Americans, you have been warned

Not that I make warnings under the influence of a national leader, who’s charismatic in his own right. It may actually be the reverse. If Americans are confused about the high trust rating of Filipinos for the US (over China) and our President’s recent declaration of “separation” from the US, then Americans should take this example as a fair lesson or warning about the dangers of the tone from the top. And to take seriously the tone of their eccentric presidential candidate, who can still win.

There is no masking or downplaying the tone of our president because it is always out there. When he won convincingly at the national polls last June, drug-related killings and casualties already rose, even before he was sworn in as president. Relatively recent, he disowns all extra-judicial killings, which may have been done by vigilantes, and that may even be true. But the tone from the top certainly caused no discouragement or disincentive to these extra-judicial executioners.

Just this week, a small vigorous protest in front of the US embassy, with spray-painting, demanding that the US leave the country caught the eye of international media. It was particularly this incident where this policeman tried to ram the bodies of protesters who were attacking the police vehicle with sticks and fists. Protesters said they strongly support the president’s stand against US presence in the country. Watching that scene for me is like seeing a Halloween horror scene on a Christmas morning.

For our country, under present positive conditions, and still needing all the positive aura we can get, that scene at the US embassy emulates a militant protest during the First Quarter Storm during Martial Law days. It feels really off.

The leader’s tone from the top can truly divide, as well as pacify and bring hope. The behavior of an entire nation can be swayed either way, eventually, by the leader’s tone.

Nelson Mandela, was jailed for almost three decades for his political protests against apartheid – the rule of the minority white Africans over the segregated majority black. South Africa was being ripped apart while he was in prison. When he was eventually released and apartheid laws and policies were abolished, he advocated something that is unthinkable to an ordinary human being. He called on the black people of Africa to forgive.  All the decades of hatred, discrimination, prejudice, unfair treatment against them – forgive. He rallied the black Africans to support the white-dominated rugby team that won, miraculously, for South Africa the World Cup in 1995.  It was extraordinary, but the healing happened because the tone from the top was serene, sincere, and determined to forgive.

Queen Rania of Jordan on the Syrian refugee crisis said, “We need to bring humanity and compassion back into the narrative, because this crisis is about people not borders and barriers. It’s about human dignity not deals.” Her tone and advocacy converted Jordan as the most humanitarian Arab country, and she rubbed this off on Jordanians who shared their homes, food and schools with Syrian refugees. The impact of her tone is highlighted by this Jordanian couple, who on their wedding day invited 250 refugees to the banquet, fed them, and partied with them as if they were friends. Now, the refugees easily make up 10 percent of Jordan’s population, straining the country’s limited resources from its “semi-arid” land and stressing its own people. But they continue to help.

Take Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, a gem of a leader who’s highly regarded around the world. He espoused multiracialism and the study of the English language to make Singapore citizens relate better with the immigrant population, en route to converting Singapore to becoming a global city in just over a decade.

On the dark side, Hitler oratorically painted the Jews as the culprit to Germany’s depression as many Jews were wealthy, and successful professionally or in business. He said it’s a gross injustice that must be revenged. It was not only the Nazi Army, but it was Nazi Germany that embraced his idea of a New Order that required purging of the impure race. What started with extreme discrimination by Germans who prevented Jews access to their restaurants and towns later became Germans pointing who the Jews were to the Nazi military for execution. If Hitler invented hatred for the Jews, the Germans then were really quick to believe and copy.

So Trump with his strong tone and vocabulary on race, shooing off of immigrants, tilting of trade agreements, withdrawal of US support to other nations, nuclear weapons use, women (not prostitutes), very stupid US leaders, and election results that cannot be trusted if he loses – will he change if he wins, or will he further double or triple down? What will change for the sake of change make of America, and the world?

Our president is still popular because Filipinos see him as our best, and maybe last, ticket to finally breaking corruption. The rest of his faults – we pray we can survive. Unfortunately, for the US, this vote is a vote for the world, and America’s success depends on how it relates to the world. If Americans ignore the telltale signs of the tone from the top, there is still “sorry” after – but “sorry” will be a useless and very costly word.

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Alexander B. Cabrera is the chairman and senior partner of Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines. He also chairs the Educated Marginalized Entrepreneurs Resource Generation (EMERGE) program of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). Email your comments and questions to [email protected]. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.