Manny Pacquiao is as Important as Solving Traffic Problems

The Filipino people and the country were talking and celebrating about the victory of Manny Pacquiao last Sunday as if we have progressed as a nation centered on a hero named Pacquiao. They viewed him as the biggest hope the nation has amidst challenges and adversities the country is facing. In an excerpt of a write-up from our local paper, Inq7: In the United States a Pacquiao fight is always expected to draw Filipinos to common houses, where they can watch in comfort and exchange commentaries. His ring appearances bring them together in a way that weddings and birthday parties do, just like back home. (The kitchen smelled of kalderetang kambing and pansit; vodka and beer were being served on the side.)

The following day I left home at 6:40 in the morning instead of the usual 6:15 time, and as a result I wasn’t able to avoid the traffic at Nichols which took me 1 hour and 30 minutes to cross the 1 kilometer intersection. That has been the story for the last 20 years and I still don’t see any improvements on that front. I arrived at the office at 9:15, 2 1/2 hours of travel for a 17 kilometer distance.
Talk about progress. Manny Pacquiao defending the World Boxing Council (WBC) international super featherweight title against Erik Morales in front of a near-record crowd of 18,276 at the Thomas and Mack Arena Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) is definitely something the nation has to celebrate but should not be as big as how we are treating him right now.
It takes so much to become a world champion but even a simple task of solving traffic problems is a feat worthy to be taken seriously. Often, people look at the biggest and most celebrated things in life while failing to realize the importance and magnitude of the small and tiny things lingering around us.
[tags]Business[/tags]