Previously celebrated as Philippine "Independence" Day, today is Filipino-American "Friendship" Day, built on the bones of about 600,000 Filipino revolutionaries who died when America treacherously invaded the Philippines in 1898. Filipinos then under General Aguinaldo thought the "great and benevolent" nation would be their ally. How surprised they were when their supposed allies attacked them. The invasion was a product of the professed hallucination of then US president McKinley, who heard God bless the mission to "uplift and Christianize" the "niggers" (referring to the Indios), despite 300 years of Catholicism under Spain. This was the so-called "benevolent assimilation" to take care of our "little brown brothers." Thus liberty would be introduced by the massacre of at least a sixth of the population of the Philippines then. The US has never apologized for it. And despite - or perhaps because of - the genuine friendship that the Philippines has offered the US, its imperial pride will not allow it to do so. It's been an undiscussed thorn in the two countries' relationship.

So until today, the historical lessons are being learned. Some of them: Freedom by occupation; democracy by imposing your will on a subservient state and preserving the rule of the rapacious elite - themes continued throughout the century by US policies.

Thus it's not surprising that America is the most hated and feared country in the world today, judging from world opinion polls, especially after the policies acted upon by the US government after Sept 11.

A few exceptions, of course, like in the Philippines, where you can actually see some people adulating the "American Way." Not everyone, of course. But in most countries, there's just such animosity towards US policies, translated sometimes as "Anti-Americanism." Like in Australia, where they may treat the US as allies, but have an active dislike of Americans. This reflects, for example, when an ad that runs "More refreshing than a quiet American" is actually seen as funny.

Of course, it should come with crystal clarity that ordinary Americans of the present generation should never be held accountable for historical atrocities. Sometimes I empathize with them, because ordinary citizens are blamed when they shouldn't be conflated with the foreign policies of the US government and the practices of corporations, though of course every citizen of a country has complicity with the actions of his/her government. But in truth, more and more Americans are waking up to this reality, and are acting to stop detrimental policies done in their name. To be fair, the rallies in Seattle and Washington provided an inspiration to justice movements across the globe. The recent Iraq invasion was protested even before it started, a growing sensibility to imperial policies that contradict US domestic opinion.

For the record, I myself would defend any American if they're treated badly based on such opinions. One has to discriminate between those who implement and those not totally responsible. The US has contributed much to the wealth of the world, though how it mostly does so is a topic not for the squirmish. But if we are to build a better world, understanding and clearing away of destructive acts should be firstly addressed.