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.