YPS

*Disclaimer: Since I am not a historian, let me make it clear that I am not trying to delve into the mind of President Quezon when he said what he said. What Id like to simply point out is that, like statistics, quotes can be used, misused, and abused to no end. However, regardless of intent, historical statements are judged on two fronts, the context in which it was used in then, and how its used/misused and how it reflects/affects our lives today. In the end, our leaders would be wise to watch what they say as history may judge them, fairly or unfairly, in the context of the present and not in original intent past.

Unless of course we can use a ouija board to get a direct statement from the dead.

JPG

Sometimes I wake up in the morning with definite thoughts in my head. Like the other day I opened my eyes and thought " I think we should add more color to the office upstairs". This resulted in a text to some people who batted the idea with me for a few messages. All of this was transacted while i was still lying in bed and, except for that though, barely conscious of anything else.

Why does this happen? I don't know. Maybe my mind set a priority on this issue for that day. Who knows? I guess my brain has a mind of its own.

This morning I woke up with President Quezon's famous line running through my head.

"I prefer a country run like hell by Filipinos to a country run like heaven by Americans."

Ok that's not so strange. The airwaves are filled with talks of 2010. My subliminal was being shallow today. But shallow as it was, I couldn't help but feel the power of that statement.

But then again as powerful as it is, the crop of presidents over the past 50 odd years has strained this emphatic declarations credulity. In fact in the context of the last five presidents, the statement seems downright stupid. And if said today, this is a statement could only have been made by someone from a social status that would not be affected no matter who the leader or what kind of leadership was impressed upon the country. Let them eat cake!

As proof, Marcos, Cory, Ramos, Erap, Gloria; each of these presidents represent some kind of warped social experiment we have been conducting on ourselves to test the HELL part of Quezon's statement.

Lets try a strongman...FOR 20 YEARS(!!!)...nope that didn't work said the desaparacidos (and more others eventually...sigh)

Lets try a housewife/widow...ahhh...what were we thinking said the poor farmers who were hoping for land reform.

Lets try the military...ahhhh...next please and please put out that damned cigar thank you.

Ahhh how about an actor...makamasa yan...opps di pala makamasa...maka masama pala.

Oh here we go lets get an economist...ahhhhh...ok.

In each case it has been the poor who have suffered the most.

I wonder if they would agree with Quezon today.

Oh but not to worry... Quezon just said AMERICANS...in the future we can look to Koreans or maybe Australians or maybe even the Dali Lama for leadership.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

Anyway I typed in the quote into my favorite Google and dammit if I wasn't floored by what I saw.

Here's the complete version of that historic statement.

"I prefer a country run like hell by Filipinos to a country run like heaven by Americans. Because, however bad a Filipino government might be, we can always change it."

Damn.

Am I the only one seeing this? To me, by how he constructs his statement, he seems to imply that we can change, not a Filipino President when he or she runs amuck or is paralyzed by her loyalties to her cohorts, friends, and cousins, nor does he can say we can change leadership (which may apply to other high offices) BUT the entire Filipino GOVERNMENT!

So If I were to read a conspiratorial note into this historical statement, Quezon seems to portend not a regular change in leadership by regular electoral means but seems to endorse (in his immediate or far future) some kind of change in TYPE of government if need be.

To follow this line of thought, it might then seem that he may have been far from selling a democracy run by Filipinos. It seems Quezon was selling a form of governance in whatever form AS LONG AS IT WAS RUN BY FILIPINOS.

Whoa! That's another ball of wax altogether. Talk about STRONG REPUBLIC.

Now, if I were to assume anything of Quezon then it would certainly not be stupidity and hardly naiveté. To be the kindest I can be, I might say that in his fervor to gain autonomy he was struck with momentary insanity that comes with passion.

In one fell swoop, Quezon declares that he would rather see Pinoys suffer under a local tyrant rather than enjoy a good life under a foreign leadership ( good escape clause for any future president) and he admits the temporary nature of the TYPE of government (assuming democracy was his context) and his willingness to change it when necessary ( another great clause for a future president to justify delusions of perpetual grandeur).

HMMMM.

Since Quezon is the first recognized democratic leader of the Philippines then I guess it's true what they say... some things never change.

POSTSCRIPT: In a final cruel act of fate, Quezon, who railed so mightily against American sovereignty for the sake of the Filipino people found his tomb, for a long while, used as a toilet by local park goers.

Life can be cruel.

*Pahabol: It was brought to my attention that the designer of the Quezon Memorial was Federico Illustre and that the only design cue that was remotely similar to an American Presidents tomb was that the raised tombs lighting came from an "oculus" reminiscent of President Grant's (America's 18th President). I have removed the erroneous referrence. JPG