Cara y Cruz literally means head or tail. Though the name is of Spanish origin, this 'game' is very much played around Philippine streets and we have owned it as a local past time (for some).
The mechanics are pretty simple: you just pick a side and once the coin is flipped, if the face of the coin you chose appears, then you win. It's a bet, so your victory will depend upon chance or perhaps a good sense of calculating probability. Strange how you can compare things such as cara y cruz in the lives of Filipino people: a gamble.
Leave it all to chance. Leave our destiny to the "power greater than us". Everything's a gamble.
Our visions are blurred by the images of a corrupt government, a rotting system, contemptuous people, poverty and whole package of problems. That vision is so blurred, we fail to see two sides of our coins. For the poor, in the face of desperation, leave it to the heavens to send food to get by for the next 24 hours. For the college student, leave it to chance and opportunities to find a good job, or even a job for that matter. They say life's about taking risks, right? Why not go the extra mile and let chance do its job?
Problem is, we have mastered the art of looking before leaping.
Risks come with a price and should not always be based upon impulse. No matter how tough our current situation is, our present decisions will always have repercussions on our future. We are given the gift of discernment and the freedom to have options but the lives of the Filipinos seem to be tangled in a gambling game. Our choices define who we are and how it will affect the community. We fail to understand that there are consequences to each decision we make. Even worse, if our bet turns out to be a losing one, we blame others for what our devastation. We lack this accountability in assuming our wrong and accepting that the final call was ours to make.
Toss that coin. Remember there are two sides. The choices we make always come with a price. How much are you willing to bet for yours?
