IT’S THAT TIME of year again when we jot down promises meant to be kept.
I will still wear a mask even if I already had a booster shot. Until when? Until my supply lasts or the law continues to require it, whichever comes later.
There’s no need to make nasty remarks on overweight people after the easing of the lockdown. They probably have an exercise program and food portion control plan in the works. The last words that will escape my lips are — why don’t you lose weight? I will refrain from announcing the number of pounds I lost when I did the Atkins diet (now much criticized as nutritionally unsound) 15 years ago (37, just for the curious). It mostly came back with a vengeance.
Every office has unpleasant people, including customers (they are not always right). I will keep in mind that those I despise have bosses who promoted them and thought them worthy. There must be some nobility in these despicable lowlifes who use eyebrow movements as Morse code for — not a good job, try harder.
Envy is a deadly sin to which I will no longer succumb. If good fortune is the lot of people I despise, I wish them well. A sense of self-worth comes from within, along with art works I have accumulated… and sold at a profit. I may check how others in my age group are doing (in retirement). My happiness does not depend on how they are faring. Some still have halitosis, anyway.
Love it or hate it, this is still my country. I will not allow others, including fellow countrymen visiting for the holidays, after being quarantined, to criticize the long isolation protocol. We may not have the best performing economy. And its credit rating may have been downgraded, but, hey… the place is still plodding along, even after a devastating typhoon.
I will endeavor to present the country’s good side to anyone who will listen. I will make a list of nice tourist spots and restaurants when conversation drifts into — what I hate about this country. I will stay sober so I don’t forget my list.
It’s fine to accept that some countries (even a lot of them) are further ahead in terms of inclusion and economic progress. Still, the motherland beckons to be defended, including its fishing grounds.
Defending the reputation of the country is a challenge to all citizens — what am I willing to do to make this country great again. Wait, that slogan sounds too familiar. Better to contextualize it beside John Kennedy’s inaugural address — “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask rather what you can do for your country.”
There will be expected gripes about the homeless and Christmas greeters at stop lights, the persistence of cell phone thefts, corruption of the political system (here I can nod in agreement) and the long line of cars at the toll booth when e-passes cannot be properly read.
I will avoid political debates and the integrity of surveys that show a client leading by a wide margin. I will not even question the methodology, the small sample size, and the non-random approach in the selection of respondents. So what if my Viber group is called an echo chamber? I like talking to people I agree with. Pink is a nice color even for men.
Politics will be Topic A for the coming five months, including after the counting and the declaration of a winner. I understand that personalities trump issues and anyway all the candidates seem to be for motherhood statements on economic progress and the alleviation of poverty.
Is history still relevant? George Santayana, the American philosopher, famously said, “Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.” Revising history and turning an infamous time into the golden age of the economy can turn Santayana’s axiom on its head.
2022 is a new year which ushers a lot of hope. The end of the pandemic, and its attenuating effects on social life and the economy, is to be wished for.
I will try to be an optimist and look at the bright side. I still believe that self-delusion is the key to happiness. I will stick to these resolutions until February… and revise them accordingly as needed.
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
ar.samson@yahoo.com
