“Forty days? Let me know when they’ve been here for forty years.” He mutters something to himself in Tagalog, and then holds his arms out as if to encompass the room. “I know you knew nothing when you arrived, but have you learned nothing today? Our country’s history is full of invading foreigners who thought they knew us better than we knew ourselves. And many of us believed them over and over again. Many of us welcomed them with open arms, learned their language, joined their churches, asked for positions in their crooked governments.” He folds his arms over his chest again, turns his face
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