A Promised Land

America as a Developing Country

Humble and Kind

In a coarse, cruel age, these qualities become more crucial than ever...

One of my favorite songs is “Humble and Kind,” popularized by country star Tim McGraw and composed by Lori McKenna (who herself performs a great version). I’ve been thinking longfully about it lately, as the tenor of our times cuts so deeply against the song’s spirit.

Of course, you have to hear it to truly appreciate it; even better, I urge you to view the McGraw version’s official video, which I share here (and which, with all due respect to country music, offers images not typical of that genre). For now, I’ll simply quote the composition and ask whether you could ever imagine the current White House occupant saying this:

Hold the door, say please, say thank you
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie
I know you got mountains to climb but
Always stay humble and kind

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January 6, Venezuela and a Tale of Two Coup Attempts

Another "Mission Accomplished?"

January 6 marks the fifth anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Capitol as part of Donald Trump’s de facto coup attempt, which featured egging on insurrectionists as well as his less violent attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Contemplating that day, which will live in infamy as much as December 7, 1941, my thoughts turn to another assault on democracy that I witnessed, in the Philippines back in August 1987.

It was just 18 months after the country’s “People Power” revolution toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos and installed a fragile democracy headed by Cory Aquino. The widow of slain opposition leader Benigno Aquino, she’d recently beaten Marcos in an election he then stole to perpetuate his rule. People Power righted that wrong.

To rekindle those recollections, I dug up a letter I sent to friends days after the failed putsch. I quote parts of it here, and then offer some related reflections…

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Maligayang Pasko! (Merry Christmas!) And a Few Thoughts on Cheerfulness and Resilience During Dark Times.

Americans can learn a lot from Filipinos.

Keep the flame burning…

Having lived and worked in the Philippines from 1987 to 1993, I experienced several Christmases in that predominantly Catholic country and exchanged countless “Maligayang Pasko!” (‘Merry Christmas” in Pilipino) greetings along the way. I often reflect on my time there, especially at this time of year…but also as America goes through some dark times.

Many of my holiday season memories of Manila, the capital, are positive. There were delightful celebrations, abundant Christmas decorations, lots of time off work and relatively mild (by Southeast Asian standards) weather during December.

On the other hand, the lead-up to New Years meant increasingly frequent, loud fireworks explosions throughout the month. Traffic congestion soared as shopping and partying put even more cars on Manila’s clustermuck of clogged streets.

A Christmas Spirit All Year Long

But what Maligayang Pasko means most to me is not about the holiday season itself, but how Filipinos display the Christmas spirit of joy, giving, cheerfulness and resilience throughout the year. I’ve never been in a place where so many people smiled and joked around so easily. (In a  bit of culture shock, upon moving back to the States in 1993 I found that in meeting strangers I needed to tone down my Philippines-enhanced jocularity, even in the generally friendly Bay Area.)

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Pardon Me

Stranger Than Fiction

The story could inspire a big-budget Hollywood political thriller. A cocaine kingpin – the corrupt president of a foreign country, no less – is convicted and jailed in the United States. But behind the scenes, right-wing tech billionaires persuade an equally corrupt American president to pardon the foreigner. In a violent side-story, the US president proudly orders illegal, lethal military attacks that kill scores of impoverished Venezuelan fishing villagers (some of whom may be small-scale traffickers) whose coke isn’t even destined for our shores and whose possible crimes pale in comparison with the kingpin’s.

In the hypothetical Hollywood version of this story, the truth comes out, the former president goes back to prison and his American counterpart resigns in shame.

In 2025, however, there is no shame and reality is stranger than fiction. Donald Trump publicly boasted of his planed pardon for former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández before then granting it. Lost in the swirl of Trump’s other transgressions, the story disappeared from the headlines soon after first surfacing.

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