It feels like a lifetime ago when some of us we were looking forward to the day when the calendar would change in the hope that 2021 would be better than 2020.
Now that most of 2021 has passed and we have entered the “ber” months, the change that we optimistically hoped for has not yet come. The unstoppable Jose Mari Chan has made his expected comeback already as another quarantine Christmas season looms, but this time around there seems to be much less of the silly optimism that we felt last year.
Faced with the reality of our government’s inability to deal with the regular COVID variant made exponentially worse by the increased transmissibility of its Delta variant, nobody is looking forward to any magic to come from the year turning into 2022 anymore. We know by now that such silly hopes will only lead to disappointment.
The only reason left to feel hope as far as 2022 is concerned is the possibility that the results of the coming general elections can change the course of our poor nation that seems to have been floating rudderless and captainless through stormy seas for what must feel like a lifetime for the eternally seasick and nauseous passengers of the poor MV Pilipinas.
It will be a tall order for whoever takes over after our great leader but after 6 years of his brand of small town leadership whose effects were made worse by 2 years of a global pandemic, it is high time for a change in leadership and direction for this country that had once upon a time been touted as a rising Tiger in the region.
Christmas is coming and for those of us who have kids or have wards who act like kids, it is going to be a challenge to make this year’s holiday season bright. This will be the second straight year that there will be no gatherings. For the millions severely affected by an extremely sluggish economy, Christmas presents will be like contact tracing: figments of the imagination. The religious will still not be able to go to church.
Even those in the middle class who have managed to survive this pandemic without losing too much of their primary sources of income will have to remember to set aside more funds for medical emergencies before splurging on holiday decors and presents. We cannot afford to forget we live in a world where herd immunity remains a pipe dream, children cannot be vaccinated, and booster shots unavailable. There is also no mass testing effort, no contact tracing, and a slow pace of vaccination. The only thing we are doing differently is the magical (meaning not scientifically proven) face shields that have made opportunistic companies like the crony-run Pharmally rich beyond their wildest dreams.
As we distract ourselves with Christmas playlists, we have to remember that our country remains neck deep in a raging pandemic and it only takes one severe medical emergency for a typical Filipino family to slip into poverty and despair. Christmas can suck again, and it probably will but what is important is our families are safe and alive until we get through this ordeal.
It is but natural to be optimistic and cheerful when the holidays and the New Year approach. That is probably why we Filipinos love this season so much that we start it as early as possible and end it as late as we can. We love to smile. We laugh and crack jokes at the face of adversity. We are famously resilient. We can even tolerate all forms of plunder and corruption. The economy loves the Christmas holidays because those 4-months are the perfect excuse for Filipinos to forget our problems, get together, enjoy life and splurge.
As we approach this most wonderful time of the year, let us try our best to be optimistic but at the same time realistic. We can still enjoy the holidays the best we can considering our limited resources and freedoms but as we find creative ways to celebrate the holidays we should really take the time to stop and think about the reasons why the past 2 Christmases sucked so terribly because this is one of the few Christmas seasons where we have been gifted with the awesome power of changing the course of our future if we make the right decisions for 2022.
We can use these final months of 2021 to delude ourselves that Santa will come and make us happy for a fleeting moment on December 25 or we can decide to do what has to be done to make our happiness possible once more. If we use the power we have been given by our Constitution to work our asses of like the elves of yore, there is hope for a shot a happiness on June 30 2022. It doesn’t matter who or what you believe in, what matters is you decide to do the work, for your loved ones sake and for the future of you kids, and not count a jolly old guy to save the day.
Let’s make the Christmas of 2021 matter. It may suck like last year, but if we do what we can for our beliefs and our countrymen, we may have a shot a better Christmases in the coming years.*
