History Unfolds

Last February, the entire Philippine nation celebrated the 20th anniversary of the so-called EDSA Revolution or referred to as the People Power Revolution and the Philippine Revolution of 1986. It was mostly a non-violent mass demonstration in the Philippines. This revolution, according to a Filipino friend named Danny, involved a four-day peaceful action by millions of Filipinos in Metro Manila which led to the downfall of President Ferdinand Marcos' authoritarian regime. Danny even added that after Marcos vacated his position, Corazon Aquino was declared as the president of the nation. He explained to me that the revolution mainly occurred along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, a main highway in Metro Manila, that's why it called EDSA Revolution.

Danny told me also that was not the only people power revolution that happened in his country. After that, there were three remaining revolutions that happened in the Philippines although the last two were unsuccessful. Man, that was tough! When I heard that from him, my first reaction was admiration. Admiration because overthrowing a government is hard. It is not simple as eating a piece of cake. You have to have courage, determination, and most of all, cooperation from the people. After our conversation, I told myself, will United States be able to do that also?