On presidential palaces

I read the history of the White House in Wash.DC this afternoon and I felt my heart skip a beat. How could a half-black president sleep in a huge house full of memories of people who lived during the colonial era and some of whom had a hand in keeping the black people in bondage? How do he and his family feel now walking on all its floors knowing that some of those people had hobnobbed with the royalties of various countries and did not mention anything at all about the black people's participation in the national affairs?

I thought it was very eerie seeing how history is turning upside down now -- that the black people are represented and a person of that race, Barack Obama, is leading a nation of 52 states with histories of varying states of treatment of their ancestors. Maybe there is a reason for all of these happenings, an unfathomable rationale that the world is turning around more rightfully.

The book, the title of which was just plain The White House, gave a textual parade of all the residents of that House and how it underwent several overhauling as the materials could not withstand the tests of time and weather. One prominent aspect of that history is the highest regard that the occupants had for the building, which could be readily understood as it symbolizes the shelter of the person occupying the highest position of the land.

In the Philippines, we also have the Malacanang Palace as its counterpart, but when Cory Conjuangco-Aquino succeeded after Marcos, the dictator was booted out, she had chosen not to live in that Palace as it brought her gross memories of the assassination of her husband and the many incidents surrounding his incarceration during martial law. Maybe Cory would be seen as too sensitive as to skip that opportunity of living in that highly important building. Or she loved Ninoy more than her historical role of continuing the saga of the people's search for genuine democracy geographically. Nonetheless, we commend her courage in offering and risking her life to confront Marcos at a time when it was too dangerous to do so.

But if we are going to be true to our work as change agents of society, I believe that the greater demand for us is to be able to show that every corner of our nation is a palace in itself and its inhabitants are royalties who deserve all the respect of their human rights.Let the presidential residence remain as a symbol, but not the one and highest symbol of power, as the power of the people resides in every square mile of the country.