Pre-test

Some battles are lost before they are even fought. Athletes competing at the Winter Olympics undergo strict testing process for the crowned virus inside the Olympic bubble. At least 32 were isolated after testing positive. But the asymptomatic may be allowed to compete once cleared by a medical expert panel. It is still unknown though how many of them were cleared in time for their scheduled event.

The disappointment of those who may not have made it is beyond measure. These are athletes who labored in obscurity for that opportunity that passes once in four years. But they cannot wait for a lifetime. Age factors. That a few middle-aged men and women in all of sports defied time is the exception rather than the rule. No midlife crisis, a few just rise at midlife.

But the corona virus infected everything, including athletic landscape. Those with the misfortune of being crowned with the virus lose the chance to seize the crown of immortality in sports. Nowhere is this more heartbreaking than in the most recent bar examinations in the country. At least 219 out of 11,378 candidates who failed the mandatory test for the crowned virus were prevented from taking the first ever regionalized and digitized licensure examinations for aspiring lawyers.

The road to the best bar ever was the hardest ever. The unpredictable crowned virus incidence postponed it several times over, stunting their momentum and disturbing their equilibrium, especially examinees who had to leave work momentarily and who could no longer avail of the privilege.

Those who hurdled the bar before attest that years of preparation, sleepless nights, anxiety, and yes, embarrassment, are all worth it. Priceless is the pride it brings to their parents. But the 219 examinees have to wait another year to settle the unsettling unfinished business. Prolonged agony, all because they failed that one test before the actual test. Both make or break. But for them it’s all heartbreak. Not because somebody cheated on them, but because the dreaded happened. Why me, sure they must have asked the heavens above. There is no definitive answer. But one thing is certain, there is another chance.

This is another reminder that good health is one of the unwritten rules to qualify for any life endeavor. Be it sports or academics. Or politics where it is often overlooked. This does not refer to persons with disability but those with inability to perform official duty. Mental fitness too. For, in order to democratize opportunities to public service, the constitution does not require any mental, physical or psychological tests for those who seek public office. Let the people discern and decide. That is what democracy is all about. Correct, if it had a mature and critical electorate.

Speaking of which, voters for the upcoming elections need not pass a requisite health clearance. Those with warmer than usual body temperature may still vote. At an isolation polling place prepared for them. Vaccination cards are not required. But wisdom is, and should be. Do many have any? Six years after it will be answered by future history. Or reality.