UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Dr. Raymund W. Lo
Thanksgiving Day – it’s an American tradition, but like most anything American, it has wormed its way into universal consciousness. It all started when the pilgrims, a religious sect escaping persecution in its native England, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in the early days of colonization of North America. After settling down and having had a bountiful harvest in 1621, they decided to have a feast to celebrate and to thank God for their good fortune. When the Native American Wampanoag came, the Pilgrims invited them to join the feast and thus, the tradition was born.
Alas, the peaceful co-existence only lasted roughly 50 years when open conflict erupted over the colonists taking over more land and asserting more control over most aspects of Wampanoag life. In the ensuing King Philips’ War (1675-76), named after Metacomet, son of Massasoit who welcomed the Pilgrims, it is estimated that up to 30 percent of the English population and half of Native Americans in New England died.
As the Europeans claimed more and more of the continent, the Native Americans resisted the encroachment but were overcome by the superior firepower of the invaders. Tens of thousands of Native Americans died in the massacres that followed including women and children, not to mention many more who succumned to diseases the Europeans brought with them to those shores. Thus did the birth of the United States of America come about on the blood and tears of the original settlers of North America. Now, amid the celebrations, protesters commemorate it as the National Day of Mourning in reference to the injustice and oppression done to Native Americans.
Nonetheless, Thanksgiving Day is now celebrated almost universally on the fourth Thursday of November with little regard to its dark history. It is a big holiday in the USA where Americans travel from far and wide to come together with family and friends to have Thanksgiving dinners of turkey, stuffing, squash, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. As with Christmas, Easter, and other holidays, Thanksgiving Day has been commercialized with the following day being declared Black Friday with lots of sales that push for huge profits for big businesses and to usher in the Christmas holiday bargain hunting.
Naturally, most Filipino expatriates in the USA join in the celebrations, including many of my medical school classmates who are now American citizens, though I wonder if they know the dark side to the occasion. Certainly, there is much to be thankful about with their successful careers, and that they have raised their families well in the land of plenty.
Back home in the Philippines, there is not much reason to celebrate or be thankful for. A significant number of Filipinos still live a hand-to-mouth existence, wallowing not only in deep poverty but also in profound ignorance and fake beliefs that further push them into a vicious cycle. In spite of a hard life, most Filipinos still manage to be happy, at least on the surface, until you probe further into their lives and many, if not all, will suddenly break down in tears of quiet desperation and resignation.
Unfortunately, the powers-that-be in government don’t seem to care that people are suffering, and the bureaucracy carries on with a business-as-usual attitude.
The only silver linings I see are the selfless men and women who in their private capacities, care deeply about uplifting our destitute and helpless people. Thankfully, there is someone we can look up to and derive inspiration that one need not be a high government official with billions of intelligence funds at their disposal, to help the unfortunate folk suffering from natural and man-made disasters. That person is no other than Leni Robredo, who inspires many to do good and support her many endeavors through the Angat Buhay Foundation.
She is, in the tradition of men and women who, by their sheer desire to help (think Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela), and not notwithstanding the lack of powers and funds of government, carrying on with disaster relief operations well ahead of government efforts, engaging in early nutritional intervention to prevent stunting, and fostering livelihood opportunities for the disadvantaged as well as fighting disinformation which had brought about our currently pitiful condition.
Leni is a beacon of hope that draws us to donate to her foundation knowing it will be put to good use with every centavo accounted for.
That is something to be thankful for, and we don’t need Thanksgiving Day to celebrate it.