A pond too full

I just finished reading a story entitled “The Story of the Little Red Fish,” which is about a little red fish stuck in a small pond filled with all sorts of fish but dominated by a single Big Fish. It’s a story of how hard life can be when there are too many fishes occupying a very limited space and where, as time goes by, the bigger ones take up more room, eat more food, use up more water and are oblivious to others. One even thought it owned the pond.

The story’s plot and situation is so generic it can represent our roads, workplace, or even our homes. For me it reflects the world of motoring journalists and the automotive industry in the Philippines that has been described by many senior automotive executives as being so small they call it “a drop in the bucket.” In fact it is so small that the sales numbers don’t mean much and the volumes so small the demand can be addressed by a few boatloads of vehicles every quarter. However, for many of the “fish” we call motoring journalists, it is the world! So they make every effort to make it appear that the pond is so great, lot’s of fun and especially lots of perks and that’s why every year more and more fish jump into this tiny pond.

Yes, once upon a time it was all about fun. We had fun talking about cars, fun traveling on the road and horsing around, we had fun driving cars for fun, familiarization and mock races with mock race cars but full of genuine fun. It did not matter how old you were or what sort of fish history you have—we all belonged to the same school having fun. We had fun just talking about life with real people who just happen to be car company executives. Some sang together, some drank together, but always it was fun first. We took trips abroad as Pinoy journalists, we missed our families together, we helped each other during one calamity or two, and some even got into fights together. We cared for each other beyond just work. Once upon a time we were equals with one passion, egos in check, dignity in place, and some measure of professionalism up front.

But somewhere along the way “one-upmanship” started to pollute the pond. Some fish started talking statistics and technical data just to look and sound better or smarter. Some people started copying foreign ideas and notions and started believing that they were equal to foreign certified experts and bodies just by copying, talking and behaving like them without acquiring the proper credentials. Then they began to form exclusive groups, technical organizations, and judging organizations under the pretext of determining the best products in the market. Then the manufacturers themselves started squabbling with each other as well as aftermarket suppliers and organizations. Lo and behold, if a fish or a company was not happy or did not get what they wanted, they would put up their own group or event.

The saddest days in the history of the pond finally came when selfishness set in, when manufacturers started to form unholy or unprofessional alliances with preferred motoring journalists, when media executives started to favor pets with perks or foreign trips, when some would actually horde the juicy trips and give away assignments to the hell holes of Asia, when the fish started to bite other fish and when what was suppose to be about having fun with cars and people ended up being petty immature squabbles and sniping at the un-named. Now I hear about gender preferences, thoughts of lawsuits versus each other and the increasing animosity against each other.

Having swam in the same pond, I have met many of the fish if not almost all the fish swimming in it and although there were some who clearly lacked some measure of maturity, I never met anyone so bad or unreasonable. But that was then. For several months now some motoring journalists and industry executives have asked why I’ve not been attending events; well, I have politely stayed away from motoring events because for one, I felt it would be unfair to be wined and dined by gracious hosts not knowing when I could write about their product or event since the queue for writing is so long due to an overpopulated pond of motoring journalists. My only recourse is to write about them in another pond where I write a column for people less interested in statistics and requiring more useful and practical information for consumers.

As you may have guessed, the Little Red Fish eventually saw other ponds and with much sadness decided to take the leap of faith and found a bigger pond with an assortment of other fish all preoccupied with their own lives and having no need to bother the Little Red Fish. 

Personally I feel sad knowing that the motoring beat is full of decent self-respecting people IF they individually choose to be. I feel sad to say that the automotive industry is full of real professionals who can conduct business, share the pond magnanimously, IF they choose to do so. For a while I witnessed and experienced the rising professionalism and coming of age of the industry and the beat. But what ruined it for us is our collective failure to be accountable for our actions and to hold our own people accountable for their attitude and the way they conduct business AND to mind our own business and not snipe at other people’s work or views. Whether it’s about words uttered, criticisms made, perks or gifts used or given to gain an improper or untruthful advantage, or using the term “competition” to justify impolite or improper behavior, we all need to stop and think and ask ourselves in God’s honest truth: Is it still about serving the public needs or our selfish greed and pride? We are not fictional fishes in a small pond. We are supposed to be motoring journalists, business executives, friends—but are we? As this Fish leaves the pond, let me share something that I know all of you aspire for it is from Philippians 4:8:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”     

And talk and write about such things.  SPLASH!!!!