By Modesto P. Sa-onoy
Every critical event in human history changes the lives of people. When Cain slew his brother Abel, he found two things – a tool and weapon. The stone became a weapon used for several millennia as it was used to build roads to open the world for people and houses for comfort.
Since then man has developed the tools into sophisticated weapons of mass destruction and the harnessing of chemicals and the invisible virus as a means to overcome obstacles to one’s obsession.
God created all things and said, they were good. But man distorted the good things, like a stone for evil purposes and tinkered with the virus in search of harnessing its potential to destroy.
Since the elusive Covid-19 created a pandemic and infected thousands of Filipinos and killed several dozens, our normal way of life was upset, turned upside down like the proverbial applecart and we scrambled to find new ways to live under a state of restrictions, like prisoners allowed to wander within the prison walls.
Worst hit were the senior citizens who had already ingrained a way of life mastered for years. Suddenly their normal way of coming and going was restricted. They were, the government and doctors said, the most vulnerable not because they are sick but simply because they are old.
Romulo Macalintal urged President Rodrigo Duterte to allow working senior citizens who are physically fit to leave their residences and work during the quarantine periods.
In his letter to Duterte dated April 30, Macalintal asked the President to reconsider the ban which he said should only be applied to those with health concerns “but not to elderly who are still physically able to perform their duties and functions on a given task.”
His plea was ignored as the elderly remained restricted while those who are just a year before being legally classified as seniors were cleared to resume work.
In calling for the reconsideration of the ban, Macalintal cited studies showing that “the most productive age in man’s life is 60-70” while “the second most productive is 70-80.” He cited that even some of Duterte’s Cabinet members are senior citizens and yet are “still in the best years of their government service.” And of course, the president as well.
His suggestion was ignored and like prisoners with an unknown length of incarceration seniors learned to adjust by changing the way they lived.
The 2019 pandemic is the beginning of a new era of human existence and as in ages past, we moved from the stone as a tool and weapon to live without physical contact with people. The handshake and the beso-beso and the kids kissing the hand or the cheeks of their parents and grandparents have become taboo, like a plague. The elbow to elbow greeting looked ridiculous and soon discontinued.
People do not hold hands when praying or just taking a stroll. The dead are buried right after they died – no wake, no funeral march, no masses, and no burial of the body, only the collection of their ashes.
Family celebrations as birthday and anniversaries are sent out into the internet in photographs of what guests would have partaken and enjoyed in a meal. The lechon is no longer an imperative and that makes the pigs happy.
Visiting a neighbor has become taboo and the chismosas in the barangay have lost their chance to spread the news as the cellphone has taken over, most often coming out ahead of the radio. The newspapers might soon become obsolete as the main source of news as information fly from one cellphone to another in seconds.
We have saved money from cutting off the cable connections as the monitor can show the information and programs right from the cellphones. The YouTube has more and better movies than the HBO and cable offerings and can be had at one’s pleasure. Netflix is still better but soon will be open to a larger number of people and might become as obsolete as the television stations.
As I wrote before our ways of doing business have changed but I foresee more changes as the new ones have their drawbacks like fear of giving out one’s address or credit cards.
Each day something new comes up as the pandemic appears to be coming in waves and we need to adjust some more.
