push from the peak of pride

i never thought the peak of everest could only contain a person.
the coveted spot of the “firsts” in everest lately created seismic waves of controversies that could further result in an avalanche of pride, prestige and fame.

indeed it was pride and self-fulfillment that pushed the filipino trekkers up to the pinnacle of everest, but it also appears as if pride will be a force to push them down.

first was garduce, then the other day oracion was first. then you saw huge network sponsors (abscbn2 and gma7) both claiming that their bet officially made it first on top of the mountain.
all camps claimed they have all the necessary documents and proof for authentication that this and that person was the first filipino to set foot on everest’s peak.

honestly, i got confused about the fuss and got myself contented with the thought that at least filipinos have another achievement to be proud of.
but my sudden peace of thought was stolen by the disturbing voices of myke enriquez, karen davila and mel tiangco, doing commentaries as to whoever was leading the trek.

the media hype made matters even worse and confusing.

on the past days, authorities have already announced the official “first” filipino with a philippine flag who have reached the peak of everest as mr garduce.

yesterday, the team of leo oracion and erwin “pastor” emata arrived in manila where they were both given hero’s recognition. also, on that day, the cheers and congratulations were silenced for a while by the press release of another filipino who claimed that he first conquered everest before the others.

the other guy was dale abenojar, who claimed he climbed 8,844.43 metro or 29,7000 feet last may 15, 2 days before oracion of the 1st philippine mt. everest expedition (fpmee) team reached the summit last may 17.

of course,heads were turned and eyebrows were raised of those who thought the claim for fame was finally over.

after the nearly ignited dispute over the hikers’ camps, here comes another person who clamored for recognition, making things more confusing-again.

and i thought, why do these people make things complicated for them (and for me) ?
if we were to look at the situation closely, the main objective of the climb was for the philippines to prove something for the world. delving deeper on the microcosmic level, we can say that one of the primary objectives of the climb was to have a sense of shared nationalistic pride; but the seemingly selfish thought of the pride of being the “first” overpowered this shared idea of nationalistic pride.

i bet the mountain peak was not at all that narrow for only one person.
why not celebrate the achievement as a whole and not create noises and issues as to who was the official “first”?

i wonder if the mist at the top of everest has a cloudy effect on the ego of those reached it.

it appears as if instead of pushing each other up, we are pushing each other down for a certain spot in the world.

later, if we were to continue with this, we might end up buried under the avalanche of our pride.

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for more information about mr abenojar, just click on the link below:
philippine star article
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photo courtesy of philippinestar.com
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digress:
playing prince and escort for the fourth time can be really tiring.
the catholic church must do something to make the
annual santacruzan less tiring and more interesting.
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