The Parable of the White Russian

I was attending an event at a swanky hotel and I was bored. This was not my event.  I was a tagalong.  A plus one. After a while I decided to go to the bar and order a white russian. Where this desire came from I do not know but not having had one in quite some time I followed my heart. 

I sat down at the bar and placed my order. "I'd like a White Russian please."

"What's that?", the smiling bartender said to my disbelief.

"It's Khalua, vodka, and milk mixed together," I said pointing to each ingredient on the shelf as I listed them.

"Sorry, sir but we only have what is on the menu."

"But you have all the ingredients to make a White Russian. Just mix them up and make the drink."

"We can only serve what is on the menu," was the reply.

What kind of bartender will not make you the drink you request but only serve what it on the menu? That is ludicrous! Not to mention he had no idea what a White Russian is.

There was no point in arguing so I ordered a drink from the menu, a frozen mango margarita. I don't remember what the other drinks listed were but none of them were interesting. The mango margarita was delicious and I ordered one more but I was disappointed to not get a white Russian.

Months later at a different restaurant I placed the same order for a White Russian. It was not listed on their menu but a drink called a Bailey's shake was. I looked at their bar and saw all the proper ingredients for making a White Russian and I asked if the bartender could make one.

This picture is a little blurry but the Khalua and two kinds of vodka, Absolut and Stolichnaya, are clearly visible. The waiter returned and said sorry but they ran out of ingredients! That means this restaurant ran out of cream and milk? Really? So I ordered the Bailey's shake which is a shot of Bailey's with Tanduay.  What I got was totally unexpected.

Now I think these stories are very illustrative of the Philippines and Filipino society at large. Not many people here think outside of the box. They have all the ingredients to make anything they wish but they only make what is on the menu. It's only the same old over and over again. Nothing new. It's the same old corruption in politics. It's the same old manipulation in families. It's the same old societal failures with no one picking up the slack. It's the same old oligarchs running the show.

The bar is very much like the nation. It appears to be fully functioning and well stocked but the bartender does not even know how to make a simple drink. Much like the Philippines appears to be like a modern "democracy" with three branches of government but no one knows what the heck they are doing.

Perhaps what I have stated here is rather general. The Philippines is a large place yet the same things generally happen all over. I would like to think there is much room for improvement here but if no one is willing to improve anything then there is no room to improve. I am not sure anyone even knows how to improve.

In the meantime I just want a White Russian!