alexander Hamilton envisioned to create economic independence to support that is political.

For as according to a summary regarding Hamilton's work:

"When George Washington became president in 1789, he appointed Alexander Hamilton as his secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton’s vision for the economic foundation of the United States included three main programs: 1) the federal assumption of state debts, 2) the creation of a Bank of the United States, and 3) support for the new nation’s emerging industries. After the first two parts of his plan had been accepted, he presented the third part to Congress in his Report on the Subject of Manufactures in December 1791. Through high tariffs designed to protect American industry from foreign competition, government bounties and subsidies, and internal improvements and transportation, Hamilton hoped to break Britain’s manufacturing hold on the United States."

The Philippines does have a Central Bank, it also has Land Bank, Development Bank, and dozens of other banks whose vision deals about economic growth; it does have small and medium scale industries to brag over though, but sadly, that semi-feudal, semi-colonial country has been full of frustrated Jeffersons who thinks being agro-commercial is enough that justifies the existence of landlords and compradores.
And if to assert industrialisation and usage of domestic resources, the system rather thinks of these as "time consuming" if not "unlikely to be appreciated by a market tied to imported goods" as well as "facing threats by international moneylenders" whose interests are getting harmed by those who truly desire for national liberation and development; there are few landlords who also did toyed with industrialisation for some "national sentiment", but their efforts did not pursue further but instead limited to consumer goods and some had even absorbed by multinational companies all in the name of expansion.

Perhaps let the nation, by reason or by force, be shifted from a consumption-based, commercial-oriented, kind of economy, of an unjust socioeconomic an foreign policy into a production-based one so as to rebuild the country and to remold the character of its people, as well as to achieve a just and dignified order the way Alexander Hamilton has envisioned centuries ago in his country then newly-freed from Britain.