Run the Planet, Save the World

My head feels like it's about to explode. This one blog post will singlehandedly denounce any semblance of my being a laid back person; consider this your warning.

A good chunk of my marathon training this summer will be taking place in the Philippines (and for a while in Taiwan), at least I hope. The daughter of immigrants, I used to return home every summer until high school, after which visits became sporadic. I have not been back since 1999.

Among thoughts of being thrilled to see my aging grandmother as well as the excitement of introducing Anna to family, is the pending dread of seeing my nativecountry in shambles. A circumstance that I am sure, will likely challenge my desire to run.

My social consciousness developed relatively recently and was largely inspired by the book, America is in the Heart. I consider it The Grapes of Wrath for people-of-color and found that after years of reading fiction, this was the first book that moved me to tears, that I related to, and that became the precursor to understanding my place in this world. In short, it is the story of the Filipino American and the struggles of many immigrant groups in this country. It is the story of the Americanization of the Filipino, an Americanization that that begins generations before the first Filipino immigrant set foot in this country. It is the story of America's imperialism and its silent past. It is the story that I was never told as the only Asian American in my Midwestern public education system and it is the story that now empowers and inspires my sense of social justice.

I have seen previews, however, of the dread over what I will see when I return home. Run the planet 'featured' the Philippines as a running location and of course, the commentary was provided by a European expatriate and business man now living in Manila.

When asked if running is an acceptable activity in his country, Pierre says, "In France we have a lot, but in the Philippines we are very very few. Mainly because of very hot weather and pollution in Manila". Pierre also mentions that a visiting runner should be warned about the heat, humidity, and pollution before running in the Philippines. He also notes that there are a lot of dogs to look out for while you run there.

That's right, Pierre. I'll bet that it's tough to run in Manila. What Pierre alludes to in his comments, is the state with which the Philippines' colonizers--Spain and the United States--left the country. This long socio-economic commentary and history of these circumstances are beyond the scope of this blog but are disconcerting nonetheless as a Filipino American living comfortably in the United States and as one who has greatly benefited (albeit with much critical analysis) from the promises of the American way of life.

The Filipino way of life was disrupted since the sixteenth century after which time Spain became our first colonizers. Land that rightfully belonged to the Filipinos was taken from them and divided up among the Spanish elite who then taxed those who tilled 'their' soil. This was the beginning of the social and economic crisis that took Filipinos off their land and way of life, and into poverty. A fate that was to continue under American colonization after the Philippine-American War. The United States used the powerful conquering tool of education, however, and established a western education system in the Philippines whose legacy continues today as classrooms are still taught in English (see Constantino's A Past Revisited or The Miseducation of the Filipino).

Now, the Philippines' economy is largely sustained by remittances of those among the Filipino diaspora (see Dean Yang's work on this subject). Should Filipino immigrants around the world discontinue sending money home to the Philippines, it is likely that the economy would collapse. A circumstance that is fiercely avoided by the current and corrupt administration of Arroyo who consistently seeks to mitigate this possibility by appealing to both the United States in her support of the War on Terror and constant appeal to Filipino Americans.

The reality is that 90% of Filipinos live in poverty. A fact that was displayed in an unforgiving and in-your-face Filipino American film, Cavite. While many reviews and descriptions of the film describe it as being a story of the Philippines' cultural wars post 9/11, I consider it a successful attempt at a call to action for all the conscionable Filipinos living abroad. Naked children running through the streets of Manila, headed home to their squatter camps, only to be greeted by swamps of trash, human excrement and the like is more than I can bear.

So as I sit here and worry about the obstacles being in the Philippines will bring to my running schedule and training, I also think about my future and how important it will be that I bring hope back to the Filipino in the Philippines and abroad. Our native land is not destined for corrupt government, pollution, western imperialism and poverty. And as long we continue to enable the current government with our remittances to family left in the Philippines, I send my support to the other political entrepreneurs out there who will be part of the next waves of social change.

Every person and child deserves to be able to run the streets without fear of pollution hazards as I so gratefully have the opportunity to do so here in the United States.

See what happens when I think about running?

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Workout Summary:

1 mile WARM @ 10:30
10 min @ 8:50
1 mile COOL @ 10:30

I cut my scheduled 5 mile tempo to a 3 mile tempo today. Despite purchasing a new pair of Saucony Omni 6's on Tuesday. The 'pad' or 'ball' of my left foot is still bothering me and actually not getting much better. Hopefully, the next two days of rest before the Dexter Ann Arbor 10K will help me out. Meanwhile, according to coolrunning.com, I'm going to look into buying some metatarsal pads at CVS.