Sunday, August 29, 2010

MISTAKE IN THE DAYS OF DEATH AND BEAUTY

Death and beauty dominated the headlines from last weekend to early this week. Saturday, August 21st, was when beauty titlist Melody Gersbach (the Philippines’ 2009 representative to the Miss International Pageant) and two companions were killed in a vehicular accident. Two days later, August 23rd, a derange ex-police personnel hijacked a tourist bus that ended with eight hostages, mostly Hong Kong nationals, dead and a few others severely injured. The day after, August 24th, Filipina candidate Maria Venus Raj placed 4th in the prestigious Miss Universe Pageant held in Las Vegas. As a spectator to these overwhelming events happening just days in succession, I tried to find something to make sense of the tragic reconciled with the triumphant. And I realized that “mistake” is the link to these series of events.

If only that bus driver didn’t took the risk of over-taking another vehicle that swerved him to hit Melody’s car in the other lane, this accident wouldn’t have happened. The driver himself, of course, didn’t want that to happen. But it was a mistake that he has to pay for. Melody was a beautiful and intelligent lady. She was young and full of promise. It was unfair that she has to die because of someone else’s reckless mistake.



As the hostage drama unfolded in Manila, the hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza pasted these words on the entrance of the bus: “A big mistake to correct a big wrong decision.” He perhaps wrote this in lucid state; words which expressed regret for his vehemence as a means to coerce the law to favor his demands. With these words, I sensed earlier that it was possible that this incident would have ended peacefully and without bloodshed. It would have turned-out that way later if mistakes were avoided as authorities dealt with this delicate situation. I wouldn’t waste my words to detail the shortcomings and mistakes of the authorities, law enforcers, the media, the relatives of the hostage-taker and all those people who didn’t have the business of being there. But all are accountable for the failure to bring this crisis to a just and sensible end.




On the lighter side, the triumph of Maria Venus Raj can not be a mistake. She was stunning and confident. No doubt she gave it her best shot in the competition. Some say however she would have bagged the Miss Universe title if she had answered correctly in the question and answer portion of the pageant. That is, if it really be considered as a mistake? Her question, “What is your biggest mistake and what did you do to make-up for it?” is too tricky because to say whatever mistake she committed might be damaging to her reputation. She opted to deny she ever committed a mistake (which is impossible!) in her 22 years of life as a way to evade this question which is too personal. No one can make a mistake answering such questions. There is no right or wrong answer here. Answers to this can only be sensible or credible. Mistake has a shameful quality to it. It can be embarrassing to admit to oneself, what more publicly.



Most mistakes results from uneducated decisions and actions done in haste. The hostage crisis would have turned-out differently if only the authorities were more tactically trained and have more persevering in dealing with the situation. Likewise, the bus driver who in recklessness killed Melody would have avoided the accident if he was prudent enough to stay on his lane and bear with the slower pace.

Mistake can be big or small depending on how it affects lives. The aftermath of the hostage crisis had resulted to the animosity of Hong Kong Chinese towards Filipinos and may create a wider diplomatic gap between the Philippines to the Chinese government in Beijing. Thus, the collateral damage caused by the mistake in handling this incident goes beyond the eight Hong Kong tourists who were killed. But it includes the more than one hundred thousand Filipino migrant workers, mostly domestic helpers, who were suffering directly the ire of some Hong Kong people. Moreover, it damaged the image of our country in the international community which will affect our tourism and foreign investor confidence. At this point I could say, nothing can be bigger a mistake than this that affects our lives and reputation as a nation.

Mistake is part of our less than perfect world. We are bound to make mistakes as we go through life. Yet, we can not be passive to let it happen especially when life and reputation are at stake. We can not afford to deliberately make mistakes. But if it caught us unaware, may we be willing to take responsibility for it and shun the blaming game. Otherwise, we are making further mistakes while we should be amending. According to an old adage, “We can not make right a mistake by making another mistake.”

With each mistake we bear the pain and shame of its consequences. We oftentimes pay greatly for it. Yet, we have to find the courage to rise above it. Despite the mistakes we commit as individuals or collectively, we can strive to be better. We can forgive ourselves and others without forgetting the valuable lessons we learn from every mistake. And move on.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

THE WORLD NEEDS MEN…



Who cannot be bought;
Whose word is their bond;
Who put character above wealth;
Who possess opinions and a will;
Who are larger than their vocation;
Who do not hesitate to take chances;
Who will not loose their individuality in a crowd;
Who will be as honest in small things as in great things;
Who will not compromise with wrong;
Whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires;
Who will not say they do it “because everybody else do it.”
Who are true to their friends through good report and evil report in adversity as well as in prosperity;
Who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning and hardheadedness are the best qualities for winning success;
Who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular;
Who can say “No” with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says “Yes”.

- Leonard Wagner

Are you man enough to volunteer? - DJ Flame

Sunday, August 8, 2010

PASSAGES

The dance of youth is in the air.
The sun rises in the morn.
As time swift by a lingering pace,
Guiding the feeble soul.

Love is born of the heart.
From an infant’s first cry,
Faith ushers in an open door.
And of life’s greatest gift.

Amidst life’s noisy confusion,
Break the fetters of discontent.
Unbridled yearning seeking;
In hope there is bliss.

Abide by the teaching of the ages.
Grow wise and make sense.
Find the meaning in this journey.
Then live beyond the final bow.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

FACING MORTALITY


“If it were possible to talk to the unborn, one could never explain to them how it feels to be alive, for life is washed in the speechless real.”

– Jacques Barzun, 'The House of Intellect'