Yes, I am grateful, but…

The darkest hour is the one nearest the dawn.

Not so with this deadly, relentless virus. The dark hours seem unending.

Still, we should make space to find the things for which we should be grateful. Like kindness. It helps brighten the spirit. Of course, from what I have seen and experienced, gratitude has a very short lifespan. People quickly forget the kindness done to or for them.

I am grateful for living in a country so far without civil strife, with an independent press and judiciary, a rich diversity of cultures and with much of its natural beauty still unspoilt. I am grateful to see the sun rising and the ocean waves rolling every day. It’s therapeutic.

But like the priesthood, I worry that our bad habits are lagging too far behind the sophisticated technology we enjoy. I feel unhappy that our health services, public safety, public infrastructure and political system require improvements, especially with the changing faces of covid19. Why do tax-paying citizens feel compelled to block roads and burn tyres to get what they deserve? Yes, I am grateful for many things but I hope the authorities do better new year.

I am grateful for the remote control. That electronic device allows me to settle comfortably deep into my sofa, start up the television, change channels, skip advertisements, lower the volume and fall quietly asleep.

Teenagers and even people in their twenties today will not experience this pleasure as much as those like me who once had to get up, walk to the television, turn it on, then get up and walk back again and again to change the channel. They do not know. We became a captive audience, even sticking it out with advertisements we did not like. We fumbled with one, then two, then three channels. Then boom! Cable TV was launched.

And I remain grateful for the remote control and the improved freedom of choice. Without the remote, it would have been a miserable marathon to get up, turn on and off these dozens, sometimes hundreds of cable channels. The remote control became an electronic comforter.

I am not sure if that made many people lazy or pot-bellied or not. I do my exercise outside. What I am curious about is why the TV remote control, whether in the bedroom or living room, is usually in the husband's hands.

The remote control brings safety. Once you had to go outside, rain or sun, to open the gate. Cars are now locked and opened from 20 feet away. Yes, I am grateful.

However, priests, pundits, imams and pastors usually complain that while technology has provided many such comforting and luxurious items, our character and behaviour have not enjoyed commensurate social and spiritual improvements.

Things seem to have got worse, they claim. In fact, some worry that the world could end with some deranged leader pressing the remote-control button. In fact, a lot of terrorist explosions have been triggered remotely.

The remote control is here to stay – in the living room as well as in the hands of murderers. This reminds me of democracy itself. Every freedom that is good for so many is abused by a wicked few. A great pity.

And what about the cellphone? What an invention. I remember my comic strip days reading about Dick Tracy and his sidekick, Sam Ketcham. Dick Tracy fascinated the world with his two-way wristwatch. The squared-jaw detective and freckled-face Sam communicated with each other while chasing criminals. That seemed miraculous.

Today, talking with one another or checking up on your children or spouse through the cellphone is the primitive part.

The cellphone can take pictures so much superior to traditional cameras. And more than this, you can actually see and hear one another on the phone. Coupled with the magical WiFi and internet, you can check the security system in your home from a thousand miles away.

And then we have Google and Alexa. Ask them anything. Science fiction is now fact. Who wouldn’t be grateful?

Sure, these may be a bit expensive for some. They may even help create the digital divide. Through overuse, however, some are becoming electronic zombies.

But if these devices help defeat the mutating virus, the entire world will be grateful.