A look back on 2020

During post-fight interviews, we get to see and hear the reactions of both combatants
following a grueling, bloody, no-holds-barred brawl. Whether the victor be decided through
K.O. or the judge’s scorecards, you will notice a predilection for remarks, quotes even, that
these professionals will commonly respond with. This adage in particular, I often hear from the
subsequent loser of the bout: “You gotta roll with the punches and take the good with the bad.”
A euphemism intended to salvage the leftover bits and pieces of a fighter’s pride.

Rolling with the punches and taking the good with the bad is a circumstance we ordinary
citizens also resign ourselves to in our daily lives. The rote plans we make for ourselves, the
perfunctory manner in which we handle our problems, even in the droning quality of our
utterances and elocution – we humans live and breathe by routine. In it however, there is
comfort. Something to always look forward to, which gives us a fleeting, yet palpably
reinvigorating, sense of purpose. There is also routine in the fashion with which the good
emerges from the bad, and so we constantly reassure ourselves of the fact.

Looking back on 2020, I have to say that this has been a year where we have exclusively
rolled with the punches – taking all the bad without any indication of the approaching good.
Let’s quickly scan over some of the most significant events of this year before its imminent end:
the coronavirus pandemic; Typhoon Ulysses and Super Typhoon Rolly; corruption in the DOH;
the brutal, deplorable incidents of police brutality and excess that led to the deaths of George
Floyd, Sonya Gregorio, and Frank Gregorio; and even now, the DPWH is being investigated for
more corruption. 2020 has been a memorable year in the worst way possible, and as much as
we’d like to forget the mess that was this year, can we really forget the trauma and
disappointment imprinted in the minds of all but none?

This once-in-a-generation crucible has uprooted and displaced the monolith of society
from its familiar course, creating dire implications for most of the populace, especially the
indigent and marginalized. As the nation continues to fend off the threat of long-lasting
economic impairment, a precipitously growing amount of people struggle to look for new
means by which to sustain themselves and their families despite the ongoing pandemic; all this
while some powerful and influential purveyors of inequity lavish in their willful ignorance of
reality. The pandemic has revealed, and even exacerbated, the flaws, holes, and shortcomings
of the current system and status quo.

As we venture into a new foray following the anxiously anticipated end of 2020, there
has been some good news that shows our prospects bright. Pfizer, along with German
biotechnology company BioNTech SE, has completed the development of a vaccine with a
proven efficacy rate of 95%; and so, if there is anything to feel hopeful about, it’s that this virus
is not entirely unflappable. As long as the procurement and distribution of these vaccines are
not stymied or inhibited, then I say hope can continue to persist in our hearts.

Verily, though it may be a shot in the dark, I would rather trust and not stress, that one
day, after all of this suffering and misery has subsided, we can once again step out into the
open with our families and loved ones, without worry or fear for what is to come, because in
life, despite having to constantly roll with the punches, there is only the hope that the good will
eventually come our way. And maybe, even after this long period suppressed in the dark, we
will be met with an even greater good that sheds light on all of mankind.