A REALLY funny thing about us people. It may be safe to assume that on anyone’s list of pet peeves, being told what to do would surely be the one resting easy on top. Imagine the mental image of a child caught with its hand in the cookie jar, this would seem to be what best describes us during this particular time in our still-evolving-never-ending pandemic story.
On one hand, common folk might insist that this trait of abhorrence to any form of critique can be found among anyone more accomplished and probably already those in the upper rungs of the social ladder, or those who have attained a certain degree of education. They say that for these people, being told what to do, in any manner, will often be misconstrued as a criticism or reprimand.
In the same breath, this accusation will likewise go back to them, bouncing off from their intended target, so that the whole affair will often look like a game where the ball gets tossed back and forth between two opposing sides of the tennis court. Therein lies the funny bit, Dr. Watson, it never ends.
One wonders, could this perhaps be a whiplash or a form of subconscious rebellion against the memory of our childhood times in school when, on a day-to-day basis, we were told what and what not to do?
In the long run, it doesn’t matter because by that time, after a continuous row of flinging from both sides (or any side), when the dust settles, it will have all boiled down to either a vocal articulation or much worse, an unspoken “I-told-you-so.”
And there we go. Throughout the history of this pandemic, we have constantly been reminded to adhere to a simple set of guidelines, lesser even in number than the ten commandments. All intended to starve the coronavirus of a willing host so that it would naturally die.
Unfortunately however, willing hosts have sprung forth from all directions so that Covid-19 and its many variants are thus guaranteed of unlimited supply. These are the non-believers, conspiracy theorists, religious fanatics, politically-driven what-nots as well as other hybrids. As these cut across all social boundaries, professions, organizations and associations, the analogy involving the tennis court might as well now extend to the whole sports complex, which could play the part of the world.
In conclusion, let it be said that while people, up to varying degrees, choose to listen or believe what is relayed to them, the bottom line still in any option should be doing it for the common good, and not only for one’s own. Especially in this tragic situation brought about by the pandemic, opting for the good of all should be the fine print in any decision.
However, the term ‘for the common good’ may also be mistranslated as only referring to a particular tribe or color. In that case, this form dissociation favoring only a few will only hold true if they will all be that remains of the human race.
