How should Americans in the 21st Century live with the onus of the imperialistic sins of previous generations? I have been struggling to answer this question repeatedly this year, thinking of it more and more with each passing day in my U.S. history class.

Considering that we are a country that champions freedom and self-government, we have had a surprisingly high, at times insatiable appetite for geographic expansion. The height of this fervor came at the end of the 19th Century, when the United States was in the throes of a mission to augment its territorial holdings in the Pacific. With a heated debate raging over what to do with the Philippines–newly acquired from Spain following the Spanish American War–President William McKinley, while speaking to a group of ministers visiting the White House, made this confession.

“…The truth is I didn’t want the Philippines, and when they came to us as a gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them…I walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight; and I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance…”

McKinley reasoned that he could not give the Philippines back to Spain nor could he leave its citizens to govern themselves, as he was certain they would fall into anarchy and misrule. He, therefore, concluded that

“there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God’s grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed and went to sleep and slept soundly.”

McKinley’s words continue to astound a century later, serving as a lasting reminder of the arrogance which permeated American foreign policy in the 19th century and still has an influence today.

However, the way in which Americans currently choose to deal with this legacy can define our sense of self. While there is no immediate answer, the best suggestion I’ve found was inspired by a letter from Analyn F., the mother of a child from the Philippines whom I sponsor through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA).

The letter came as a thank-you note in response to a package of assorted animal stickers that I had sent to Aldrin on the occasion of his birthday.
As his mother described, when Aldrin learned that a package was waiting for him at the house, he immediately came home, even though he had been busy playing with his friends.

“The neighborhood was overwhelmed with joy because Aldrin showed the stickers off to all of his friends outside. He also showed them to his grandmother and grandfather and his teachers…He was so happy because that was the first time he received an imported goods.”

The warmth and genuine joy found in Analyn’s letter greatly contrasts with the insincerity and pompousness of President McKinley’s speech.

I was further moved to learn that Aldrin places the stickers underneath his pillow every night before going to sleep, because, as his mother explains, he uses them to “keep and protect him from any harm.” Who can explain why these stickers have become a talisman in the mind of Aldrin? Is it because they are imported and thereby held in high esteem in his village? Is it because they come from his American friend who he perceives cared enough about him to think of him on his birthday? Is it because he loves the animals represented on the stickers? Or is it merely because the stickers are a new and novel toy in a poor community? For now I can only speculate, but as I speculate I am beyond humbled that a bag of stickers that took me two minutes to purchase and cost less than $3 has become a treasure to Aldrin.

The irony is not lost on me that the Christian organization that has made my contact with Aldrin possible would most likely not be operating in the Philippines in the manner and with the objective that it does but for our imperialistic conquest more than one hundred years ago.

While I could lament the existence of a connection spawned by avaricious U.S. foreign policy, I have found that the more rewarding course of action, putting naïveté aside, is to use the affiliation to build a relationship with the people of the Philippines – one sticker at a time.