There are a number of human activities that are designed to be done by a group or with one. Basketball, running a family, forming a band, even life itself must be with someone else. I do not wish to get into the cliche of why life has to be teamwork, because that would mean saying that birds can fly and cats, well, think they're kings whenever you feed the.
Human activities require one to roleplay in a stage where everyone else has a role to play (redundant and unnecessary to use "roleplay" and the jumbled form of it in the same line).
Running is not one of those human activities.
It's a selfish act.
And again, not that it should.
Unlike other sports, running is about making every drop of the sweat worth it, no matter what it takes. This means, blocking all distractions, including other runners, when trying to get to a certain goal. It's a serious endeavor, and though it is the most natural form of sports, it does not take into consideration the other members of the competition. Even relay runs advocate its own selfishness. Though it might involve teamplayers, when a member has already relayed the responsibility to another, it negates the team aspect of it.
Running is about the runner. Running is running.
Put basketball into this perspective - the sport is about dribbling, shooting, defense, offense, hoops, and every imaginable ankle breaking endeavors. It was never meant to be about one thing. Other sports promote the same thing. Football is about, well, every concussion and whatever it is that athletes do with their God-given muscles. Table tennis is about top spin and all kinds of spinning unimaginable in the spinning world.
Running, on the other hand, advocates only itself. There are techniques and strategies, of course, but there is no other form of running. Because if it was another kind, it'll be exhibitionism, not running.
That's why it has a pressing urge to be selfish.
I keep saying it shouldn't, because I see a different scenario whenever I have to personally engage in a competition or even when going out for a leisure run just for the sake of it.
There's every bit of opportunity to excel in running. There is the last mile to think about, the last push to get you from point A to B, struggling or not. Every day is an inevitability to run because with only a pair of shoes, you can run like hell, or shit. Of course, there are the hydration belts, the dri-fit, the hydration pack, the energy gel, but these are only optional.
As a runner, you aim for a target. If you suddenly aim for self-serving ideas of running - the fame, the bragging rights, the far-fetched stories, the flatulence from the ego - it defeats the purpose of running. I see people deprived of the ability to buy new equipment and they are the ones who make the most of every mile, because they know for themselves they can always take satisfaction from the littlest things, those that can't be bought, those that come from the love of running. The love of running.
Running is a selfish act, but not that it should.
You run when everyone else isn't. You run alone. You run without excuses. You run not smiling, or too much of it. You run not because everyone else is.
That's where the selfish part comes to play, but all good runners know that it isn't absolutely necessary to act like a selfish prick.
As a runner, a fledgling at that, I wish to do it without the reward, without the spotlight, and definitely, without the perks that come people's praises. I will run because as a selfish person, I can be unselfish when running.
And personally, I have my brother-in-law to thank for it. And my family. And my dogs who are always excited to see me home after every run. Must be the sweat.
I just ran a half marathon, and I must say, people's crooked ideas of running ruin the sport that I learned to love, just like photography where getting a DSLR makes you professional. There's a slight difference with a DSLR as a bling-bling and a camera as a professional equipment.
And flatulence is different from enthusiasm. All the pun intended.
It's not going to stop me, though, to struggle to reach the last mile the next time, because regardless if people have already shifted to another self-serving activity, I'd still run.
Running is a selfish act. Not that it should.
There are two kinds of accidents - the controllable and the non-controllable.The government seems to have a high tolerance for the avoidable accidents, or funnily at that, an inclination for accidents that they feel obliged to resolve only when they happen.As a kid growing up with full of testosterone, I always felt the urge to always be outside, outdoors where all the risks of injury or sickness reside. There were some bruises, and some cuts, and because I had the testosterone, it did not stop me from getting more, not that I wanted to. But parents unselfishly wish to lock you indoors when your playmates are outside mixing sweat with dirt. They force you to stay inside and deprive you of your right to get injured, though there wasn't really any indication of it happening, or any premonition of it taking place. They just do what they have to do as parents. If it wasn't for that, I would probably be a 31-year old junkie now with half of my limbs and two of my wisdom teeth knocked off.
And then the bus accident.
I will agree - if it weren't for greed, people who died would still be alive now, probably. If it weren't for bus owners not filing registrations, we would probably move on with a boring cliche of what could have, of a near death. I know nothing about profits, but to have 200 buses running 24/7 gives you a ballpark number of how much they were making versus how much it takes to register a bus unit.
But like the Pinoy basura movies I used to watch when I didn't have any idea of what was a good movie, the government delivers the punchlines.
Everything about what the government does is predictable. Or stupid. Or elementary. Or childish. Or uneducated.
Easy. Comedic. Farce.
I find it really funny, but should LTFRB inspections be a regular thing? Shouldn't they be inspecting each company on every regular day when it is boring to do inspections and when public pressure isn't telling them what to do? Prevention is preparing for a disaster when there is none.
It gives the impression that the government is not exerting enough effort and money to do its job. The government is a childish government because it only knows when to stop when the limbs are gone and when blood is already dripping. Kids who get locked inside the house find their lives miserable, but on any given Sunday, I will trade an accident with miserable. By a heartbeat.
When the cat is away, the mouse will own a bus company.
The actions that we see are a bane of a cause.
The blame is not entirely on the government, but should the government feel it is competent enough to serve the people, it should take every blame, because that's what we paid them for, to do the dirty job on our behalf. No one wants to be a politician or a government employee because your private life becomes part of the public. But I am surprised to see that everyone seems wanting to take a government post. Like a fantasy.
Because it's an easy job. It does not have any scorecard.
No qualifications. No entrance exams. No background check.
When you are a product of your father's failed legacy, it gives you an exemption. You automatically win the hearts of the many. You advertise your last name rather than advocate your capabilities. When you are after the pay rather than the cause, it is a failure from the beginning, but no one notices. Erase - everyone notices, but old habits are the hardest to break. Pay a voter 500 pesos and old habits are your qualifications to being a politician.
This is where the problem commences.
It is difficult for a man to understanding something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.
The last one's quoted. But I am always reminded of this whenever I see people getting into government responsibilities without understanding the reason why they have to be there in the first place.
So how does this connect to the bus accident?
Just a while ago, LTFRB initiated a surprise inspection of another bus company in Manila and found out some buses had double plates as well. When Martilyo Gang strikes, ban hammers in malls. When people get trapped in coal mines, implement safety regulations. So when I will steal money from a bank with a banana, and not that I can and should, bananas are history? Funny way of looking at it, but it's one too many funny things about this government.
A bus accident is all you need to know about how competent your government is and how it addresses issues only when they happen.
