Just as the President prepared to leave on foreign mission, a bunch of aging politicians released an “open letter” attempting to undermine her standing as a statesman.
That “open letter” is more than impolite. It is patently unpatriotic. Whoever engineered this stunt — people former senator Franklin Drilon could not muster the courage to name — could only have been overcome by their own venom.
In any other country, the pettiness of everyday politics is routinely suspended whenever the chief of state goes on overseas mission to represent the nation. That is dictated not only by good manners but also by patriotism. On whatever side of the line of partisan bickering we might find ourselves in, national interest ought to stand above factional disposition.
In any other country, partisan sniping is suspended when the chief executive undertakes diplomacy abroad. That is so that the nation’s diplomatic effectiveness is not undermined.
In this country, with its impossibly poisoned politics, some could not bring themselves to appreciate national interest and respect it as something that ought to be above the fray. That “open letter” is plagued not only by ill will but also by a serious mental affliction: the inability to separate the nation’s good from the politics of personality.
This “open letter” conceals the identity of its true architects and reveals only the signatures of a group of old politicians who failed when they themselves had the opportunity to succeed. It is a letter burdened with a surfeit of insinuation and a famine of facts.
While some of us may insist on seeing things only in black and white, fairness requires that we see the white as well as the black. The “open letter” offers only the black.
Published as paid ads in our local newspapers, President Obama, the supposed addressee, might not have read that letter at all. His government’s representatives here might have chosen to spare him the useless burden of having to be aware of the bizarre illogic of domestic Filipino politics.
The architects of this tasteless stunt should have at least tried to get their flunkeys in Washington DC to ceremonially deliver the letter to the gates of the White House. That they did not attempt to do that attests to the cheapness of this ploy.
This letter is not what it professes to be. It is actually a letter intended to fan the flames of the politics of hate that has been the curse cast upon our community. There are, we all know, ambitious politicians who seek to profit from the politics of hate they inflict on us all.
This is not a letter intended to inform a foreign leader. It is a form of misrepresentation in that regard. It is nothing more than a cheap shot to satisfy the obsessions of those who want our community deeply divided and our politics disastrously polarized.
Because it is such a blatant misrepresentation of what it actually is, this letter demeans us all. It does not inform the world of whatever “truth” its architects claim to have a monopoly of; it demonstrates to the rest of the world the extent of degradation our domestic political discourse has come to.
Alas, this is how some among us has chosen to conduct domestic politics. They tirelessly whip up hate in the hope of teasing votes from the unwholesome climate resulting from such destructiveness.
Fortunately, the much ballyhooed “open letter” provided nothing more than a conversation piece for disdainful conversation locally. Something so small-minded could not possibly result in anything great.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic mission to the US accomplished the expected targets it had set for itself. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after meeting with President Arroyo, confirmed that the benefits our long-neglected WWII veterans will be in next year’s budget.
In the meeting with President Obama, the Philippines closely aligned itself with the US positions on international terrorism, the battle against climate change, the prospects of democracy in Burma and the perils of North Korean nuclear armament. That meeting defines the new terms of US-RP partnership in this new age. It is a relationship that, for nearly two decades now, has fallen under the cloud of indifference.
In his remarks after the meeting, Obama clearly expressed the view that the Philippines stands primus inter pares in the Southeast Asian region as far as relations with the superpower are concerned. The American president likewise expressed appreciation for the leading role Manila is playing in the global effort to achieve nuclear disarmament.
The best tribute Obama gave all of us came in words borrowed from the jargon of boxing. He acknowledged that the Philippines, as far as global affairs are concerned, punches way above our weight. There could be no better assessment of the quality and energy of our diplomacy.
As is characteristic of President Arroyo’s diplomatic travels, she meets with Filipino communities abroad and convenes with investors to draw support for the growth of our economy. The meetings with foreign investors usually result in quantifiable achievements. Her meetings in New York with investors who matter to us should be fruitful.
We might choose to whine about the costs of travel or celebrate the gains of our diplomacy. Or we might indulge in political sniping rather than appreciate the international agenda that whoever leads us must deal with. We might choose to write poisoned letters or inform our people of the larger issues on the global table. The choice will distinguish between true statesmen and cheap politicians.