he race for the White House is now in full swing. And Filipino-Americans are in the thick of it. Unlike elections in the Philippines where media-created personalities dominate and issues are addressed through scripted soundbites, elections in the United States seem to carry more substance, more weight, and because it is the leader of the free world and its only remaining superpower, a lot more seriousness.

Today America is at a crossroads. After the disastrous two-terms of the current Bush Administration, American will not settle for more of the same. Whether they get it from the Republicans or from the Democrats—change will be inevitable!

And Filipino-Americans have a big role to play in this election. According the the US Census Bureau, there were 2,116,478 Filipinos (or individuals with Philippine ancestry) in the US in 2000. This equates to roughly eight percent of the entire US population. Filipinos thus make up a large and powerful voting block and therefore need to rise to the challenge by doing their best to understand the issues, understand the politics, and most importantly understand America.

Sadly many Filipinos who migrate to the US as adults bring their bad voting habits with them and vote for whoever they're told to vote for: by their American spouse, their boss, their priest, or whoever else in authority they feel compelled to obey.

Becoming an American citizen means more than just getting a blue US Passport to show off to former townmates when you fly back for a visit. Becoming an American citizen means that you now belong to the most powerful country in the world—and you have a responsibility to see to it that its leaders uphold the highest ideals of freedom and justice and do it in a truthful and transparent way...because the repercussions of America's actions go way beyond their shores and affect the entire planet—including that little group of islands in the Far East you used to call home.