What Philippine officials should learn from Hamilton

A fortnight ago, we were in Broadway, particularly at Robert Rodgers Theater, along the 46th Street in the heart of Manhattan, not far away from New York's Central Park. Shown on stage was the political bio of one of the greatest American political giants who never became president, Alexander Hamilton. He was George Washington's trusted adviser, and Treasury Secretary, who knew more about politics and governance than public finance and economics. And yet, he was the founder of the US Central Bank, and was the architect of the US government and the art and science of politics, diplomacy, and public administration. As I was looking around in that giant Broadway amphitheater, I realized that our family were the only Filipinos in that crowd of Americans, Latin Americans, Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabs, around thousand in that huge theater in Broadway.

Alexander Hamilton was the consummate and perfect political rival of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, and Aaron Burr who, at the end, killed him in a duel. Jefferson, Madison, and Adams became presidents. Burr became vice president. Hamilton died before reaching 50, after a very turbulent, controversial, and rather intense and action-packed life. I bought a biography book in the lobby written by a great writer, Ron Chernow, a Pulitzer-awarded creator of famous bestsellers. He also authored bios of such famous men as John Rockefeller and President Ulysses Grant. It is a handsome volume of 818 pages filled with lessons that our leaders like President Duterte and Senator Trillanes should read and learn from. Editors and columnists should also pick up some valuable nuggets from such an “obra maestra.”

There are many similarities between President Digong and Hamilton, especially their insatiable love for women, their rather colorful tongues and spicy language, and their propensity to be adversarial, abrasive, and confrontational. But also, on the more positive side, their love for country and their vision for the people, their courage and firmness in the face of criticisms and adverse public opinions. Like Duterte, Hamilton did not care about pleasing people but in working for what is best for them in the long run. Hamilton was hated, loved, admired, and ridiculed perhaps in equal intensity by different people at different times. But they both have a compelling presence that nobody can ignore. You either love or hate Hamilton and Duterte, but it is difficult to be neutral about them.

Jefferson, the complete opposite of Hamilton, was an advocate of human rights and individual freedom, but we should remember that it was Hamilton who wrote the US Constitution's Bill of Rights. Jefferson authored the American Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was the proponent of local autonomy of decentralization.

Hamilton was an advocate for a strong national government, for a big and powerful army with hundreds of thousands of combatants, a strong navy and air force and, yes, a strong economy. All that the USA became, a world power, a top global economy, was based on the foundations of Hamiltonian ideas and principles. We could say, based on current standards, that Jefferson is a true Democrat, while Hamilton is the genuine Republican.

The next masterpiece of Chernow is a bio of Ulysses Grant, another colorful figure in US history. I envision a day in the future that one Filipino can write about our own Quezon, Osmeña, Magsaysay, and why not, Duterte. For the next generations to learn from, in order for us to grow into a stronger nation based on the great deeds and the monumental errors of our leaders. Why not?