Never the twain shall meet

When I was a young man in college there was a saying I remember that went “never the twain shall meet.” It was from writer Rudyard Kipling’s Barrack-room ballads from 1892 and was about how two things that are so different will never have an opportunity to unite. Oddly enough though, while the saying does fit when it comes to two different things, I feel that this saying also sometimes holds true for two things which are so similar as well.

In this case, I am referring to our President and President Donald Trump. I have written about both before in former columns and while I would often like to move on and write about something else, the two just keep continue to make headlines and make eyes roll – just ask the Japanese Prime Minister – and therefore are just so enticing to write about it over and over again.

You can’t blame me. After all, in their own way each one holds sway over my life, and so many of our lives on a daily basis. President Duterte is making policies and decisions here in the Philippines – the land where I live – while President Trump is making policies and decisions in America – a land where so many of my close family members live. In fact, my son-in-law and granddaughter are American, so I’m sorry but no American can tell me to “butt out of their business” just because I don’t live there. I care because it affects those whom I care about.

In either case, we are stuck with these two leaders for what would seem like at least the next four to five years and if their first six months (in Duterte’s case) and few weeks (in Trump’s case) are any indication, then it will be a very long time indeed. These powder keg leaders are just starting fires wherever they go and as I mentioned previously, I just hope they don’t start the fire on the fuse of the next world war – well, most likely Trump in that instance, but still, far be it from me to belittle how much our actions matter on a global level.

After all, I read an international piece that wasn’t far off the money. It was written by a historian who asserted that when it came to the previous two world wars, it was not just one thing that led to the fighting but the summation of several small seemingly unconnected occurrences happening in different places and at different times. When it was happening, many could say that they did not see the disastrous outcome that lay ahead, but historians could see it coming a mile away and they claim they can see the same thing coming now. The writing’s on the wall, so they say, and let’s just hope that this time we can stop the inevitable worst before it comes to pass.

In either case, I remembered that old literary saying because while on the outside it might appear as though President Duterte and President Trump have so many reasons to get along – I believe that they will never really come together because their similarities are just so stark and strong that they will always serve to drive them apart. After all, these are two men with extremely strong demeanors and history has always shown us that stark personalities always clash when forced together.

I can only imagine what a meeting between these two world leaders would be like. How long after the prescribed pleasantries will it be before one or the other says something that is deemed offensive and they both take the defensive and begin arguing? It’s not far-fetched. In fact, I know that a meeting between the two makes many people nervous – and with good reason. Tensions between the US and the Philippines are rising and it will affect us all in ways that we can’t even fully comprehend yet.

Let us hope that smarter (and cooler) minds always prevail. I know that so many people heavily invested in the business community are a bit fretful due to the rhetoric of both Trump and Duterte when it comes to business and the economy, but I think that there is just too much money at stake – for both of our countries – to uproot the whole system. At the end of the day President Trump is a businessman and President Duterte wants the best for his people so let us hope that this is the driving force behind their decisions. If so, then the business community has nothing to worry about.

Still, it has not gone unnoticed how things are changing on the global scene. A world that once seemed so inclusive and inviting is becoming more withdrawn, suspicious, and scary. Even before President Trump took office, I had already been hearing stories about it was getting harder and harder for Filipinos to get visas to work and live in the United States. While that was already hard to begin with, I heard that it has gotten that much harder since President Duterte started speaking ill of the United States. While I am all for bringing our countrymen home to work closer to their families, it hardly seems prudent to rob them of chances to work abroad before figuring out what opportunities you can give them here at home. In the end, without an alternative in place, the president is just taking away a viable opportunity without giving anything in return.

I truly hope this is not the beginning of a downward spiral of Filipino and American relations. Our two countries have been intertwined for as long as I can remember and while I can commend us wanting to stand on our own two feet, so to speak, I don’t think that needs to come at the cost of biting the hand that has been our friend all these years. At the same time, I also don’t think America should lump us in with all the other terrorists they have come to fear from other parts of the world. That isn’t fair either.

In the end, only time will tell how it will all play out. But I think that opting to see the best in one another is the only way we can move forward without taking ten steps back. I know it’s wishful thinking because we both know who sits at the heads of the tables of our respective countries at the moment. Two men who lash out immediately without thinking things through like two spoiled brats who react right away if they don’t get what they want. I can only hope they put their money where their mouths are – if they really and truly care for their countries, as they claim to, they need to do what is best for us all.