No Winners
No winners
Updated 11:10pm (Mla time) Aug 30, 2004
By Conrado de Quiros
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A12 of the August 31, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IT was a testament to the heavy rains last week that a whole slew of cars got flooded near our place. These were the cars parked in the area of Gate 4, which is fairly low and fills up with water during downpours. A positively biblical one fell on our earth last Tuesday past midnight.
I know because I was driving home at that time after an appointment when the rain fell in a torrent, whipped up by a strong wind. Within seconds, all I could see through my window even with my wipers swishing furiously across the glass and my lights set to high beam were blurry shapes and blotches of light a few meters ahead. I couldn't hear the sounds of traffic, the madcap clatter on the roof and hood of my car drowning them out. That can be very unnerving when you're driving alone, even if you're used to driving in Metro Manila's streets, which is full of nasty surprises. I was unnerved.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I got home, only to discover I couldn't get off the car. I had left my umbrella at home, never figuring I would find myself in the middle of howling wind and swirling water. After waiting for some time and seeing that heaven hadn't quite done with weeping and would not do so for hours, I rushed out and got myself thoroughly drenched. Thankfully, I did not catch a cold next day. But I did catch extra work: Overnight, the floodwater rose and seeped into the cars parked in the area, including mine (and I had perched on top of a sidewalk!) which compelled me to visit the car wash next day.
But this is where I get to my point: On my way to the car wash, I saw something that warned me of yet a calamity to come in addition to the financial storm economists had been warning about, which the literal one around me uncannily presaged. This was around 10 in the morning. The rains had continued to lash out throughout the night and day and a pool of water had collected on the part of the road that led to an alley going to Mindanao Avenue. As I turned toward the alley, I met a procession of oncoming cars, lights flashing vigorously.
Now, this alley is one-way going in the direction of Mindanao. Up ahead, there was another alley that was also one-way leading to the road where I was. That was where this procession should have been. Why were they here? I could only guess that the road leading to the other alley was even more flooded. It was no excuse of course. The fact that your right of way is unavailable to you does not justify usurping another's.
The car in front of me was now honking furiously, ordering me to back off. That greatly pissed me off. The arrogance of the driver, who had no business being there to begin with, was infuriating. I had no choice however but to back off to let him and the cars behind him pass. There was no way they could all have turned back. I was faced however with no small challenge given that several vehicles had now piled up behind me. By dint of twisting and turning, and uttering copious Arab-like curses ("May your seed, etc."), I managed to do so. But it took time before we could all get on our way and recover from frayed nerves.
It hinted to me of dark things to come. Frankly, I can never figure out why, in times of trouble, our first instinct is not to follow rules and think of the common good. I can never figure out why, when faced with a common threat, our first instinct is to screw the world and look out for ourselves. In fact, I can never figure out why, even from the perspective of practicality, one would imagine that anyone, including oneself, would benefit from trying to get ahead in this way. When clearly everyone, including oneself, stands to lose from it. As that small incident that morning proved: The hustling merely delayed everyone, including those who did it.
It's a recipe for disaster.
I don't know if it's become instinct with us. That was by no means the last time last week I saw the behavior in naked display. At the market that same day, I saw people buying canned goods wholesale to prepare for the end of the world, metaphorically speaking, though some people have been known to do that to prepare for a very literal one. I have absolutely no idea what logic persuades people to think canned goods will help during the end of the world. But there's that.
A couple of days later, last Friday night, I caught a glimpse of it again on the road. The traffic on the street near ABS-CBN where you turn left to Morato wasn't moving. It wasn't because of a flash flood. It was simply because the vehicles coming off Morato had turned Morato, a two-way street, into a one-way one. The ensuing bedlam at the intersection ground everything to a halt.
I did say yesterday that we are not going to get over the impending storm without government leading by example. Without government giving up its profligate lifestyle and exercising discipline forthwith. The same is true of us. Government alone can't push back the threat. It will take common effort to do it. Make no mistake about it, the storm will be dark and stark, it is will be one to test our mettle as a nation. The sooner we realize this, the better we can prepare for it. The sooner we can begin to rediscover civic virtue, or never mind civic virtue, that seems far too lofty for us, just plain common sense and the right survival instincts--the one that recognizes that collective survival is the only survival there is.
Who knows? Maybe amid the adversity, we can find character after all. Maybe crisis is opportunity after all, the experience of a common devastation compelling us to rise above ourselves. In any case, we have no choice. Looking out for Number One is just another term for national suicide.
There are no winners there, only losers.
Updated 11:10pm (Mla time) Aug 30, 2004
By Conrado de Quiros
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A12 of the August 31, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IT was a testament to the heavy rains last week that a whole slew of cars got flooded near our place. These were the cars parked in the area of Gate 4, which is fairly low and fills up with water during downpours. A positively biblical one fell on our earth last Tuesday past midnight.
I know because I was driving home at that time after an appointment when the rain fell in a torrent, whipped up by a strong wind. Within seconds, all I could see through my window even with my wipers swishing furiously across the glass and my lights set to high beam were blurry shapes and blotches of light a few meters ahead. I couldn't hear the sounds of traffic, the madcap clatter on the roof and hood of my car drowning them out. That can be very unnerving when you're driving alone, even if you're used to driving in Metro Manila's streets, which is full of nasty surprises. I was unnerved.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I got home, only to discover I couldn't get off the car. I had left my umbrella at home, never figuring I would find myself in the middle of howling wind and swirling water. After waiting for some time and seeing that heaven hadn't quite done with weeping and would not do so for hours, I rushed out and got myself thoroughly drenched. Thankfully, I did not catch a cold next day. But I did catch extra work: Overnight, the floodwater rose and seeped into the cars parked in the area, including mine (and I had perched on top of a sidewalk!) which compelled me to visit the car wash next day.
But this is where I get to my point: On my way to the car wash, I saw something that warned me of yet a calamity to come in addition to the financial storm economists had been warning about, which the literal one around me uncannily presaged. This was around 10 in the morning. The rains had continued to lash out throughout the night and day and a pool of water had collected on the part of the road that led to an alley going to Mindanao Avenue. As I turned toward the alley, I met a procession of oncoming cars, lights flashing vigorously.
Now, this alley is one-way going in the direction of Mindanao. Up ahead, there was another alley that was also one-way leading to the road where I was. That was where this procession should have been. Why were they here? I could only guess that the road leading to the other alley was even more flooded. It was no excuse of course. The fact that your right of way is unavailable to you does not justify usurping another's.
The car in front of me was now honking furiously, ordering me to back off. That greatly pissed me off. The arrogance of the driver, who had no business being there to begin with, was infuriating. I had no choice however but to back off to let him and the cars behind him pass. There was no way they could all have turned back. I was faced however with no small challenge given that several vehicles had now piled up behind me. By dint of twisting and turning, and uttering copious Arab-like curses ("May your seed, etc."), I managed to do so. But it took time before we could all get on our way and recover from frayed nerves.
It hinted to me of dark things to come. Frankly, I can never figure out why, in times of trouble, our first instinct is not to follow rules and think of the common good. I can never figure out why, when faced with a common threat, our first instinct is to screw the world and look out for ourselves. In fact, I can never figure out why, even from the perspective of practicality, one would imagine that anyone, including oneself, would benefit from trying to get ahead in this way. When clearly everyone, including oneself, stands to lose from it. As that small incident that morning proved: The hustling merely delayed everyone, including those who did it.
It's a recipe for disaster.
I don't know if it's become instinct with us. That was by no means the last time last week I saw the behavior in naked display. At the market that same day, I saw people buying canned goods wholesale to prepare for the end of the world, metaphorically speaking, though some people have been known to do that to prepare for a very literal one. I have absolutely no idea what logic persuades people to think canned goods will help during the end of the world. But there's that.
A couple of days later, last Friday night, I caught a glimpse of it again on the road. The traffic on the street near ABS-CBN where you turn left to Morato wasn't moving. It wasn't because of a flash flood. It was simply because the vehicles coming off Morato had turned Morato, a two-way street, into a one-way one. The ensuing bedlam at the intersection ground everything to a halt.
I did say yesterday that we are not going to get over the impending storm without government leading by example. Without government giving up its profligate lifestyle and exercising discipline forthwith. The same is true of us. Government alone can't push back the threat. It will take common effort to do it. Make no mistake about it, the storm will be dark and stark, it is will be one to test our mettle as a nation. The sooner we realize this, the better we can prepare for it. The sooner we can begin to rediscover civic virtue, or never mind civic virtue, that seems far too lofty for us, just plain common sense and the right survival instincts--the one that recognizes that collective survival is the only survival there is.
Who knows? Maybe amid the adversity, we can find character after all. Maybe crisis is opportunity after all, the experience of a common devastation compelling us to rise above ourselves. In any case, we have no choice. Looking out for Number One is just another term for national suicide.
There are no winners there, only losers.
posted by Dante at 4:11 PM
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