Stakes in US pools

October is History Month in the US and the Filipino-American Historical Society of New Jersey and the Pan American Concerned Citizen Action League, Inc. took the opportunity of my visit here and invited me to speak during their celebration on October 17 at their History Exhibit at the Jersey City Public Library.

This was an opportunity for sharing the linked history of the Philippines and the United States for Filipinos who have adopted the US as their second home. While their elders have probably a good education in Philippine history their second generation has scant knowledge of the history of their original homeland although many of them have come home to the Philippines. This is the reason for this annual event where they focus on the both countries.

Indeed, despite our independence from the United States in 1946, the relationship between the two countries is such that the election in the US has great impact on the Philippines.

For one, most of the Filipinos who have migrated have gone to the US and they constitute a big number and have significant roles in US life and politics. The number of Filipinos has become a big voting group in the US. They are also professionals and therefore productive members of US society.

For the Philippines, our leaders look to the US on many things, not only on military matters but in diplomacy. Our national policy, although independent hews closely to those of the US from whom we get signals. In a way our interests jibe rather than collide with those of the US which is also our major economic partner.

For us, directly, the issue of Obama Care is crucial because the Aquino government takes its cues, instructions, if you will, from Obama on reproductive health bill or more precisely, the US Responsible Parenthood which Aquino also uses and pushes in the Philippines.

As I have noted several times, every time Aquino meets with Obama, he pushes some more the RH bill which is patterned on the US Responsible Parenthood program.

We were watching the vice presidential debate last week between US VP Joe Biden and contender Paul Ryan. One of the issues raised by the moderator who got castigated here for her clear bias in favor of Biden is that of contraception and abortion. This is Obama Care that has also been the target of strong criticism from the Catholic Church in the US.

Biden is a Catholic and he justified his support of Obama by saying that he does not want to impose his religious faith on others.

On the other hand, Ryan said that his faith and family values guide his public life and because of that he opposes Obama Care for forcing Catholic institutions to pay (indirectly through their health insurance which I also discussed here earlier) for contraception and abortion.

He believes that life begins at conception and contraception kills life. He said that when their first child was conceived, he and his wife saw the ultrasound of their child looking like a bean they named their child “Bean” when she was born.

The post debate analyses were mainly against Biden but that I will not digress on that.

Last October 13, the anniversary of the apparition of Fatima, we attended Mass at the National Blue Army Shrine of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and Fatima in the Muscontecong Valley, New Jersey State.

In his homily Archbishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Our Lady of Perpetual Help of Brooklyn, New York, talked on the year of the faith and the message of Pope Benedict XVI about the new evangelization.

The new evangelization is different from that of the old evangelization when the missionaries worked to Christianize those who did not know Christ but the new evangelization is each Catholic sharing the faith with others who probably also heard of Christ but are not Catholics.

It is important, the archbishop said, that we become witnesses to our faith, to live it and tell others of it.

That way surely we tell others what it is to be Catholic.

The archbishop used the occasion to comment on the vice presidential debate comparing the position of Biden and Ryan. While Biden “does not want to impose his Catholic faith” that makes him support Obama Care, Ryan stands by his faith.

The archbishop asked why it is all right for them to impose their beliefs on us.

This is same argument of pro-RH people – that we are imposing our Catholic faith on others when we oppose the state paying for contraception but they are also imposing their beliefs on us.

The reelection of Obama would embolden the pro-RH here; his defeat will defeat RH for lack of support from the new administration. These are our stakes.*

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