The COVID pandemic will not end any time soon. Time to learn a bit of mental toughness!

The 21-45 demographic is 40M strong. These are the millennials who will be our future leaders and captains of industry. But with all their whining and ranting on social media, the future looks bleak. We’re seeing a breakdown in education, not only in the public school system but also in private educational institutions. Credentialism has taken over natural abilities so it is more important now to have post-graduate degrees appended to your surname, rather than what you have actually achieved and the experience you went through in the process. If you stand out in the crowd of applicants, you’re perceived as a threat and cut down. If your values and character don’t align with the powers that be, you’re ostracized and consigned to oblivion.

Mediocrity, in effect, has become the norm. Just look at this article “What if COVID-19 never ends?” written by a certain Iris Gonzales published on PhilSTAR. She laments how “it seems like we’re all inside a real life video game, winning at times, only to see the virus outwit us once again. This war has become so complicated for humanity to fully grasp and understand.” It is all about selfish interest and not a realistic assessment of the pandemic at present. When the pandemic began, even scientists did not know much about Covid. Money was thrown at the problem and the vaccines were developed on the back of the results of studies on the virus across the globe. Genetic code was altered to trigger an immune response. RNA vaccines such as Moderna and Pfizer, use this technology. Sinovac employs traditional vaccine formulation by using an inactive Covid virus samples to trigger an immune response. Think of your immune system as a computer. The virus is introduced and its definition is recorded. If you become infected, your immune system remembers how to react against it.

In the Western hemisphere, flu shots are mandatory at the start of the cold season. The influenza virus mutates very fast. This is why a new vaccine is developed annually. The flu pandemic also killed millions in the past. It still does. Anywhere between 60,000 – 100,000 per year. Millennials are fond of discussing existential crises; theirs. Each turning point in their lives brings about one, it seems. For example, if hitting 30 wasn’t a big deal to boomers such as myself, it’s an “existential crisis” for these weaklings. I did not want to believe how screwed up this generation was based on what my friends who work with them related to me. But I increasingly find that what they say is true. Their approach to work is lackadaisical at best. They frown on boomers because we can’t relate to what they value. But the truth is, their lack of mental fortitude and high sense of entitlement is telling.

Back in December 2019, I came to the conclusion that the outbreak in China would get worse and the whole world would be affected. Come January, I spoke with our IT Head and instructed him to customize an open source learning management system (LMS) so we would be ready to transition to remote learning if a lockdown was declared. Within one week of the start of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) on March 15, we were up with our LMS. If you’ve read extensively about Covid and absorb the science behind it, you will come to the conclusion that there is no end in sight as long as the virus can find hosts among the unvaccinated. Mutations occur with speeds faster than scientists can sequence the latest mutation and modify vaccines accordingly.

It should also make you consider why rich countries don’t make vaccines readily-available to poorer countries in order to minimize mutations with the goal of putting an end to it by maximizing vaccinations. There is an element of Darwinism in our present environment. If you are paranoid enough, you’d think the rich countries’ lack of urgency on vaccination is deliberate because the Earth’s limited resources favor a culling of the herd. There is talk about a doomsday mutation which renders vaccines ineffective. This could likely eventuate if the number of the unvaccinated greatly exceeds the vaccinated which allows mutations to continue.

Most Boomers will not go into existential crisis mode. Our brains are wired in such a way that we adapt and make the most of what is in front of us. The world won’t stop turning because of the pandemic. Evolution is all about adapting to changes in the environment. You won’t survive if you don’t. So rather than focus on what can’t be controlled, it’s best to focus on what can be. My mindset is Covid is endemic. It won’t go away anytime soon. There won’t be a breakout vaccine that will stop it in its tracks. Instead of whining and ranting, I adapt.

Most of the supporters of the opposition are from this “millennial” demographic. It’s no wonder then that they can’t get their act together. They can only criticize the government but cannot propose possible solutions to what they constantly complain about. In short, they want to be spoon-fed. The reality is the State can’t afford to feed all of its citizens. The rich have the advantage but this is not enough reason to stop living. The universe finds a way for those who are sincere and altruistic. It doesn’t provide for the fakes and the weak who pretend they are compassionate but are actually selfish. Being spiritual is better than being religious. The pockets of the Church have also been hit hard by the pandemic. As the much quoted Chinese saying goes, in crisis, there is opportunity. I’d rather focus on the opportunities. If fate decides that I should become a pandemic fatality then so be it. It’s best to be a man with principles than to be a man without.

Ramon Ortoll

Cook wide reader political crackpot music afficionado old soul out-of-the box thinker aspiring writer tech geek gearhead