Kinder and gentler no more?

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In 1989, when George H. W. Bush took his oath of office as the 41st president of the United States, he rallied Americans to an era dedicated to traditional values and the determination to lead them toward making the U.S. “a kinder and gentler nation in the face of a dramatically changing world.”

Fast forward: three decades-and-a-half later, the picture has changed from a government trying to be as compassionate as possible to one with an entirely different image under the administration of President Donald Trump, a Republican like Bush.

Trump has been harping the battlecry of putting American interest first and that U.S. foreign aid industry must be aligned with American interests and values.

Among his early executive orders are immigration crackdown and the national border immigration crackdown which is sending chills among immigrants with questionable documents.

Another executive announcement is the intention of the government to withdraw within the year from the World Health Organization, which has been at the forefront since its foundation in 1948 in protecting the health and security of people all over the world in addressing health and well-being concerns across continents.

We can just imagine the impact of the withdrawal considering that the U.S., according to recent records, has been the largest WHO fund contributor over the last decade, the amount ranging from $163 million and $816 million annually.

Another report indicated that recent voluntary contributions from the United States reached over $1 billion dollars.

The Trump declaration prompted WHO to issue a statement that it regrets the announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from the Organization and that it expressed the hope that “the United States will reconsider”, adding that it “looks forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”

This is the second time since 2020 and under Trump’s administration as the 45th president then, that the U.S. is withdrawing from WHO.

Records show the first U.S. withdrawal was done in response to the organization’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joe Biden, however, retracted the decision when he took office in 2021.

The 2025 withdrawal decision apparently echoes the reason for the 2020 action. The new withdrawal move from WHO will require congressional approval before it can take effect.

Considering the numbers in Congress, with the Republicans enjoying a narrow edge over Democrats, approval is expected not to be that rough sailing.

Also triggering a global concern this week is the announcement by newly-sworn in State Secretary Marco Rubio that his department has frozen nearly all foreign assistance worldwide.

CNN reported that the freeze “is effective immediately, days after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order Monday to put a hold on such aid for 90 days.”

The move, CNN said, “threatens billions of dollars of funding from the State Department and the US Agency for International Development for programs worldwide.”

The report said those affected by the freeze “are lifesaving global health aid, development assistance, military aid, and even clean water distribution.” A freeze waiver covers only emergency food assistance and foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt.

The United States may have all the right reasons and justification for these recent decisions but in the eyes of the world long used to American care and compassion felt in its Big Brother stance, it can be a costly image-and- public-relations issue that American detractors can exploit for their end.

It’s a watch-and-see development as the rest of the world long dependent on U.S. generosity may have to get used to a less caring, less gentle and less kind America.

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Bacolodnons are looking forward to another festival – Bacolaodiat on Jan. 31-Feb. 2 – which is the Chinese New Year celebration in the city.

Various activities are lined up in key sites in the city which will be include competitions, cultural shows, street pageantry and parades, exhibitions, foodfest and the Spring Festival Thanksgiving Mass.

Also scheduled is the conferment of business magnate Hans Sy as adopted son and honorary mayor of Bacolod City.

In China, the new year celebration is also known as the Spring Festival.

Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in a number of countries and territories where a sizable Chinese population resides.

Chinese communities all over the world will mark the Chinese New Year in Jan. 29.

Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year’s Day itself, the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar.

It is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is observed as a holiday in a number of countries and territories where a sizable Chinese population resides.

Another country that is celebrating the start of the year on the same day is Vietnam.

Tet, the Vietnamese New Year, is the most important celebration of Vietnamese culture. It features aspects of the western Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, Halloween and Birthday.

Happy new year to all.

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Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. (Psalm 82:3) | NWI