Editor’s Note
Inflection Point
(Note: Current exercises editorial independence from the Executive Board of UP Circuit. As such, any views, positions, or opinions expressed herein are of the publication, and may not necessarily reflect those of the organization nor of its members individually or as a whole.)
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”, or so the poem goes. One glimmers with safety and security — a path that is no stranger to those seeking assurance. The other, on the contrary, is host to a great many vegetation — a sight that would invite worry to the cautious. Seemingly opposite, such impressions would never serve as an absolute metric for the safer, better route out.
It is no secret that Robert Frost’s poem is well known, its subject matter being the subject of lengthy debate. The initial impression would be that it is simply about free will — one’s choice to choose. Another way of looking at it, however, would be as an assessment of one’s own biases of security — of how our judgement operates at a crossroads based on familiarity. An inflection point, if you will.
Make no mistake, our nation is at an inflection point of its own. As we continue to bear the brunt of the Coronavirus Pandemic, it would not be misplaced for a person to reflect on their situation and, relative to others, perform an assessment. It would not be misplaced to ask: How am I faring? How are we faring? How better or worse are we doing compared to our neighbor, our friend, or to the complete stranger?
In answering such questions, we have seen how the pandemic has spotlighted the abominable socioeconomic divide in this country — of laborers braving little to no commute and multitudes of small businesses shutting down due to mismanaged lockdowns, of ordinary Filipinos dying without ever knowing their COVID-19 test results, all while the powerful are blessed with shelters to work remotely in and VIP priority in getting test results. It would be a mistake, however, to view our current situation as a mere “aberration” of normalcy; What we are all seeing right now is an exacerbation — a gross exacerbation of the inherent cracks in our society. Make no mistake, this is our inflection point.
An aberration, however, would be the government’s brazenness in prancing around, acting as if the cracks do not exist. As we continue to grapple with the criminal negligence of the Duterte regime, most recently exhibited by the tragedies brought upon by Typhoons Quinta to Ulysses compounded by long-term negligence in environmental policy and short-term negligence in disaster response, it is important for us, as future engineers, to pause at an inflection point of our own. Perhaps many of us have only begun to realize the deep cracks in our nation — systemic poverty, a government lackey to imperial powers, a gruesome divide between the rich and poor — due to privilege, disinterest, or some other form of insulation. There is no shame in waking up this late, however; what matters is what you do once you wake up.
As more are beginning to realize the hideous cracks in our system, one might mistake to wish for a “return to normalcy”. What “normal” would we want to return to, though? Such a “normal” might smell of safety and familiarity to you, yet it did not work for many. Laborers brave impossible commutes, as if it was not already assured damnation due to the government’s lack of interest in developing public transport. The homeless are jailed for “violating” quarantine, as if the laws in this country did not already favor the rich. Some have died waiting for their COVID-19 test results, as if the ruling elite cared if their weight is already breaking the shoulders of the masses who keep their utopia afloat.
Once again, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”, or so the poem goes. Opposing as they may seem, such impressions would never serve as an apt metric for the safer, better route out. Yet again, would the “safer” route truly be the better route for all?
