Sometimes, in my own anger at what I read and hear, I post articles which reflect my mood. Today, I took time to sit back and read some history, both of the US and the Philippines.

Both countries are guilty of atrocities in the past. More so in the US because of its age. The history of the US is littered with examples of inhumanity, including the continued slavery of Africans that started before the US even became a country. The emancipation of the slaves during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln in 1863 took more than a century to guarantee the rights of their descendants.

I'm not here to give a history lesson. The US did some really nasty things during the evolution of the country. The Philippines did so as well. The secret to maintaining a healthy relationship between the US and the Philippines is to forgive the past without forgetting what happened. Only then can we move forward in a sustained partnership.

Those who fail to remember the past are doomed to repeat it, or something like that.