The 1st Independence Day

Out of place Independence Day speech

IN HIS Independence Day speech on Sunday, President Aquino claimed his one-year-old administration had laid the foundation of a “new chapter” in Philippine history underpinned by reforms designed to curb corruption and poverty.

He promised Filipinos a country free from corruption and a nation no longer like a paper boat “drowning in a sea of lies and anomalies.” The reforms have been put in place by his administration, he said, “to show freedom” for our countrymen. “True freedom is freedom from hunger, ignorance, poverty and lack of jobs,” he said. “True freedom is freedom with dignity and honor.”

Freedom was the central theme of his speech, but there was little in the speech to show that, during the last 12 months of his administration, the country has gone far enough to make these visions of freedom a reality. Many in the public who heard the speech shook their heads and were moved to ask the questions: how about the surveys showing that more people are complaining about their being poorer than they were in previous years? They also asked, where are the jobs?

The President counted among the reforms the synchronization of elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with the May 2013 elections; the expansion of the Conditional Cash Transfer Program which is criticized as no more than a cash dole-out program that does not produce goods and services; and the implementation of the “pocket open skies policy.”

This inventory of claimed accomplishments of the administration during its first year in office, as the keynote of the Independence Day celebration, seemed out of place amid rising tensions over the Spratly Islands. The Philippines and Vietnam have territorial claims to the Spratlys, and China has claimed hegemonic sovereignty over several islands in the South China Sea. The claims were causing concerns that the Philippines and Vietnam were moving swiftly into armed conflict with China.

In a speech for an occasion highlighting national sovereignty, President Aquino hardly mentioned anything about the bellicose war of words caused by the territorial disputes involving Chinese incursions into areas claimed by the Philippines. Rather than emphatically calling the attention of the Southeast Asian region and the international community to the aggressive Chinese incursions, the President chose to be parochial in his interests. He focused attention on the administration’s puny achievements, and fell back to the war on corruption, in which there has been only scanty success.

The other Texas Independence Day - San Antonio Express-News

We just celebrated the 175th anniversary of Texas independence March 2. Now, let's celebrate the 198th anniversary of Texas Independence on April 6! What? How can that be? The answer is simple. Sam Houston took over a work in progress. Here's how it all came about:

Father Miguel Hidalgo 's Grito on Sept. 16, 1810, inspired Don Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara 's vision for Texas independence. Don Bernardo organized the first Texas army . After winning battles against the Spanish, he took the regional capital (San Antonio) and the Alamo on April 1-2, 1813.

Don Bernardo became the first president of Texas and wrote the first Texas Declaration of Independence on April 6, 1813. A week later, he issued the first Texas Constitution. Sadly, the defeat of the Texas army at the Battle of Medina (Aug 18, 1813), under another commander, blocked the independence path.

The Texas Historical Commission calls it the largest battle ever fought on Texas soil. More Texas patriots (some 800) died there than in all the 1836 battles. Said another way, Tejanos had already done the heavy lifting, sacrificing and dying for Texas independence. Put in today's trendy terms, if Texas independence was filmed accurately, Don Bernardo would star in the original movie with Sam Houston starring in the sequel.

When Anglo immigrants first came to Texas, the separation of Texas from Mexico wasn't an issue. The political situation in Texas in 1835-36 was clearly between supporters of a centralist government and those backing a federalist system.

Arriving Anglos from the U.S. joined the federalists, but there was a big problem: Mexico had abolished slavery in 1829 and Anglos owned slaves. When told that they had to free their slaves, Anglos were upset. They opted for a clean break from Mexico, achieving that on March 2, 1836. Thus, the Anglos betrayed the Tejanos who believed they were fighting for the federalists. Ironically, Texas independence lasted only nine years. In 1845, Anglos traded their independence for U.S. statehood as a slave state!

It's time to fill in the missing pieces. Coincidentally, there are indications a more accurate picture is emerging. Blas Herrera Day was recently celebrated in Austin. Although it took the Texas Legislature 175 years to honor him, better late than never. And the State Board of Education recently approved the inclusion of several Spanish-surnamed heroes and events in the school curriculum — a first! Equally important, the Tejano monument in Austin will depict the genesis of the unmistakable Spanish-Mexican roots of Texas.

The First Independence Day Celebration

Independence Day

The first Independence day

Ben-Gurion against the Knesset

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