Indifference Is Far Deadlier Than Any COVID-19 Variant

I'm just amazed at how other countries are doing their vaccine drives better. What about the Philippines? It seems politicking is already more prevalent. This time, I'm not going to side with either which DDS or Dilawan - both sides have FAILED miserably because of the presidential system. Yet, the real problem even before that dichotomy is the attitudes of indifference and impunity. Yes, that's what I'm talking about. It's very easy to have a lot of irritating talk from one's fellow Filipino. This article is going to incite a lot of hate toward it. However, I do feel that I must write it, especially with the still ONGOING COVID-19 epidemic and the "-ber" months at hand. I hope this will be an eye-opener will really get a lot of people's butthurt asses on fire all the more.

Mapait? Lagyan mo ng asukal! 

Ever heard of the situation is bitter? Unfortunately, rather than lending a helping hand, it has become common to say, "Mapait? Lagyan mo ng asukal" as an answer to the situation. Some may say that it's just a joke. However, such an answer may tell you about the Filipino attitude of indifference is really there. People tend to treat the situation with great indifference by saying such things. Others may tell you to "relax" even if the situation is so dire already or something important needs to be done. Sure, relaxing is part of life but you can't afford to relax to the point of indifference.

It can't be denied that COVID-19 is really making the situation bitter. However, the whole attitude of many Filipinos can help worsen the spread of COVID-19. For example, it's pretty much in the story of The Masque of the Red Death. The king foolishly held a feast during the Red Plague to try and forget about it. The story ended with everyone dead as a result. It's pretty much like the question of whether or not you'd want to have a fiesta in the midst of a pandemic. It reminds me of that scene in the Heneral Luna movie where Tomas Mascardo decided to forget about the war to attend a town fiesta. You know how it ends - Mascardo suffered much loss.

Pretty much, there's the old song "A Spoonful of Sugar". The truth is pretty much there. Medicines taste bitter but you need to take them when you're sick. The situation of adding sugar to bitter medicine isn't going to help. In fact, TOO MUCH SUGAR is bad for your health. Yet, a lot of Filipinos still choose to ignore the warning and add more heaps of sugar. Maybe, it's time to change the song's lyrics to "A BUCKET of sugar."

One needs to look at the typical Filipino diet. Years ago, I wrote an article about Filipino addiction to sugar. A good example is that Pinoy-style spaghetti adds SUGAR to the tomato sauce rather than trying to do without. Maybe, you need to check out how Filipinos tend to add extra sugar in the milk tea when it'd be healthier to drink it with less or even NONE. Milk itself is already a sweetener so why add sugar? The next thing on their heads may be more and more sweets. I mean, think about how the Philippines is also a country known for its heavy consumption of soft drinks and too much sugar. In turn, that could cause diabetes as the pancreas will sooner or later fail to produce insulin 

Wala na tayong magagawa diyan!

I remembered how often it is very easy to have people who say that we can't do anything - that's the way it is. I remembered how often I complained about people's habitual tardiness, not paying what they owe, and EVERY KNOWN bad trait that's associated with being Filipino. Even worse, when one speaks about going against such attitudes - it becomes a common bad habit to use one's Filipino identity to enjoy one's blunder. It just reminds me of somebody telling me that if I like being on time then why don't I "go home" to China.

 

That kind of attitude, as history portrays it, is very devastating. One can think of the Philippines'near 300-year-rule under the Spanish Empire. The attitude of indifference was brought in by the love of fiestas which the Spanish used to distract Filipinos from the reality of their situation. The results were devastating - the indifference to Spain caused the abuses to happen. Today, some people don't even appreciate what Dr. Jose Rizal did. Some may even say that he should've just moved away to another country. Also, the same attitude of indifference also helped fuel the Marcos Years. Hardly, people spoke against not just the human rights abuses but also the rampant economic protectionism. 

Today, we are still SUFFERING from that. I'm not saying that whining is a solution. However, if problems are pointed out and NOBODY makes valid complaints then how can problems be solved? Unfortunately, it's still common to still say that we can't do anything about it. Can you imagine if Rizal just did that during his time? Can you imagine it if Ninoy Aquino decided not to do anything at all during the Marcos Years? Somehow, it's still debatable if Ninoy was a hero or not. What I don't want to deny is that Ninoy's speech in Los Angeleswas rather informative, especially about the Marcos Years being a SHAM PARLIAMENT. Ninoy revealed a lot against Marcos. Rizal wrote and wrote to awaken the Filipinos about their plight too.

Maybe a good example could be the OFW families. I believe some of them have already become so callous to the point that they no longer even care about being separated from their loved ones. Maybe, for some of them, they've ended up saying, "Mag OFW nalang ako. Wala na akong magagawa!" I guess they haven't seen the consequences of them being torn apart either. What's even worse is that ABiaS-CBN seems to love to romanticize OFW plights. Just think about the films Anak and Hello Love Goodbye. Last Christmas, we even had the OFW film Tagpuan which for me was boring. There was also the fictional Maalaala Mo Kaya episode which was based on Sarah Balabagan. Even more amazing is how ABias-CBN is still viewed by OFWs abroad. Are some of them now so callous to the fact that they're separated from their loved ones? 

You may also have other people during elections. They would also say that we can't do anything anymore - that's the kind of politicians we have. I'm amazed at the critics of the CoRRECT Movement. Its founder, Orion Perez Dumdum, is an OFW in Singapore. Some people are getting indifferent about the system. Elections na, diba? Let's vote! Then there's the call to "vote wisely". But seriously who is wisely? Kris Aquino? Well, sorry if I must mention Kris because it seems that Noynoy Aquino's death might propel her candidacy. However, even before DDS vs. Dilawan, we can see that indifference is still there. Joseph Estrada was voted as president even if he really lacked common sense. Later, the call for the KNOW NOTHING, the late Fernando Poe Jr. to run against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is much worse. At least Noynoy had his experience as a legislator. Even worse, how many people even dare to challenge the system that it needs a MASSIVE OVERHAUL?

The reality is that constitutional reform is already BADLY NEEDED. Yet, that attitude of indifference also contributes to it not happening. I'm amazed at how the initiative to push for constitutional reform hasn't happened even under the now-exiting Duterte Administration. People are probably still too comfortable in the defective system rather than exit their comfort zones. After all, the just love popularity-driven politics. It's more than time to end the vicious cycle. It's time to stop that attitude of of indifference.