Systems
...
There's The Rub
Systems
By Conrado de Quiros
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:04:00 05/12/2009
I was one of those who shouted themselves hoarse the other weekend during the Pacquiao-Hatton fight. Not least at the interminable commercials, especially the campaign ads which left a bad taste in the mouth and truly invited shouting at the top of one’s voice. But for the most part, my vigorous display of emotion was of the effusive kind directed at Manny Pacquiao’s demolition of Ricky Hatton.
You can’t be a Filipino and not marvel at the marvel Pacquiao has become. I, too, was one of those who expected the fight to be a tough one, one that would go the full distance. How could anyone have thought the rock-solid Hatton would topple down like a tall tree felled by a sharp ax in just two rounds?
The fight left me thinking afterward: We Filipinos are not lacking in talent. We are blessed with it. And in the case of Pacquiao, abundantly so. But if so, if we are blessed with talent, and sometimes (or often) abundantly so, why are we cursed to live like this? Why are we cursed to live in misery, and more and more grindingly so?
We do not, in fact, lack for world-class talents. Pacquiao is not alone in that department. Before Pacquiao, there were Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, both of whom put us on the world map in billiards. Bata was idolized by a whole generation of billiard players, not least Americans, who picked up their cue completely literally from him. Django as well had an enviable reputation in Germany.
Before Pacquiao, there were Cecile Licad and Lea Salonga. As I’ve said in several columns in the past, I wasn’t at all surprised to see them taking the world by storm. I’ve always thought that if we were going to do it, it would be in music, this country being awesomely gifted there. It’s not enough to just be talented to get to the top of the heap musically in this country (talented musicians are a dime a dozen), you have to be nothing less than brilliant. You have to be nothing less than world-class. Licad and Salonga are.
And at that, the world hasn’t yet discovered the kundiman. Well, while at that, this country, or this generation at least, hasn’t yet discovered the kundiman. But that’s another story.
Now what’s the one thing in common between Pacquiao, Reyes, Bustamante, Salonga, and Licad? The answer, quite simply and quite mournfully, is: They either honed their talents abroad or they had mentors from abroad.
Bustamante is a case in point. When he was still living in Germany, he was at the top of his game. A friend of mine once took a cab in Berlin many years ago and when the cab driver learned she was a Filipino, he enthused, “Oh you are from Django’s country.” When she said she did not know Django, he was aghast. “How can you not know Django?” he protested. “He’s the best pool player in the world!”
That was then. Not long after Django came back and lived here, his game fell apart.
Lea Salonga was turned from a talented singer to a brilliant one by the producers of “Miss Saigon.” That was true as well of Cecile Licad, though that was arguably also due in no small part to the patronage of Imelda Marcos. Licad has since made New York her home, continuing to get rave reviews for her performances around the world.
And Pacquiao has Freddie Roach.
Roach, of course, is a singularly gifted coach and it’s arguable if any other trainer, American or not, could have turned Pacquiao from the raw talent he was to the lethal weapon he is now. But as an American, Roach has infused Pacquiao with the kind of discipline and work ethic Americans have, which has enabled him to leap out of his small pond straight into the world ocean. It is no surprise that Roach demands that Pacquiao readies himself abroad before he fights. He stays here, well, vice has not been known to improve readiness.
Does this mean that we need to go abroad or be taken under America’s wings to get ahead in life, if not indeed to unleash our capacity to do great things?
Not at all. Pacquiao’s monumental triumphs, in fact, merely reaffirm an old-age truth we ourselves have glimpsed in the form of the question: Why is it that Filipinos do exceedingly well when they go abroad? Or more to the point, because it holds the key to its answer: Why is it that Filipinos obey the rules, act like model citizens, and work their asses off when they’re abroad?
These are questions we’ve always answered with: Because of the system.
There’s nothing innately wrong with the Filipino. There is nothing in his genes that prevents him from accomplishing big things. There is nothing in his physical or mental endowments that obstructs his capacity to do great things.
But there is everything wrong with his system. It’s his system that robs him of his discipline, his direction, his drive. It’s his system that prevents him from envisioning grand things. It’s his system that stops him from accomplishing great things.
Elsewhere in the world, the system rewards the upright and punishes the wicked. Elsewhere in the world, the system praises the worthy and damns the rotten. Elsewhere in the world, the system applies the law to everyone, jailing bank robbers and Bernie Madoffs alike, jailing common criminals and uncommon criminals alike. Elsewhere in the world, the system allows merit to thrive and demerit to perish. Elsewhere in the world, the system pushes the promising to excel and the corrupt to rot away. Elsewhere in the world, the system provides the foundation or the support or the ground for talent to blossom into genius.
That is how Filipinos do great things when they’re abroad. The system allows them to.
In the end, we don’t really need to go abroad to be able to do grand things, we don’t really need American coaches to bag the gold in sports or in life. We need only to do one thing:
Change our system.
...
Change our system? Yes, of course. But how? That process could take even more years as we have probably have to wait for all these traditional politicians to die. Hay. Maybe we change ourselves first. Start from within. Crave for excellence and live by what is right and proper and just. Never perpetuate something that is wrong simply because it benefits you. Think. Think not only for yourself but for other people as well. :)
...
There's The Rub
Systems
By Conrado de Quiros
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:04:00 05/12/2009
I was one of those who shouted themselves hoarse the other weekend during the Pacquiao-Hatton fight. Not least at the interminable commercials, especially the campaign ads which left a bad taste in the mouth and truly invited shouting at the top of one’s voice. But for the most part, my vigorous display of emotion was of the effusive kind directed at Manny Pacquiao’s demolition of Ricky Hatton.
You can’t be a Filipino and not marvel at the marvel Pacquiao has become. I, too, was one of those who expected the fight to be a tough one, one that would go the full distance. How could anyone have thought the rock-solid Hatton would topple down like a tall tree felled by a sharp ax in just two rounds?
The fight left me thinking afterward: We Filipinos are not lacking in talent. We are blessed with it. And in the case of Pacquiao, abundantly so. But if so, if we are blessed with talent, and sometimes (or often) abundantly so, why are we cursed to live like this? Why are we cursed to live in misery, and more and more grindingly so?
We do not, in fact, lack for world-class talents. Pacquiao is not alone in that department. Before Pacquiao, there were Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, both of whom put us on the world map in billiards. Bata was idolized by a whole generation of billiard players, not least Americans, who picked up their cue completely literally from him. Django as well had an enviable reputation in Germany.
Before Pacquiao, there were Cecile Licad and Lea Salonga. As I’ve said in several columns in the past, I wasn’t at all surprised to see them taking the world by storm. I’ve always thought that if we were going to do it, it would be in music, this country being awesomely gifted there. It’s not enough to just be talented to get to the top of the heap musically in this country (talented musicians are a dime a dozen), you have to be nothing less than brilliant. You have to be nothing less than world-class. Licad and Salonga are.
And at that, the world hasn’t yet discovered the kundiman. Well, while at that, this country, or this generation at least, hasn’t yet discovered the kundiman. But that’s another story.
Now what’s the one thing in common between Pacquiao, Reyes, Bustamante, Salonga, and Licad? The answer, quite simply and quite mournfully, is: They either honed their talents abroad or they had mentors from abroad.
Bustamante is a case in point. When he was still living in Germany, he was at the top of his game. A friend of mine once took a cab in Berlin many years ago and when the cab driver learned she was a Filipino, he enthused, “Oh you are from Django’s country.” When she said she did not know Django, he was aghast. “How can you not know Django?” he protested. “He’s the best pool player in the world!”
That was then. Not long after Django came back and lived here, his game fell apart.
Lea Salonga was turned from a talented singer to a brilliant one by the producers of “Miss Saigon.” That was true as well of Cecile Licad, though that was arguably also due in no small part to the patronage of Imelda Marcos. Licad has since made New York her home, continuing to get rave reviews for her performances around the world.
And Pacquiao has Freddie Roach.
Roach, of course, is a singularly gifted coach and it’s arguable if any other trainer, American or not, could have turned Pacquiao from the raw talent he was to the lethal weapon he is now. But as an American, Roach has infused Pacquiao with the kind of discipline and work ethic Americans have, which has enabled him to leap out of his small pond straight into the world ocean. It is no surprise that Roach demands that Pacquiao readies himself abroad before he fights. He stays here, well, vice has not been known to improve readiness.
Does this mean that we need to go abroad or be taken under America’s wings to get ahead in life, if not indeed to unleash our capacity to do great things?
Not at all. Pacquiao’s monumental triumphs, in fact, merely reaffirm an old-age truth we ourselves have glimpsed in the form of the question: Why is it that Filipinos do exceedingly well when they go abroad? Or more to the point, because it holds the key to its answer: Why is it that Filipinos obey the rules, act like model citizens, and work their asses off when they’re abroad?
These are questions we’ve always answered with: Because of the system.
There’s nothing innately wrong with the Filipino. There is nothing in his genes that prevents him from accomplishing big things. There is nothing in his physical or mental endowments that obstructs his capacity to do great things.
But there is everything wrong with his system. It’s his system that robs him of his discipline, his direction, his drive. It’s his system that prevents him from envisioning grand things. It’s his system that stops him from accomplishing great things.
Elsewhere in the world, the system rewards the upright and punishes the wicked. Elsewhere in the world, the system praises the worthy and damns the rotten. Elsewhere in the world, the system applies the law to everyone, jailing bank robbers and Bernie Madoffs alike, jailing common criminals and uncommon criminals alike. Elsewhere in the world, the system allows merit to thrive and demerit to perish. Elsewhere in the world, the system pushes the promising to excel and the corrupt to rot away. Elsewhere in the world, the system provides the foundation or the support or the ground for talent to blossom into genius.
That is how Filipinos do great things when they’re abroad. The system allows them to.
In the end, we don’t really need to go abroad to be able to do grand things, we don’t really need American coaches to bag the gold in sports or in life. We need only to do one thing:
Change our system.
...
Change our system? Yes, of course. But how? That process could take even more years as we have probably have to wait for all these traditional politicians to die. Hay. Maybe we change ourselves first. Start from within. Crave for excellence and live by what is right and proper and just. Never perpetuate something that is wrong simply because it benefits you. Think. Think not only for yourself but for other people as well. :)
...
Comments