The Philippine-American War

I would like to ask my fellow Filipino readers if they know anything about the Philippine-American War? Yeah, we have actually battled the superpower more than a hundred years ago. And because of this, they called us niggers, bandits, tulisan and bandido! Isn't it ironic to be called rebels in our own land?

Photo Courtesy of JapanFocus.org

It is also interesting to note that some US universities do not study it as a part of US history. Some say that it is because for almost a decade we have resisted Uncle Sam's offering of democracy but with a little pinch of colonization and imperialism; that still persists up to this day. But some American historians like Paul Kramer are recently bringing up to light that there was once a war that Filipinos waged against the Americans.

And also it is sad to note that this war is called by some academics and scholars of history as "The Philippine Insurrection" when it was these Americans who came to occupy us while we are struggling to become an independent nation. Besides, what are they doing here 10,000 miles away from home? It is clear that they REALLY want us and they want to USE us.

Photo taken from http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Crete/9782/main.htm

Does every Filipino who are queuing up at the doors of US embassy know that they killed more than 1,000,000 Filipinos during the war? And how could I ever forget 'Balangiga Massacre' wherein to avenge their defeat from us 'niggers', they ordered 'to kill everyone over ten.' And for everyone else's information, it was not the Japanese who used water cure as a torture method. It was these Americans who used it extensively during the Philippine-American War. And we should not be surprised that up to now, their 'prisoners of war' from Iraq or Afghanistan are suffering the same treatment in Guantanamo Bay.

Photo Courtesy of HistoricalTextArchive.com

Photo Courtesy of The New Yorker

Well, we should be proud that we are the ONLY country to have risen up to fight these imperialist for almost a decade. But it is very sad to note that public schools here in the Philippines do not take up much of the Philippine-American war. It is merely shown as a 'little incident' that happened and was easily 'eradicted'. Too much emphasis is given on the establishment of the Commonwealth and the 'Independence Missions' where in fact, we should not be begging for it because they are not the ones who own us. Besides, THIS IS OUR LAND. They have just grabbed it away from us.

And it is also interesting to note what William Howard Taft said in 1905 or 103 years ago:

"I have not come to give you (the Philippines) your independence, but to study your welfare. You will have your independence when you are ready for it, which will not be in this generation - no, nor in the next, nor perhaps for a 100 years or more."

And lo and behold, his word indeed came true. We may be 'free and independent' in essence but the Philippines is still held by America: economically and maybe politically. We are a 'neo-colony'. We still look up to Uncle Sam as our protector and giver. And we still allow their soldiers to roam freely in our ports and disguise it as 'military exercises' but in truth they are engaged in our own internal conflicts. We are still beholden by the enormous debt that is crippling our economy and eating up more than 50% of our annual national budget which can be used for delivering basic social services like education and health.

Kailan ba tayo mamumulat sa panloloko ng mga Kano sa atin? Kailan?

And this did not just happened to us: we have seen them invade Cuba, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. They would always say that they are trying to bring world peace yet they are always the one who invade or starts the war. Well, it is not surprising that they would just create a conflict out of nowhere. It is just to use their huge 'military-industrial complex' to boost their economy and of course, power.

They seem to feel that they are the rightful owners of these world. But wake up Joe, THE WORLD IS NOT YOURS. You cannot just meddle into anybody's affairs. You should not say what is right. Because what could be right for you, would not be right for everybody else. Look at what you did to Iraq, the whole country is in total chaos. The situation was a lot better before you came. You did gave them democracy but what happened? You divided the country. Pitting one group against the other.

Anyway, I hope that the Philippine-American War is no longer an "Invisible War" in the minds of my readers.

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