A lesson from a distant shore

"Oh, say can you see" went the first line of the Star Spangled banner and we, strangers to that land stood, both, in awe and in respect, erect. Then, a little later came the Lupang Hinirang and the few among us, after placing our hands on our left breasts, started to sing along. My lady Carmen and I sang a little bit louder than most if only to demonstrate a part of our patriotic fervor. The occasion was the ninth anniversary celebration of the Filipino Nurses Association (Filnasco) of San Joaquin County, held at the Radisson Hotel of Stockton, California, to which I had the rare privilege of being asked to address.

Actually, the hospitable spouses Frank and Salome Gatdula called us up earlier to break the news. They sounded apologetic in saying that they volunteered me to their board of officers, headed by association president Ms. Carla Pagsolingan, to be their guest speaker. Acknowledging that their notice was very short, they anticipated I would accommodate them so that they had my name printed in their impressive full-color souvenir program. They hoped that I could update the members of Filnasco, with fresh Philippine news. While in reality, I came to find out why our daughter Belynda would prefer to work in another bank than in ours, and would have opted to pass the invitation, I could not simply refuse the chance of sharing my thoughts with people who, having left our shores in favor of greener pastures, have missed some of our action here in the Philippines.

I had difficulty organizing my thoughts. I didn't desire to speak only of the fractiousness of our national leaders. I could not tell my audience that our Supreme Court, in a series of cases, rebuffed the president's authoritarian tendencies. Neither did I plan to dwell on my perception that the current moves of Malacañang have been focused on amending the constitution as a way to save the president from the dark possibility of being impeached. All of such things would be too negative, and I hoped not to be purveyor of bad news. But, on the other hand, that was the truth.

In all probability, most of my hosts knew the general idea of how things are in our country. Busied by their own concerns in a far away land, they might not have the specifics of those things, but they were aware of the travails of our people. Should I entirely shelve those unpalatable issues and gloss over the situation, I was afraid I would come out to be insincere and worse, untruthful.

With that in mind, I decided to be truthful although anchoring my exposition on an exhilarating news which Salome brought forth. It was a source of pride among Filipinos to know that the efforts of our nurses in San Joaquin county were recognized. Mayor Edward J. Chavez of Stockton acknowledged that our nurses "are at the forefront of fostering unity and goodwill x x x serving as a medium for social and cultural interests". In Mayor Chavez' heart-warming words, the efforts of our countrymen are commendable. Indeed, I had a great anchor for my address.

There is so much to learn (actually, more to remind ourselves with) from the unity of our Filipino nurses in that county. The fiber that binds them tightly is not difficult to discern. It all gravitates around the character and quality of the leadership. An honest president is worth all the members' trust. The vigor of their association is, according to the information I gathered from most members I came in contact with, in the honesty and dedication of their leaders, principally their president. Sure, as it is in every organization, there are also few discordant notes in Filnasco but they serve to make their leaders more honest in their means and more truthful in their ways.

The deluge of positive information struck me even more. My stay was, of course, short, for my findings to be conclusive, but indeed, first impression being lasting, it led me to sigh "if only our president were of the same genre ...'