|  | Our relationship with God the Father always involves God the Son or Jesus Christ, Who was there with our Father in Heaven when He created the Universe through Him or His Word (John 1:1-3) and His Wisdom or God the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:11) Who swept the barren landscape like a Wind (Gen 1:2). Jesus Christ was being truthful when He said "I and the Father are One," (John 10:30) and "Anyone who had seen me, have seen the Father;' (John 14:9) or when He instituted the Sacrament of Confirmation, and breathed the Holy Spirit to His Disciples (John 20:23) including His mother Mary in the Upper Room during Pentecost when He said "Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive will be forgiven them," because He didn't want to leave them orphans but empower them with the Holy Spirit, Who like Himself & God the Father are Three Persons in One God, united in Love, Infinitely Good & True; and referred to as the Holy Trinity in Christianity. Just like they were together when I first experienced the Charismatic Gift of Tongue for the first time, when I felt the Fire of the Holy Spirit in my heart, opened my mouth to say Abba in order to praise our Father in Heaven, but my tongue kept making guttural sounds, which became uncontrollably louder and louder in praising Him, while I had a mental picture of Jesus Christ, Who I wanted to call out but couldn't; so I got scared because I was alone in front of the altar in our bedroom; until I finally broke down, and uttered in tears & amazement "I believe; I believe; I believe!" Now, it makes more sense to me when I bless myself by making the Sign of the Cross with Holy Water while uttering 'In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,' when entering a Catholic Church, or begin my prayers during Holy Mass by mentioning the Three Persons in One God or the Holy Trinity; instead of focusing on God the Son in the Person of Jesus Christ alone, because I can't imagine, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit apart from thinking of Them as an old man and a dove respectively in the Western tradition. That is why I prefer the Eastern or Orthodox way of explaining the Holy Trinity using the most famous Russian icon by Rublev, who painted the fresco of the 3 Angels who visited Abraham, as representing God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit because they are all looking like the same God but three Persons, dressed in blue tunic which account for their Divine Unity, but with different personalities for wearing other shades of colors, and the expression of Love which is common in their relationship with each other; afterall, God is Love. Which reminded me of the dramedy that I watched with Gie on TV recently; when the male protagonist, who found out that his female friend aborted their baby when they had sex once in high school, but didn't know because she never returned his calls, and he lost touch of her after graduation, until after college when she offered him a business partnership job after experiencing remorse for treating such a good friend. Unfortunately, she got hurt when he never took the job seriously, until she finally blurted out what really happened after their high school prom sex. He was devastated and said something like this about their friendship and relationship: I don't know why I keep loving you; I don't know why I stick with you when you only use me; but now I know why I must stop loving you, so that this relationship will come to an end. In other words, should I keep my loving relationships with other persons, like in the Holy Trinity, knowing fully well that I am just being used and abused by some of the people who I love, or keep loving them even when they become unlovable, which means that they perceive, and treat me like an enemy? (To be continued...) |
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 Happy Father's Day!
What better way to celebrate Father's Day, or the first day of summer in sizzling 115F Las Vegas than to write about relationships. They're complicated; and I don't mean, not just the relationships between father & son, father & daughter, and our relationship with our Father in Heaven, but relationships in general, or any kind of relationships, such as: our relationships with our spouse, children & grandndchildren, siblings & in-laws, classmates, teachers & students, friends, Charismatic brothers, sisters & priests, colleagues, neighbors, and even enemies. The good news: One of the characteristics of healthy relationships is that conflict is allowed, especially in the family. (To be continued...) Happy Mother's Day! How apropos to end this Blog while honoring all mothers during this month of Mary-- the Mother of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, and everyone's Mom in Heaven, on this last Sunday of Easter. Whereas, the Coronavirus is still raging on in India with over 3,500 human lives lost everyday, while Wuhan China just celebrated its Strawberry Music Festival with 11,000 mostly young people enjoying outdoor concerts & festivities, majority of them without masks, US President Biden was again agitated because he couldn't find his mask, even though he was outside of the White House trying to convince more Americans to get vaccinated, while taking credit of getting the jabs out fast to more Americans, without even mentioning his predecessor. There is a reason why God allowed the Coronavirus pandemic to happen, which exacerbated the loss of faith among young people today, or the demise of religion or belief in God to more than 50% of the world's population; just as He allowed the Forces of Evil to conspire against Trump in order to lose during the last election. Wealth, power, and fame are over rated in this world; and God knows it. However, whether we like it or not, God, Who is always in control of His Creation, already warned us so many times Himself about His Second Coming, and through the intercession & apparitions of His mother Mary in Fatima, Lourdes, and Medjugorje-- just to name a few, that man's folly (including the sexual abuse of children by priests & bishops in the Catholic Church which He founded through His apostle Peter,) and the unabated killing of babies by abortion, the obliteration of the human body & soul, and the degradation of our planet Earth, through Greed & other Mortal Sins, or Marxism, Excessive Capitalism, and Atheism led around the world by Satan, and Antichrists in Communist China, Authoritarian Russia, and Capitalistic & Democratic-Socialist USA under the Biden-Harris Administration will not go unpunished, and come to an end, not according to Antichrists' and Satan's schedule, but in Jesus Christ's time, during His Second Coming. Which reminds me of Gie's dream in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Gie saw herself with other Asians congregating outside a war shelter; and with imminent chaos forboding, she went inside the shelter with them to take care of the homeless and vulnerable people. All of a sudden, she heard that the shelter was locked, while more people kept banging the door and slashing the walls made of heavy cloth; but no one could get in. Gie & fellow Asians went to a safe room, when one of the people with them said that the huge helicopter was ready. She went inside the transport helicopter, but to her surprise saw me instead, as the pilot, while asking herself how could I possibly manuever the transportation safely when I had no experience in flying a helicopter. Gie asked me "Are you ok?" And I said "Yes!" Then, we flew with all the people inside, amid the turbulence below; until we landed safely. The point is: There is nothing to worry about the Coronavirus or Covid-19 because there is enough worries to go around; and we will all die eventually, anyway. Neither must we keep ourselves weary about the Endtimes, or when the Forces of Evil keep ruling the World and the Outer Space, if we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord & Savior. In other words, do not be afraid because only believers, like yourself, will survive. But, you can look forward to a Life of Everlasting Happiness in God's Kingdom-- where there is no pain or suffering; children consider their parents as their best friends by listening, respecting, and loving them, like Jesus, Mary & Joseph; while grandparents are fearless, prayerful, and faith-filled because of their grandchildren, who keep them lovable, joyful, and young, through the Blessed Mother, and all the Angels & Saints around them. In the meantime, don't despair; let's keep on praying to, and trusting in God; don't forget to forgive ourself & others, while laughing and smiling a lot because it is not only good for us, but also the best is yet to come, and that is: our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ is coming again, in our lifetime. AMEN.
 Christ is risen!... He is truly risen!... Alleluia!
 Nothing can be more immoral than playing God, Who has dominion over life and death of all His creatures, like us.
The CCP or Chinese Communist Party played God, but miscalculated in releasing the Wuhan coronavirus globally, killing over a million people, mostly seniors, in order to get rid of its biggest nemesis, US President Trump, who will get re-elected inspite of being caught off-guard in his response to the pandemic (just like everybody else, except China, of course,) and tanking the flying US economy he helped to build in the last three years, which was his passport to reelection. China's error, despite the backing of the UN's World Health Organization, which recently changed its coronavirus timeline, and questioned the origin of the coronavirus in order to absolve China, its benefactor, from responsibility (Trump was right in leaving this China-centric world organization, and use the biggest funding of WHO by the US in finding a vaccine, and helping other countries,) cannot be made more self-evident by its ally, who benefited from China's largesse for his infrastructure or building program-- Philippine Pres. Duterte, who ignored the International Court's ruling favoring the country's patrimony, by embracing China against the United States, and the will of the Filipino people. Not only did Duterte turn his back on Chinese Pres. Jinping, and allowed the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty and Joint Military exercises to continue after cancelling them last year (which is happening right now with the presence of two US aircraft carriers, the USS Nimitz and USS Reagan in West Philippine or South China Sea,) but due to the Wuhan coronavirus, that was brought to the country through China, which sent thousands of Chinese nationals as workers or tourists to the Philippines, and the subsequent recession in the Philippines after enjoying a robust economy for quite sometime, millions of Filipinos lost their jobs, or are now suffering from unemployment because of quarantine or lock down (especially the OFW's or Overseas Filipino Workers, who are back in the country, and nowhere to go for work, so that they can remit money to their families and love ones, which is the second largest money-maker for the Philippine economy.) On top of that, China sent defective medical supplies to the Philippines in its fight against the pandemic, and scattered Vietnamese fishermen in their own territory, which is claimed by China, just like they did to Filipino fishermen last year, and also expelled Vietnamese foreign concessions from their oil & gas explorations within Vietnam's economic zone. In other words, Pres. Duterte realized that the Philippines needs the United States because the Chinese Communist Party is very cunning, and cannot be trusted. Nations around the world may not say it explicitly so as not to displease China, which is holding them hostage to much needed medical supplies, after giving China the honor of becoming the world's manufacturing hub; but deep in their collective psyche, they realize how stupid that was, and bowed not let it happen again, because China cannot be trusted even today, for ruining their economy. Do you really think that China will hear anything of it? I doubt it, based on their recent reactions to this pandemic which they caused, by ignoring international response and outcry for China to pay up for their ruined economies, or deduct from their indebtedness to China; while becoming bolder and more belligerent in using the pandemic as a distraction in pounding on their neighboring countries that have territorial disputes with them, like they did in Vietnam, or even India. But India was no spring chicken either, and fought China for trying to annex part of their territory, even though it cost them lives, and retaliated by banning all Chinese apps in their country, including TikTok, which was popularized by Indians (50% of TikTok users,) and is now under so much scrutiny, and on the brink of being banned also in the United States. And guess what? China retreated, but not in South China Sea, where they continued with their military exercises, while intimidating the US about the presence of their anti-aircraft carrier missiles, when the US sent their 2 aircraft carriers-- the USS Nimitz & USS Reagan, while conducting joint military drills with the Philippine Navy. The US was not intimidated, and neither was Britain, which allowed Hong Kong residents to get permanent visas so that they can reside in its country, while reneging in its original decision of using Huawei's 5G network in the rural areas (against the advice of America to use US 5G network instead all over Great Britain, to avoid Chinese espionage,) after China promulgated their Mainland sedition laws in Hong Kong, thereby breaking its promise to England during its turnover to China, to keep Hong Kong's government autonomous, as one of the world's financial center. China also bullied Australia, whose economy is dependent on China, for objecting against their tactics of intimidating countries whose economies are inexorably tied to them, by bringing back their manufacturing jobs to Australia, or pivoting them to other countries, just like the US is doing now through Mexico, the same way Japan is paying Japanese companies to go back to their country, and limit China's influence as the Manufacturing Capital of the World. Well and good intentions, indeed! And with the United States at the helm, through President Trump (because whether you like it or not, and even though the Democrats will emerge victorious in getting his 2018, and 2019 Federal Tax Returns disclosed through the lower court, after the US Supreme Court turned over the case to them, while repudiating Congress partisan overreach; and putting roadblocks in order to prevent the presidential debate between Trump and Biden from happening, so as not to risk disclosing the latter's early signs of dementia, and their plan of transforming the US into a socialist country,) who will be re-elected anyway because Trump's base is loyal to him, and Kanye West will siphon at least a third of the Black vote; then China will not succeed in usurping world supremacy from the US in the next four years, as much as they want to; and going against their 2030 timetable, in desperation of getting rid of Trump-- their worst enemy for world domination, to the point to releasing the Wuhan coronavirus; which became counter-intuitive. After Trump's four more years, that's another story. (TO BE FINALLY CONCLUDED WITH THE LAST PREDICTIONS...)  What a shocking revelation!... Vice-President Biden couldn't take it anymore, and conceded in front of millions of Americans watching on prime time television that he's voting for Trump, who was stunned himself, for President of the United States; which ended their 1st debate unexpectedly, before it even started... Then, I woke up from an unbelievable dream, but with a smile on my face.
And I asked myself: Is it possible that the onslaught of forgetfulness will catch up on him during the presidential debates, that Mr. Biden will just blurt out whatever is in his mind, without any regard of its consequences; and Trump wins the election by technical knockout? It happened to my sister Ate Ofel's classmate, and another friend of hers, who was recovering from a stroke four years ago, and limping while walking with her nephew, when my brother Kuya Muling and me saw them come in, and treated them to Chicken meals inside the Jollibee Restaurant in Macabebe, Pampanga. I told her that Gie was in the US with our daughter, and taking care of our 1st grandchild, when out of the blue she told me that somebody told her that I married an old and ugly woman in America. I was taken aback, but not offended because I knew that her brain was not right; and I calmly took a recent picture of Gie in my wallet, showed it to her, and jokingly asked her to compare it to all of my female cousins, or wives of all my relatives, and tell me who was more beautiful. She apologized to me profusely after realizing that her big mouth got her in trouble because of her stroke; but I knew exactly who had an ax to grind, and told her lies about me and my family in the US out of envy (as observed and pointed out to me by my son Osbert, when we went there for his college graduation gift, and visited Mama in the hospital.) It could not have come from my aunts, who loved to teach her how to cook Pampango gourmet foods, even without me, because she was very generous/mas galante to them; and neither my cousins or wives of cousins who enjoyed grocery shopping in Apalit, Pampanga with her, because she bought them everything that they wanted. My point is that you cannot fault the bearer of wrong information out of gossip, if it was done without malice, because his or her brain was out of sync, or not functioning properly because of early signs of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, or even when the physical body was competing with incorrect assumptions, or it was not in its proper place. I was watching Tucker's show on Fox News last night, while he was interviewing a lawyer representing female student athletes who did not qualify in their particular sport because transgender women took the top places instead. I hate to be the bearer of bad news; and I'm not judging gender dysphoria, which I personally believe exists, but only observing that transgender women, who are still biologically male, will perform far more superior than other female athletes in women's sports, and skewing the results. Therefore, let them compete, not against men for obvious reasons, and neither against women because of the above, but against fellow transgender women, in order to keep the playing field at an even keel. So from now on, there should be four categories of sports: men, women, transgender men, and transgender women. The same thing is true with fellow jubilarians, who haven't been seen in 50 years, and everybody behaved differently because everyone of us is unique, especially today, during this Age of the Coronavirus. First of all, everyone is coming from different places, perspective, background, point of view, and experience. Many of our classmates will not be there at all for some reason; and we just need to be more understanding and open-minded. Some are afraid of being misunderstood; while others are stuck living in a parallel universe; and although it's the opposite of what we expected, it is still a no brainer for them, because they still think of the old days-- same honor roll, leaders, and status, inspite of favoritism, inequality, political and family connections, because they haven't changed-- which is actually the only thing constant in this world. I guess what I'm trying to say is: What you'll see, will not always what you'll get, because even though we are all different, yet we are all equal because no one is better than you; and nobody will be richer or poorer, more beautiful or uglier, gay or gayer, more successful or not, worse or worst, better or best, because we are all God's creation; and unlike high school we will all leave our ego at the door and technically come to our Reunion all naked, no more bullying, without any appearances that can deceive us, and cunning because that's immoral. (TO BE CONCLUDED WITH MORE PREDICTIONS...)  Along the way, because of the recession during the first Gulf War under President Bush Sr's term; the near collapse of the US economy after the attacks and downing of the World Trade Center by Islamic terrorists, followed by war in Iraq and Afghanistan during Bush Jr's administration; the Financial Crisis in 2008 which was precipitated by the bursting of the US housing bubble, and the subsequent subprime mortgage collapse due to high default rate and resulting foreclosures of mortgage loans during Obama's presidency; and my near-death car accident before the turn of the century, while living on credit cards-- our rental, deli-lottery-grocery store, and real estate businesses faltered, and flourished alternately and significantly; but our whole family became closer to God and His Divine Providence. Moreover, our children became appreciative of their Filipino heritage, more accepting of and open to different culture and nationalities by talking to all the people who came to our store (Gie and my brother-in-law knew and called them by their first names,) while working in the cash register or the lottery machine, and through their work in high school and college, which brought plaques, awards, and commendations to them, such as: Osbert's Asian American Heritage Award for distinguished service to the Asian American Community in the Youth Sector (another recipient was Oscar's Best Director Ang Lee of Brokeback Mountain fame, who got the award in the Arts Sector) as President of Asian-American Group in Bergen Catholic, and highlighting his personal experience in an excellent essay he submitted to his college admission; and Claire-Voe's-- for mounting the first Asian Night Festival at Holy Angels School, as president of the Asian-American Society, and co-president of Barkada in Northeastern University. On top of that, I became more exposed to all kinds of people and different races, especially since I held four different career paths in the US, just like in the Philippines, after changing jobs seven times. And, I'm very proud to tell that the the first three people who helped me when I was new in the US were all Black-American women, who I found very welcoming, supportive, and nurturing of foreigners, who came to the US. . Guess who welcomed and picked me up to become a Sunday lector at my new parish in St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church (where the still unknown Frank Sinatra used to sing) in Englewood, NJ in 1981, even though I was new in the congregation; public transportations were far in between on Sundays; and I didn't have a car? Henrietta and her husband Malcolm did-- drove from Englewood to pick me up in another town, then brought me to church so that I could to go to Mass, and lector every Sunday. I was still a bachelor then, ran out of money after travelling, doing research, and auditing classes in DC's Georgetown and Catholic Universities, while staying at the Oblate Fathers House across the Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral. And, guess who took a chance on me although I was overqualified as a part-time editorial assistant (and promoted to full-time college textbook production editor after six months,) had no US job experience, and passed all my English grammar battery of tests, but not my typing test after explaining to her that I was not used to an electric typewriter in the Philippines? I was blessed, because Prentice-Hall's huge publishing house main office in Englewood Cliffs, NJ had two Personnel Managers-- a black woman and a white guy; but was lucky enough to be assigned to the black lady, who took me in to my new career in publishing, instead of teaching again (because the taxi driver who got me back to the airport in DC discouraged me from teaching, as a family man and adjunct professor of philosophy without tenure in two colleges in Washington, DC.) And during my first winter in the US, the third black woman was kind enough to offer me car pool with her, while I was waiting for the bus to arrive and take me to work while I was at the bus stop with my umbrella because it was snowing like cats and dogs. Shirley worked across from me in Prentice-Hall, and she became friend of Gie and me later, when we moved to the same apartment complex where they lived in Bergenfield, New Jersey. On the other hand, just like my exposure to a good Chinese physician in the Philippines, I got to know excellent Jewish professionals through word of mouth. Hence, our accountant, ophthalmologist, pediatrician, and owner of real estate brokerage franchise, my allergist, chiropractor, and lawyer, Gie's New York commercial insurance boss, internist, gynecologist, and obstetrician, and some of my real estate sellers, including a rabbi, whose home I sold in Bergenfield, when he moved to another synagogue, were all Jewish. The only exceptions were Gie's acupuncturist, our dentist, and primary doctors, who were all Chinese-Americans. Besides, I was fortunate enough to purchase, list, and sell homes of international clients, including the house of an Evangelical Minister who also bought another home from me, and my Catholic pastor, who challenged me to buy or sell a house to a Muslim cleric or Imam in order to complete the circle in my resumé. But aside from former Soviet bloc residents who moved to the US permanently, I also sold houses to Hindi and Muslim families. And when I needed Muslim dancers, I turned to Potri-- a real Muslim princess, and the daughter of a Sultan from the Philippines, and her world famous Kinding Sindaw Dancers from New York City, who performed in my thesis film at NYU, and graced the stage at my children's St. Therese Middle School, and the Bergenfield Public Library. She even came with fellow dancers, actors, actresses, and who's who in the Borough of Bergenfield during the first screening of my thesis feature film; and I will never forget what she said as an artist while congratulating me after the showing: Someday, you will look back and realize that you were one of the few filmmakers who actually made their dream come true. In a span of almost 40 years since I'd been to this country, the racial inequality, and white supremacy, which I experienced myself when I came to New York City for the first time in 1981, had actually diminished, because the United States of America has become a better melting pot; and people from other countries can't wait to migrate to this land of opportunity; where a couple of migrants from a Third World country made more money in one year, than the occupants of the White House. It's not a perfect union because there are still pockets of police brutality due to limited law enforcement training in some cities and states; and the minimum wage needs to go up more in order to spread more opportunities to working-class Americans. However, Russia and China need not comment negatively, and assume that their system is better compared to what's going on in the US today due to the Wuhan coronavirus, and civil unrest brought about by the killing of a black man by a white police officer, because what's happening now is not Tianemen Square where hundreds of people were killed; and neither is it similar to today's authoritarian regimes of Jin Ping and Putin; but rather an overdue but necessary correction because of the coming US presidential election in November 3, and the Democrats' hatred for President Donald Trump, who is pro-Life, pro-Americans, and pro-Conservatism. I truly believe that six months from now, or 2021 will be a better year, not only because Trump will be re-elected President of the United States, but rather: 1. An effective and safe vaccine against the coronavirus will become available; 2. Socialism, fascism, and utopia will not prosper in US society and government, but will continue to flourish in colleges and universities; 3. Americans will not allow the abolishment or defunding of the police, but will support for more training and improvement of law enforcement by them, in order to get rid of lingering police brutality; 4. The nagging racism or racial inequality, and white supremacy or privilege in the country will not be tolerated any longer; 5. The minimum wage will be raised; and income inequality will be narrowed down to avoid social unrest which affects the economy, and the fabric of our country; 6. US history will be more authentic and realistic to reflect the mood of the country; but the removal of historical statues will be done by consensus, and not through the radical left; 7. The US economy will rebound, but Americans will be buying more essential things for their needs, rather than just material possessions; 8. American couples will have more children to keep them company, after losing their elders, family members, or love ones; 9. US cruising and travelling will be concentrated more domestically, or within its borders because other ports in foreign countries will continue to shutdown; 10. Inspite of social distancing, or being away from your children, grandkids, and relatives because of the pandemic, which was caused by the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, people will become kinder or more understanding of each other than before; 11. More people will realize that wealth, power, and fame are overrated; whereas the love of God, family, and friends are indispensable; but in the end only the love of God remains; and Finally, life is short; so get rid of BRUHA, or Bitterness, Resentments, Unforgiveness, Hatred, and Anger in your life, through Jesus Christ. (TO BE CONTINUED WITH MORE CONCLUSIONS & PREDICTIONS...)  Unlike the horns of a dilemma, the horns of racism in America are not easily detectable because they are very subtle, especially if you're new to the country, or "fresh off the boat," so to say.
Gie didn't even know that she was already being bullied by some of her colleagues at her job in downtown New York City because of her naivete, or she was new in the US, until her friend (a big black lady Gie introduced to me when I came to their office to pick her up after they gave her a Baby Shower,) would come to her rescue, and shouted at them to stop, and her seemingly innocuous tormentors would scurry around in silence. Well, I'd been in the USA for almost 40 years now, fourteen years more than in the land of my birth the Philippines, and considered it my home since the birth of my two children here, although I did not change my citizenship until I came back from my native land, and realized the hassle of going through US Immigration if you were not a US citizen. But, the real reason of course was I felt more comfortable and attuned to life here in the US, than in the Philippines, inspite of institutionalized racism, and white supremacy. Yet, to this day, I cringe, when I still hear white American men or women tell Koreans or other Asians "to go back to their own country," or "speak English" if they didn't like what the Asian did or said, and he or she could barely talk in English; just like the first time I heard it, while I was in line at a grocery store 35 years ago, when a Korean lady came back to her cart behind me after picking up something she missed, and the white couple at the back of her shoved her to the back of the line. Of course, I ran to her defense, not because she was a fellow Asian, but because she was telling the truth, and the white American couple felt entitled, and that they were superior to her for being born here, and speaking English fluently, because they had a natural disdain for her being an alien or immigrant to this country, which I thought was racist, and ripe with white supremacy; after all, we we're all products of immigration in the US-- the Land of Immigrants so to speak, where the original settlers, and descendants were Western Indians. Now you know how I felt when my 3-year old daughter Claire-Voe came up to me and said that her teacher, who was white, wouldn't call her, but kept calling the blond girl in class, even though she raised her hand all the time. How about when my son Osbert who was in kindergarten said that his classmates kept calling him Chinese; and I asked him if he's Chinese; and he said no, because he's American. I told him that he's also a fourth generation Filipino-American because both of his parents were Filipino-Americans, who were college-educated and professionals in the Philippines, when they immigrated, and became naturalized US citizens in America. I told them also not to think that they were superior or inferior to Blacks, Whites, Jews, Muslims, or any of their classmates, because they were Filipino-Americans, or their skin color was brown; but that we we're all equal in God's Eyes, Who created as according to His Image-- our Father in Heaven, Who is Perfect, Rich, and Kind to all of us, beyond measure. And because my children had more questions than answers, we designated after every meal as our question and answer session, while Gie, who just listened to us discussing any topic under the sun, showed her love and support by taking care of the meal and the dishes,, while making sure that we're all together, at least for one meal a day. My goal was two-folds for them to realize and learn logic at an early age, aside from fighting systemic racism, and white supremacy, because I love my children, and the country that they were born into, which I also chose for myself as my new home, and pledged my allegiance to, after renouncing my previous citizenship, namely: Nobody will discriminate, or be prejudiced against you in the US unless you allow it, because you don't have enough knowledge and self-esteem to counter it; and you need to use your common sense, think straight, or reason out correctly for yourself; and not waver if you're certain without a doubt, that your judgments are true, and your arguments are sound or inferences valid, without disrespecting your opponent,. But of course, there was never enough time for discussion because I was very busy working two jobs; while Claire-Voe would just keep quiet if she sensed that Gie and me were not talking to one another. Besides, how could I discuss with them the importance of education, and teach them how to argue, if they were not being taught about the importance of their Filipino heritage, apart from eating Filipino foods, and learning how to speak Pilipino, which was the first language they learned at home through Papa & Mama, who babysat them for two years before going back to the Philippines, and our children started Catholic Pre-School. Thank God for Ima Delos Reyes-- the oficial Grandma of the growing Filipino community in Bergenfield, New Jersey, who told me that I was the most visible Filipino in town because of my real estate For Sale signs all over Bergenfield and surrounding towns, my wife's Filipino-American Deli Store & Lottery, and our children's active participation as Altar Servers & Choir Members in St. John's Catholic Church, while prodding me to start the first Filipino organization in the borough. I did, with the help of the owners of eight Filipino businesses in town. We march for the first time at the annual Memorial Day Parade, using our motto: "Building Friendship, Peace, and Harmony in Our Community" in our banner, became active participants in all the borough's endeavors, including its Foundation Day & Picnic, and we're instrumental in registering Filipino voters, and electing the first Filipino-American Mayor in the Eastern Seaboard. And as the Founder & 1st President of the Filipino-American Association of Bergenfield, Inc., I made sure that all our children were learning about their Filipino Heritage, by launching the Filipiniana Collection of Filipino books, CD's, and Videos in Bergenfield Free Public Library & Information Center, after being appointed as Library Trustee by the Mayor, and staging the annual Filipino program consisting of Symposiums, Performing & Non-Performing Arts, such as Filipino Folk Dancers, and Painting Exhibition by a Filipino Artist. Not only that, but I noticed that our "Friendly Town of Bergenfield," which was predominantly white, became friendlier, and more welcoming literally during a reception that we tendered to new homeowners & tenants, not only as a member of the town's Outreach Program, and the Prevention Policy Board, but as a real estate broker-salesperson as well. In fact, our Pastor of St. John Church finally relented with the approval of the Parish Council to hire a Filipino priest as Parochial Vicar; and Gie & myself started the Filipino Mass, and Filipino Choir every first Sunday of the month. Finally, the hardworking Filipinos, especially the nurses, heard about our friendly town, and moved out of New York City to settle in Bergenfield, which was convenient to City buses, and became an integral part of the Bergenfield Community. And, we lived harmoniously with everybody, including the cops in town-- two of them even bought or sold houses through me; the one behind our store even changed our roof; and the other policeman on the right of us was also very nice to us, and came to our store with his wife, who was very friendly with Gie. By the way, they were all white, including our fellow Lectors & Eucharistic Ministers in church, all our children's public school teachers, who bought sandwiches in our store during lunch. Our town was multi-racial, and our store catered to everybody, but we had no problems. I listed and sold houses to all races also, and I had no problems either. Looking back, I think that we all lived harmoniously, and encountered no racial inequality or white supremacy because we respected each other, and we were all busy making a living for our families here in the US. (TO BE CONTINUED WITH CONCLUSIONS & PREDICTIONS...)
 Here are my takeaways and predictions from this confession, which began last Easter, when the whole country or the whole world was put on lockdown because of the coronavirus that started in Wuhan, China, and spread globally, killing many people, destroying the economy of every country that's affected by it, and allowed us to look at our selves, social institutions, and relationship with God in a different focus, or perspective.
I predict that Trump will be reelected as POTUS on November 3, and beat Biden (who received the necessary delegates yesterday to win the primary election, and became the presumptive nominee for US President of the Democratic Party,) because the pandemic is winding down, the coronavirus is weakening, the stock market is surging, unemployment numbers are going down, and the mood of the country is positive, despite of the negative publicity brought about by racial inequality and white privilege, perpetuated by mainstream media due to the vicious murder of a black person, George Floyd, by a white cop, which brought about riots, looting, and disgust all over major cities in the US, and around the world. Mr. Trump is far from being the ideal specimen of what a leader of the most powerful country in the world must be personified; but he is no racist. And neither is he lethargic, incorrigible and unable to express himself, a Socialist, and afraid of Jin Ping, Putin, Jong Un, Iran's Ayatollah, or any world leader for that matter, but know how to engage them in negotiations, or punish them when there is a need (like this pandemic, which blindsided him; so therefore, wait and see after the election;) but rather, poker-faced & unpredictable, pro-Life & capitalism, loves his country and fellow Americans, more than any other country or its citizens, and believes in God more than himself, inspite of being a narcissist, egotistical, and self-absorbed, because he can't help it, but surrounded himself with true believers like his Vice-President Pense, and appointed Justices of the Supreme Court: Gorsuth and Cavanaugh. What happens if the Democrats put more roadblocks in order for him to lose on the eve of the presidential election in less than five months? Besides, Biden is a devout Catholic Christian himself like Pelosi, and deep in their hearts, they're against abortion, but cannot dictate their personal feelings to their constituents in the political arena, because of separation of Church and State, as mandated by the Constitution? After overcoming every false narratives by the Democrats, such as, his Russian collusion, impeachment, racism, hedonism, religious hypocrisy, and what have you, I have no doubts that President Trump will be able to eschew any other accusations labelled against him, and will have his last ammunition readily available, and will not be caught by anymore surprises that he encountered since day one of his inauguration, whether they're coming from Democrats in Congress, Obama & the Deep State, or Jin Ping & the Chinese Communist Party, as long as he's alive on the eve of his reelection. Besides, his opponent Biden is inutile to bring back the Catholic vote, especially the 70% of Filipino Christians who voted for Hillary in the last election, because Trump is the most pro-Life President of the United States, who supports the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries against CCP's bullying in South China Sea (in fact, Pres. Duterte reversed his decision to abrogate the joint military exercises of US & the Philippines under their Mutual DefenseTreaty after realizng that Communist China, his crony after receiving loan guarantees for his infrastructure projects in the Philippines, cannot be trusted after the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, resulting in 300,000 lost jobs of overseas Filipinos, which is Duterte's 2nd most reliable dollar earner for the country in the form of remittances, aside from other Asean countries which bore the grunt of Communist China's bullying in South China Sea. Biden lost the support of the blacks after making a racist comment that they are not black enough if they vote for Trump, which backfired at him. And even if he decides to choose a black female running mate, he will still be unable to solidify the full support of the black community because he and Obama did not create more jobs and stop violence in their neighborhoods during their two terms. And, I believe Trump's winning strategy that doomed Hillary Clinton in 2016, more than what the polls say, what CNN, MSNBC, New York Times & Washington Post say, or what the owners of Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon say, because they, including the liberal movers and shakers of ideas in the Academia, Hollywood, and the Vatican, don't like him and his guts, which are anathema to their worldview of what constitutes the New World, namely: without borders, overpopulation, poverty & disease, too much conflict, suffering & climate change, and the preponderance of rights, freedom & religion. No matter what happens from now until election, Trump is strong enough to withstand all accusations from the Left, ANTIFA, and Black Lives Matter about racial inequality, police brutality, and white privilege that is sweeping the nation because he is not a racist; he is willing to reform some bad apples in police uniform; but he is against defunding or abolishing the police, whose ranks are not all white but multi-racial, and who are there to protect Americans, especially minorities who are victims of crimes in their own communities (or otherwise, who are they going to call, if the Democrats defund, or abolish the police?) which shall catapult Trump to four more years in the White House. (NEXT: 2nd Conclusion & Predictions...) |
Oscar & Evangeline Ocampo
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