Aspiration Versus Despair

GLIMPSES
Jose Ma. Montelibano


I am at the last leg of a three-week visit to the United States, a trip that has affirmed in a big way the most optimistic view of Filipino-Americans who are on the verge of going beyond nostalgia for the home land to actually building a better one. There is no doubt that divisiveness has kept Fil-Ams from enjoying the influence of a population segment with a voice that government listens to, with an identity that draws respect, and with a character that has honor. That divisiveness has managed to make utterly useless the massive numbers of Filipinos, and to deny it is simply avoiding an honest look and assessment of ourselves.

At the same time, it is utterly refreshing to discover that second and third generation Fil-Ams are discovering a new attraction to the home land, and just in time, it seems. The first generation are slowly fading away and it seemed for some time that efforts to inculcate patriotism to their children did not bring the results they hoped for. I myself believed the bad news about divisiveness among Fil-Ams, but I had to discover for myself that the future is much brighter that what many had described.

Several personal encounters with second and third generation Fil-Ams in this trip always led to small group discussions about the situation in the motherland. Since they were born and raised in the United States, many of never witnessed poverty up close. And in their desire to help, many are frustrated by a local context which defies proven development formula. Inevitably, I am asked why many initiatives for reform or for development fail despite their being fully funded. Consistently, I have always referred to the contrast between aspiration and despair.

When a human being has aspiration as his or her foundation, there is only one direction - up. When another human being is anchored on survival, there is only one purpose - stay alive. The starting point determines the direction of life - up or just to stay alive. The first seeks to transcend, to transform the present to a higher state; the second clings to the present, which means to live, and afraid of any other future, which may only lead to death.

A now famous author says that we have purpose-driven lives. If purpose to him means a higher calling, then survival is not a purpose, only an instinct. Human beings who are forced to fight for survival are demeaned by evil superstructures who allow them only the struggle for survival instead of their divine potential. Poverty, then, is the evil superstructure that denies its victims their divine birthright.

To dismantle the grip of poverty over the Filipino people means that the poor must shift from survival to aspiration. History has shown that most of those who done so went through very violent stages of exploitation and rebellion throughout centuries. From their internal experience, they brought the same to other countries and to the world through colonialism. Among the most developed nations today, all have crossed their borders to expand territories and avail of the resources of lands and peoples they had conquered.

Conquerors had more options than the conquered, and again, history shows that conquerors took them. Their societies evolved faster as their understanding and ways refined, especially their technology. Their development, though, was aided by the exploitation of people and resources of other lands. Expansion and governance by force marked spectacular stages of growth by the more powerful, whether in internal intramurals by European countries or in their colonization of the rest of the world. Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia were invaded and exploited to drive the development of their masters.

As conquerors aspired, the conquered tried to survive. As a few raised the quality of their lives in an atmosphere of opportunity, many struggled in environments of deprivation. Later, much, much later, a global understanding was reached among the countries of the world to level the playing field - but only after centuries of colonial experience.

In particular countries, the cycle of exploitation and deprivation has been played out in local settings, of natives doing the same to fellow natives. The lessons of colonial rule were learned - that the powerful can exploit others and develop much faster using the labor and resources of the weak. Corruption was institutionalized, first by colonialism, then from the example of colonialism. Independence from colonial rule did not immediately translate to the emergence of egalitarian societies; on the contrary, the cycle of exploitation and revolution was extended by the locals themselves.

Each people who went through the last five hundred years as a conquered race tried to play catch-up once they found freedom. Some succeeded faster than others. Others deteriorated even more with local conquerors turning out more brutal than their former foreign masters. Indeed, the temptation to exploit is a powerful one, the opportunity to grow at the expense of others a human pattern too strong to simply transcend, and the vision of equality, liberty and fraternity too refined a dream for many to quickly grasp and pursue.

It is too late for historical victims to undo their past. While many try to hold on to memories no matter how painful they may be, the challenge to the present is simply to learn and then aspire. For those who have gone ahead by exploiting others, the next centuries can be their moment of atonement, their opportunity to extend proportional generosity. Indeed, many now do so. Global philanthropy was born from societies who once exploited the most.

Exploitation will always have many expressions. It does not disappear just because colonial times are gone. The ever changing laws of nations try to curb new expressions of exploitation. The quest for higher societal ethics remains a challenge for all but especially for the most developed. And among the most developed, the United States and the millions of Fil-Ams who reside there will play a major role in the evolution of democracy in the Philippines

Fil-Ams have become quite sensitive to the ugly faces of poverty and corruption because these cause shame. At the same time, these faces can be transformed if Filipinos are truly determined to build new patterns of solidarity, integrity and diligence. Fil-Ams especially are motivated to show that Filipinos need not extend their historical shame. Solidarity for common causes is such a powerful way to begin exorcising a conditioned mindset. I believe that the moment is here, the space is here, but the ultimate battlefield is in the home land. Let us all promise to meet there and win the war.###