Courage not bravado

Today the nation commemorates the 158th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio. In the light of the pandemic, I recall the words of Vice President Leni Robredo a year ago today, Bonifacio Day. She said Bonifacio showed by his example “not the cosmetic courage of bluster, or power, or brute strength, but the courage of compassion.” “This courage is not a pretense,” according to VP Leni, “this is the kind of courage that will not be cowed no matter how difficult life gets.”

We’re evoking the courage of Bonifacio as we continue to face the challenges of the pandemic. Recently, a new COVID-19 variant of concern named Omicron has caught the world’s attention. Much is still not known about Omicron but it’s good that many countries are vigorously taking precautions in their borders.

Omicron was identified days ago by researchers in South Africa. All over the world, scientists are now working overtime to determine if Omicron is more transmissible, more likely to cause serious illness, and able to escape vaccine-induced immunity. Experts say the variant is likely to have evolved during a chronic infection of an unvaccinated or an immuno-suppressed person.

On January 25, 2020 when I first wrote about COVID-19, (then called 2019-nCov and over a month before the WHO declared its outbreak a pandemic) there were those who grumbled that I was being an alarmist. Back then, I merely echoed what medical experts said about the threat as they called for vigilance. But I also remember advocating for wearing of a mask in public, although some in the medical field at that time said it was still premature, raising concerns about the lack of supply.

Today allow me to share with you my hope about the coming days. This is not pretentious courage amid the renewed uncertainty brought by the Omicron variant. It’s about the power that we have against the virus.

I think we have already seen the worst of this pandemic. My optimism stems from three things. One is that we have already become used to wearing a mask in public, and we should make that a habit. Two, vaccine manufacturers have said they can tweak their vaccines to respond to emerging variants. Three, anti-viral pills being made by pharmaceutical companies are improving by the minute. And, if I may add, in well-vaccinated areas of the world, life will be so much better.

Though it will take more time for us to go back to pre-pandemic normal --and that’s when the virus, although still existing, no longer poses a threat-- facing life with courage and hope is a matter of mindset. And for me that means recalibrating our expectations of how we live our life today.

We’ve already been warned that many of the root causes of climate change also increase the risk of pandemics. In fact, as bad as this pandemic is, the looming effects of climate change could be worse. When you come to think of it, it’s now really payback time for humanity from what mindless industrial age consumption has done to this planet for over a hundred years.

Around us, we hear bravado talk about opening the economy and revving it up again. That’s good if the whole point is to save lives and livelihood. But I hear something else, and it’s not “let’s restore Mother Nature to continue to give us what we need now and in the future; or let’s do sustainable tourism.” Instead, I hear “let’s reclaim our unsustainable way of life pre-pandemic; let’s consume what this Earth can offer like there’s no tomorrow.”

Current realities should prod us to tread carefully.