To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr, "A revolution is the voice of the unheard."
As an American who's lived in the Philippines and the United States, I've come to appreciate the history both countries share.
The American Revolution was fought on the ideals of justice and independence.
The Philippines' story is an ongoing saga of nearly 500 years of oppression.
Oppression by colonizers and by those in power within.
One can understand, then, the appeal of communism.
It offered the hope of equity.
It's been said that our past is the template upon which our entire future is based.
It being little wonder, therefore, that we live such lives of limitation and frustration.
Communism looked good on paper, anyway.
As a way to break free of the Philippines' feudal past.
As we've now learned, communism failed because it didn't do too well in application.
Those were the values the Huks were fighting for.
It's one wishes "Huk!" touched upon.
Yes, the Huks were violent and some resorted to banditry.
As a Christian who believes in being a peace maker; violence does not appeal to me, either.
The Huks were defeated by 1954 through the combined efforts of the cunning of the CIA's Edward Lansdale and the promised reforms of Ramon Magsaysay, the secretary of national defense.
Great aspirations came when Magsaysay, with Lansdale's help, became president.
Alas, it all became tragic when the president would die in a plane crash.
With their voices still being unheard, communists again would take up arms in 1969.
It's a war that's still being raged up to today.
With the challenges currently being faced by the US, it is easy to overlook the fact that it is a nation still to look up to for its own progressive principles.
She represents a beacon to many around the world.
1956's "The Scarlet Coat" is a great reminder of it.
The Philippines' national anthem is played at the end of "Huk!" and gave me faith that though times are difficult during this great pandemic of 2020, the future is bright.
As an American who's lived in the Philippines and the United States, I've come to appreciate the history both countries share.
The American Revolution was fought on the ideals of justice and independence.
The Philippines' story is an ongoing saga of nearly 500 years of oppression.
Oppression by colonizers and by those in power within.
One can understand, then, the appeal of communism.
It offered the hope of equity.
It's been said that our past is the template upon which our entire future is based.
It being little wonder, therefore, that we live such lives of limitation and frustration.
Communism looked good on paper, anyway.
As a way to break free of the Philippines' feudal past.
As we've now learned, communism failed because it didn't do too well in application.
Those were the values the Huks were fighting for.
It's one wishes "Huk!" touched upon.
Yes, the Huks were violent and some resorted to banditry.
As a Christian who believes in being a peace maker; violence does not appeal to me, either.
The Huks were defeated by 1954 through the combined efforts of the cunning of the CIA's Edward Lansdale and the promised reforms of Ramon Magsaysay, the secretary of national defense.
Great aspirations came when Magsaysay, with Lansdale's help, became president.
Alas, it all became tragic when the president would die in a plane crash.
With their voices still being unheard, communists again would take up arms in 1969.
It's a war that's still being raged up to today.
With the challenges currently being faced by the US, it is easy to overlook the fact that it is a nation still to look up to for its own progressive principles.
She represents a beacon to many around the world.
1956's "The Scarlet Coat" is a great reminder of it.
The Philippines' national anthem is played at the end of "Huk!" and gave me faith that though times are difficult during this great pandemic of 2020, the future is bright.