WHEN I was young, I used to play with my cousins. We would get all the old clothes of our parents and dressed up like cowboys and Indians. We used the headboards as our horses. One of my cousins would always stick out his improvised bow and arrow and would tell me “money or life?” My answer would always be “or” and he would say, “I will take your money then your life.” We would end our little make-believe game with being friends at the end.
Today, we are faced with a great dilemma whether to continue with the restrictions to stop the spread of the dreaded Covid-19 virus or to lift the restrictions and declare a “new normal” for economic reasons. We are now being conditioned that the transmission is somehow contained and the cases are low, especially in the province and in the city. Soon, businesses will again start booming. But the authorities warn that while we convert to the “new normal,” health protocols would essentially be part of that norm.
We are also made to believe that the vaccine will soon be on our shores and we could surely beat Covid-19. We praise and thank God for giving us people to study and stop the transmission of the virus. We now fervently pray that the vaccine will be shared with all mankind. However, today, we become hesitant and reluctant about this vaccine because of the many news and opinions that come out about its efficacy. I wish that we could be like the other countries that have already started their vaccination programs. We need to put off all politics and shadows of corruption in the whole process of mass vaccination. Only if this administration has the political will and believes in the efficacy of the vaccines, will we not have to worry about anything. But with all the hullaballoos, doubt will always linger.
Now, we are faced with the question, “money or life?” Could we answer this question fairly and squarely? If we choose money, then forget all about the health issues and let us all live the same way as before. We can only get back what we have lost economically and financially if we go back to our old materialistic and secular ways. Profit and money are the end of it all at the compromise of life. This was where we were leading before the pandemic came in. I am quite disappointed because it seems that we did not learn lessons from other countries. We seem to like the experience of a second tranche of the virus. I am also confused with what we are doing and saying- they are either contrary or contradictory. We seem to say something but do otherwise. Is this the character of the new normal or is this the aftereffect of Covid-19?
If we choose life over money, then we need to be very cautious of everything. The government should be sincere in saving us. The government should have the political will not to make us guinea pigs or laboratory rats to benefit the capitalists in this business we call pandemic. The vaccine is here as a gift from God, let us share it. Let us set aside politics and elections.
So, money or life?