Historical footnotes

Can the Philippines ever rebound – economically, socially, and politically – after so many years of stagnancy and mediocrity? The answer can be YES, if a dramatic turn-around happens in the powerholders’ attitude of "business as usual" and "politics as usual." But if the status quo remains, if politics is practiced the same way it has been for the past three decades, or if the officials in the corridors of power remain as they are – smug, arrogant, obsessed with perks and pelf, indifferent to the high ethical standards set by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo – then there is no way the Philippines can rise from the grave.

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Despite high ethical standards set by President GMA, there are holders of political power who lust for Expeditions and BMWs and luxurious things. There are also those who wield their influence to advance their own overwhelming, overriding, and selfish personal agenda. These are a big NO in a government that seeks dramatic moral, economic and political reforms.

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Concerned Filipinos hope and pray that the big turn-around for the country will come, spurred on by President GMA herself, assisted y dedicated, well-meaning, competent and honest public servants like Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, and Chief of Staff Rene Corona, among others. May their tribe increase!

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A STAR reader from Bacolod City, Joe Gatuslao, passed on to me this article written by Robert J. Morgan, about certain personages who were part of that historical event at Pearl Harbor. This piece entitled "Bat Out of Hell" is interesting because it can add bits of historical information to that movie now being shown in Philippine cinema houses, Pearl Harbor.

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Here is Morgan’s story that could serve as footnote to Pearl Harbor:

Mitsuo Fuchida, commander of the Japanese Air Force, led the squadron of 860 planes that attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

American bomber Jacob DeShazer was eager to strike back, and the following April 18th, he flew his B-25 bomber, the "Bat Out of Hell," on a dangerous raid over Japan. After dropping his bombs on Nagoya, DeShazer lost his way in heavy fog and bailed out as his plane ran out of fuel. He was taken prisoner, tortured by the Japanese, and threatened with imminent death. For almost two years, DeSchazer suffered hunger, cold, and dysentery.

In May of 1944, he was given a Bible. "You can keep it for three weeks," said the guard. DeSharzer grabbed it, clutched it to his chest, and started reading in Genesis. Scarcely sleeping , he read the Bible through several times, memorizing key passages. On June 8, coming to Romans 10:9, Jacob prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior

Immediately Mathew 5:54 (("But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who desperately curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who desperately use you and persecute you, that you may be sons and daughters of your Father in Heaven") became critical text for DeShazer, as he determined to treat his Japanese guards differently. His hostility toward them evaporated, and every morning, he greeted them warmly. He prayed for them and sought to witness to them. He noticed their attitude toward him also changed, and they would often slip him food or supplies.

After the war, DeShazer returned to Japan as a missionary. Copies of his testimony, "I Was a Prisoner of the Japanese," flooded the country, and thousands wanted to see the man who could love and forgive his enemies. DeShazer settled down to establish a church in Nagoya, the city he had bombed.

One man in particular, deeply affected by DeShazer’s testimony, was led to Christ by Glenn Wagner of The Pocket Testament League. Shortly afterward, the man paid a visit to Jacob DeShazer at his home and the two became dear friends and brothers. It was Mitsuo Fuchida, who had led the Pearl Harbor attack. As DeShazer served as a missionary in Japan, Fuchida became a powerful evangelist,, preaching throughout Japan and around the world

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The lyrics of this song. One Day At A Time, sung by the internationally-acclaimed singer Roger Whittaker, whose roots are from Britain but who was born in South Africa, must have been borrowed from a prayer. The lyrics, and the music, are so thought-provoking – and the song as sung by Whittaker is so melodious – that I have decided to share the lyrics with my dreamy-eyed and prayerful readers:

I’m only human, I’m just a man,
Help me believe in what I could be
And all that I am,
Show me the stairway
I have to climb,
Lord, for my sake,
Teach me to take
One day at a time.

Chorus:

One day at a time, sweet Jesus,
That’s all I’m asking from You,
Just give me the strength
To do ev’ry day what I have to do,
Yesterday’s gone, sweet Jesus,
Tomorrow may never be mine
Lord, help me to take,
Show me the way
One day at a time.

Refrain:

Do you remember
when you walked among men?
Well, Jesus, you know
If you’re looking below,
It’s worse now than then,
Pushin’ and shovin’,
crowding my mind,
So for my sake,
Teach me to take
One day at time.

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How did "Father’s Day, which was recently celebrated here and around the world, come about? An explanation came from STAR reader Babes F. Cristobal, who passed on to me this story:

Father’s Day, contrary to popular misconception, was not established as a holiday in order to help greeting card manufacturers sell more cards. In fact, when a "Father’s Day" in 1909 was first proposed, there were no Father’s Day cards.

Mrs. John B. Dodd of Washington first proposed the idea of a "Father’s Day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart.

William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd’s mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself in a rural farm in eastern Washington state.

It was after Mrs. Dodd’s became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

The first "Father’s Day" was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across America, other people were beginning to celebrate Father’s Day.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. Finally in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day. Father’s Day thus became a day not only to honor one’s father, but all men.

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My e-mail addresses: <jaywalker@skyinet.net> and <jaywalker@pacific.net.ph>