Reflections during this Lockdown

Reflections during this Lockdown

By Rick Olivares

When this lockdown, this pandemic is all done, I know it will change the way we live. It will change our world forever. Now, hopefully, for the better.

We have seen how much of the world is not prepared to handle a pandemic like this. Even China, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Japan, that have been previously hit by certain viruses have still been knocked for a loop. 

Does this change the way we look at healthcare and public health? Does this teach the Filipino patience as well as the unknown art of queueing? Does this make us take a long hard look at how we earn and save money and what we buy in the future? Does this change our rules about travel? When I was a youngster, I recall that you have to take certain shots before you went abroad. Furthermore, will the manner of how our food is handled and eaten (especially in China) change? 

The last time I felt like our world has been rocked and tilted off its axis was 9-11 and I was living in New York back then. To date, the horrific terrorist attack on the United States has had an effect on our world from how we take to air travel, how we view Muslims, how we handle our security, and how geopolitics is played to name a few.

To be honest… this pandemic – we are sailing into unchartered waters. Some say the Philippine economy was doing well; others, not. Some say that how we are dealing with pandemic is bad; others say it is better than other countries. Whatever the answer to both, I think it is immaterial. We are in the middle of the great unknown and sailing into a sea of uncertainty with guarded optimism while expecting the worst.

In the last several years, I would joke at home about stocking up in the event of a zombie apocalypse. No doubt, the result of an imagination gone wild after watching one too many episodes of The Walking Dead and films such as 28 Days Later and Z Nation.

My late grandfather – whenever someone would open, say, a can of corn beef -- would go out and buy two. He never allowed their stocks of food and canned goods to be depleted. Saving for a rainy and difficult day, he once told me. I thought it was hilarious and a tad ridiculous. And yet, decades later, I find myself during this time of lockdown – not to mention this bizarre fear of a zombie apocalypse – constantly replacing our stock.

I figure the lockdown will be extended for another two weeks. I think our economy can still take that hit, but for how long? If it extends even further, there will be bigger damage. I can only surmise what the effect on employment will be. I myself am scared I could lose my job. What more the graduates of a shortened school year? What can they look forward to with an economy that has taken a battering? 

We have seen a capacity to help on a large scale. And I think it is good. But is there a scarcity of food? Feeding the poor is one thing, but are there enough people going to work to produce food and even raise and grow them? The balance has been upset after all. I have seen reports about importing rice as a back-up. It is well and good, but that sends signs that we are reaching a certain threshold of tolerance. 

It’s funny how I ruminate while lying down in bed – with a hearty laugh I must add – that the biggest winners of the lockdown are not only the front liners who will be replaced by many a younger generation who will see the profession as something more than noble – but also Netflix, YouTube, Zoom, cable television, Facebook and social media. Humor during a dark time. It is a coping mechanism.

In reality, this sends a signal to the human race. Not since World War II has the entire world been affected by an event of this magnitude. Yes, the Cold War reshaped the map of the world as it was divided by the superpowers. But in this pandemic, the nuclear weapons and military strength hasn’t protected the populace. 

There is this famous quote by Mohandas K. Ghandi that I have kept close to my heart since I first came upon it as a youngster, “There is sufficiency in the world for man’s need; not man’s greed.”

And it’s so true at this point in time. Even in the midst of this pandemic, some folks still have nefarious intentions. 

There is one thing I have learned is to always look at things from another perspective. And while we see positives amidst the chaos and inefficiency, one can still see the goodness in man. Now, let’s hope that the learnings stay with us and continue. Or else, we will be doomed to repeat them because you know these pandemics come in cycles.