President Obama's Speech to Students

Last week, President Obama delivered a speech in some high school in Virginia that was distributed all over the country so that students would be able to listen to him speak about what most everybody thought of as uncontroversial values. Students in Guymon, OK were not able to listen to the President due to the vociferous protest of a few parents who insisted on reviewing the contents of the President’s speech. Truly a shame because the Guymon school district has become significantly infiltrated by minority students over the past 10 years, underprivileged kids who stood to benefit most from President Obama’s inspiring words. I sent this opinion to the Guymon Daily Herald.

Too bad our kids weren’t made to watch President Obama’s address to students last week. In 13 minutes, he described his origins, a black kid from a broken home who was able to become the President of the United States despite many mistakes, amid many temptations.

He reminded all of us that all the gains being made in upgrading our educational system will be wasted if a sense of personal responsibility was not ingrained upon each of our students. The raw material is out there, the pathway to developing our various talents and gifts is ready to accommodate us, we only need to appreciate the abundant advantages we have here in our very own Guymon, OK.

Our educational facilities are world-class and our teachers are dedicated professionals who view teaching as a vocation and not simply a job. We just need to be there.

Woody Allen famously said, “80% of success is showing up”. Despite much higher tuition fees, and enormous living expenses, students from all over the world descend upon our schools because they and their families are convinced that all the sacrifices necessary to acquire a superior product is completely worthwhile. Education equips us with the requisite skills necessary to compete in a world that is becoming more competitive daily.

Our children deserve all the inspiration they can get. If we don’t have to vet beforehand the contents of a Disney or a Nickelodeon television program, why deprive our children from listening to positive role models who were able to rise above circumstances that characteristically hold down the vast majority of less fortunate children. While we may personally differ with the politics of President Obama, there shouldn’t be any dispute toward the value of staying in school and working hard to exploit the academic advantages we enjoy but sometimes fail to appreciate: “At the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents and the best schools in the world--and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.”

Cory

If Marcos and his thugs had not murdered Ninoy Aquino, in all likelihood, Cory would still be alive today. She would have certainly had a screening colonoscopy in Boston that would have discovered and removed those polyps before they turned malignant.

Instead, she became President of a nation with a woefully inadequate healthcare system that fails to protect even its “national treasure” from an entirely preventable disease.

So it goes back to Marcos once again, 20 years dead. Nothing personal here any longer, never really was. I never saw him in person, never had anything to do with him. He was always the person to me who chose the other side, who tried to get as many people to his side using whatever force necessary.

Seems very few remember how bad those Martial Law days were, a tightly-controlled press with Doroy Valencia, Tatad, Tuvera, Adrian Cristobal, Ronnie Nathanielsz zealously proclaiming the party line; nobody outside the New Society cordon was allowed to leave the country. There was a curfew at midnight; all firearms had to be surrendered, the penalty for noncompliance was death. There was a very effective “population control” program in place. “Secret Marshals” were deployed in public transportation: they were licensed to kill anyone they considered menacing to public safety. Students were made to sing hymns extolling “Ang Bagong Lipunan”, resort hotels were built in record time to host foreign lenders, acres upon acres of grass spray painted green to impress Pope John Paul II.

Hindsight is devastatingly 20/20. All those dreams and ambitions of a cunning man only succeeded in transforming the country into a Potemkin Village that exalted the efficiency of centralized corruption.

Before Ninoy was killed, there seemed very little hope. Reagan was closely protecting the Marcoses, friends from his days as Governor of California. Then Vice President George HW Bush had just toasted the dictatorship’s “adherence to democratic principles and democratic processes”, at a time when even mildly critical comments regarding the New Society was harshly punished. Marcos wielded absolute power. We will never fully account for the fate of thousands who simply vanished during those dark years.

A stem cell is pluripotent. It has the potential to develop into countless cell lines. Each one of us is endowed with this feature. We have the capacity to become saints and heroes, murderers and molesters. Through some immutable grace, we are drawn to one particular side or the other. Many gifted thinkers, artists, religious leaders, scientists, lawyers, teachers completely collaborated with Marcos; the kindest we can view this behavior from a distance is to confer some degree of Goebellian fanaticism to these people who must have somehow believed that liberty, freedom and respect for life could be dispensed with to achieve some shred of totalitarian heaven.

When Cory took over, the educational system was in tatters. Capital flight was unprecedented. The armed forces that had once been a professional force of fighters had become highly politicized. Easily a tenth of the population would leave for other countries in order to survive. I was among those who had to leave. There were very few opportunities then and like many others, I felt ill-prepared to contribute significantly towards rebuilding our country. Besides, a new legion of politicians, old and new seemed to crawl out from nowhere to take over the task of recovering a fictitious era of prosperity and democracy.

We mourn the death of Cory, we feel deeply the loss and the pain because she alone remained true. What has become of her old guard? Unfortunately, they and their relatives have transmogrified into another society of scions, part of a sociopolitical scheme that perpetuates poverty, suffering and ignorance.

23 years after Marcos was deposed, too many have forgotten, so many more were not even born during those tumultuous times. There are unmistakable signs of the impending restoration of the New Society. There are cocky descendants everywhere, waiting for what they consider their rightful turn to rule a materially and spiritually impoverished nation, repeatedly pillaged and perennially rocked off its moral mooring. The odds are overwhelmingly against us once more. These guys do this for a living. We have no power and we have no money. But we have the example of Cory Aquino to follow.

Our Hospital

Ten years ago, our hospital consistently registered 70% capacity. Today, we are hobbling along with 15 %. Our financial reserves are rapidly becoming depleted. Before we demand the resignation of the CEO or blame the medical staff for this predicament however, it would be prudent to determine the reasons how we got to this situation.

The practice of medicine has considerably changed over the last 15 years. New drugs have been developed that are significantly more effective against a wide array of diseases. In the past, patients with bacterial infections would routinely be confined for 2 weeks. Many of those infections can now be treated with more potent oral antibiotics that can be taken at home.

Entire hospital wings were dedicated to “chronic lungers”, those with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. With home oxygen, nebulizers, more efficient medications and the steady decrease in tobacco use, hospital admissions of this nature have dropped considerably. Patients requiring intravenous anticoagulation would stay in the hospital for weeks. Now available are anticoagulants that can be injected once daily. Many complications arising from diabetes are being avoided with more frequent monitoring of blood sugar through the extensive availability of glucometers and regular HgBA1C testing.

Patients with chest pain used to be observed in the ICU. This is no longer considered appropriate in the majority of cases due to the wide availability of invasive tests that can promptly diagnose and treat the presence of a blockage. In addition, drugs that control blood pressure and cholesterol are far more effective in preventing coronary events.

Many malignancies are being discovered earlier forestalling prolonged and extensive hospital confinements. In the early 1980’s, gastric ulcers would merit a month-long confinement with a bland diet and often end with an operation that would remove a portion of the stomach. A class of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors have rendered this type of surgery largely as a historical curiosity.

Home health and hospice care are innovations that have largely achieved their stated goal: to reduce hospital admissions. There are new medications that slow the progression of dementia as well as osteoporosis, major morbidities that accounted for numerous admissions from nursing homes.

Preventive medicine in the US through widespread vaccinations, screening examinations, awareness programs that promote healthy lifestyle modifications is an unqualified success.

To characterize this slump as a cyclical phenomenon much as we ascribe droughts is a serious mistake. Those old days and old ways are gone for good. Instead of pining for a return to those times, obstinately adhering to obsolete strategies, our hospital must strive to re-invent itself in order to remain relevant.

As the principal stakeholders of the Memorial Hospital of Texas County, we must all get together and search for solutions that will continue to make our hospital viable. It is to everyone’s interests that we have a well-equipped and well-staffed community hospital that can provide round-the-clock care and expertise to support the dedicated efforts of our local physicians. Our hospital must strive to offer services above and beyond the reach of clinics and work in close and seamless partnership with the various healthcare workers in our area.

Hospital-supported facilities should always serve the needs of the common good; redundant positions discontinued, and a comprehensive, far-reaching business plan developed which will guarantee the stability and growth of our hospital.

There are no challenges too great to a united community, determined to preserve an essential institution.

Michael C Brillantes, MD 1962-2009

The photograph was taken moments before Lito Gozum arrived with a gallon of Chivas Regal, to hastily replenish the even more hastily consumed bottle of Johnnie Walker Premiere Reserve that TG received from his boss for Christmas. Glenn composed the shot, set the automatic timer and joined the group in what turned out to be Mike’s Despedida.

There had been a comment made earlier about how these reunions typically develop--- how the same stories would be retold repeatedly as the night wore on, with the appreciation of the audience directly proportional to malt absorption.

Mike was in fine form. Robbie recounts correctly how ebullient Mike seemed to be that evening, how open he was, how invincible on that very last time we were together.

Together with Bobby Guevara and Quitos Bengzon, Mike and I were classmates in Prep B 41 years ago. During our Senior year in High School, Ron Salvador convinced me, Lito, Mike and Alan Sulit that Zoology was the most suitable pre-med course. Ray chose Biology and Ricky went via the Psychology route. Ron migrated to Canada.

Turned out Zoology didn’t “prepare” us any better for medical school but we spent the next 4 years in UP Diliman dissecting frogs, sharks and cats; snorkeling in coral reefs, collecting insects, fully engaged in the study of the animal kingdom. We had a lot of good times.

There appears to be general agreement in what we remember most about Mike: his smile and his unfailing generosity, unconditional friendship. Tolstoy claimed that the central revolutionary theme to Christianity could be found in Matthew 5:38 You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.

It was the most unnatural prescription even then but we continue to associate good people with those who practice this philosophy, regardless or even in the absence of religion. And to those blessed enough to operate in such rarefied company, it becomes easy to identify where all the grace, faith and fearlessness arise from.

I join all of you, from Oklahoma in celebrating Mike’s well-lived life. In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit to being the 4th and final figure of the Benign Boys of Baguio Band. Mabuhay si Mike! Maraming maraming salamat sa lahat ng iyong kabutihan. Pahinga ka na.