Heroes Old and New
Posted by Robin Hemley on May 15, 2009 11:00 AM
My good friend, the writer Sarge Lacuesta gave me a t-shirt not long ago of some old school Filipino heroes wearing shades: Jose Rizal, Emilio Aguinaldo, and Andres Bonifacio. As a wannabe Filipino, I've worn this t-shirt proudly around Manila and happily no one has laughed at the foreigner wearing the Pinoy t-shirt, though people sometimes give me a wry, indulgent smile.
While I'm not quite ready to have a new t-shirt made, I have some new Filipino heroes to admire, chief among them Manuel Quezon III who has brought the "Book Blockade" to the attention of the general public and provided a great timeline for the scandal, and I also admire the many bloggers (among them, but certainly not limited to Charles Tan, Kenneth Yu, Louie Aguinaldo, and Norman Sisson) who have continued to press for action on this violation of the Florence Agreement. One of my absolute favorites is the sardonic Bahay Talinhaga. I also greatly admire the organization RockEd and its Bookbigayan 2009 (Book giveaway), scheduled for May 24th. I am also heartened to see prominent political figures in the Philippines start to get into the fray on the side of importers, book store owners, and book lovers everywhere.
Of course, the Dept of Finance and The Dept. of Customs simply hope to wait out the furor or wear down the protests by claiming that their taxation of imported books is legal. As George Orwell points out in his essay "Politics and the English Language" (which I cited in my original McSweeney's piece), bureaucrats are expert above all at hiding the truth by writing and speaking in convoluted prose. That's why The Florence Agreement is such a beautiful treaty because it explains in the simplest language that books (not merely educational, not merely cultural, not merely scientific . . . but books!) are exempt from import duties. Undersecretary Sales and others try to make it appear that the Florence Agreement is some arcane rune that must be "implemented" (yes, that's true, it must be implemented correctly) by them and "interpreted" (that's not true) by them. No interpretation necessary. Books mean books. If you don't believe me, go look it up in the dictionary, which is, by the way, a book.
Happily, the book lovers of the Philippines still know how know what a book is, still appreciate clear language, and still know how to read an international treaty.
If you would like a great timeline on this issue, here's the link to Manuel Quezon's:
http://www.quezon.ph/2009/05/10/the-great-book-blockade-of-2009-timeline-and-readings/
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