In ten years, between 2000 to 2010, there were at least 550,000,000 babies aborted worldwide, or 55.7 million abortions each year. And two and 1/2 years from now, at least a billion of them would have never seen the light of day, since the beginning of this millenium.
As of March 2018, human euthanasia is legal in Netherlands, Belgium, Columbia, Luxembourg, and India; while assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, Japan, and in the US States of Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Montana, California, and the District of Columbia.
Since 1978, when the death penalty was reinstated by the US Supreme Court, 1,458 persons had been executed as of July 27, 2017; while an average of 16 refugees die every day.
More or less, 108 million people on this planet of ours were killed during wars in the 20th century; while in some parts of the world today, like India or Bangladesh, sex selective abortions and female infanticide, such as, leaving newborn baby girls in dustbins or roadside, still make headlines every now and then, because giving birth to girls is considered to be a burden for the parents.
And according to official numbers, 6,340 Filipinos in Central Philippines died during Typhoon Yolanda on November 8, 2013; while it is estimated that 20,000 Filipinos had been killed under Duterte's war on drugs, as of February 21 of this year.
You will probably react to these vignettes by asking: So what? We are all going to die anyway. Besides, our planet can only sustain 10 billion people; there's 7.6 billion of us already at the beginning of 2018; and that by 2050, we will be crashing the uppermost population limit where food is concerned, with 9.7 billion people roaming the Earth.
Maybe, you're right? We shouldn't think too much about death, or the 55.3 million people who die each year (excluding those who are aborted,) and focus more of our attention to the world's overpopulation; which brings to mind Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburg who said, way back in 1981: "Human population growth is probably the single most serious long-term threat to survival. We're in a major disaster if it isn't curbed... The more people there are, the more resources they'll consume, the more pollution they'll create, the more fighting they will do. We have no option."
There are options, of course, for governments to curb population growth, aside from abortion, or limiting the number of offsprings to one child per family, like they did in China.
Today, technology is so advanced, that some megalomaniacs or governments can grow a virus in a laboratory that can easily wipe out 150 million of us; or start a cyber and nuclear war against another country, which can trigger World War III, that will not only paralyze or destroy electric grids, dams, infrastructures, tranportations, food supplies, telecommuniations, and computer systems, but also kill millions of people.
And what will stop the one percent of the world's population who control half of the world's wealth, or the 10 per cent of people who own 90 per cent of all the earth's resources from killing 3/4 of us, in order to live in an ideal environment, without increasing food production by 70 per cent because there will be less people in the world to feed, with no rioting, police brutality, refugees, and immigration problems, because the remaining global citizens will all be living in peace and prosperity, with subservient robots or AI's at their beck and call (at least, according to some conspiracy theorists.)
Or, why worry about people dying when "Even without dramatic doomsday scenarios, astronomical forces will eventually render our planet uninhabitable," according to Live Science.
I guess, this is what people refer to, or scriptwriters write about as Armageddon, the End of the World; after the effects of the biggest asteriod of all time hitting our planet, or the 2nd Coming of Christ, if you are a Christian. Either way, the collapse of our planet Earth, or the demise of all of us is inevitable, according to science and religion.
Then why did the bells toll for so many men, myself included, when an aging celebrity chef who likes to 'Eat, drink, and be merry' in his highly-rated travel, food & culture cable show, committed suicide; when the only corollary to the above that could be extracted by men, or they would have been expecting, was the all too familiar: 'For tomorrow we'll die.'
Besides, if you believe that death is like a lotus flower, or a rebirth, as shared by some Egyptian, Hindu & Buddhist traditions, then there is nothing to fear about. Neither if you died good, nor had done more good than bad things, and let God do what is just for you (assuming that there is Heaven or afterlife, at least for Jews, who are not really sure about it, while they are still waiting for their Messiah; while Muslims, who thinks of suicide as a grave sin and punishable by Allah, and Christians, who can't pass judgement on those who kill themselves because only Jesus Christ can judge that person, both believe in resurrection, or an afterlife of Heaven or Hell, more or less.)
Bourdain was neither affiliated nor did subscribe to any of the above, because he was raised with no religion, according to him; although his father & mother are Catholic & Jewish respectively.
What happens then, if you're an atheist, like so many young people of today, or most socialist Scandinavians, progressive Europeans, liberal Americans like Democrats, those in the Academia, or the Hollywood elites, and communists in China, or other parts of the world? What's the point of believing in God if you are going to perish in the long, or short run of your life, and don't believe in the afterlife, anyway; while the 5 classic proofs of St. Thomas Aquinas regarding the existence of God do not add up or make sense to you, when you can see everyday how criminally grotesque, insufferable, unjust, and violent the world that you are living in today?
Which reminds me of independent thinker, conservative columnist & Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer, who died last week at age 68, and thought that "atheism is the least plausible of all theologies," although he describes himself as "not religious." He was confined to a wheelchair most of his life after being paralyzed from the neck down because of a diving board accident in college; and confirmed his impending death recently by writing, "I leave this life with no regrets... It was a wonderful life... I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended."
Or, of Chiara Badano who was born in Sassello, Italy in 1971, and lived only for 19 years "full of life, of love, and faith," but died from a rare & incurable form of bone cancer in 1990, "the last two years filled with pain & suffering, but always in love and light that shone around her, and that came from within: from her heart filled with God!" said Pope Benedict XVI who proclaimed her Blessed in 2010.
Whether you die young or old, does it even matter how long have we lived in this planet? Or, age only matter to us when we are reminded about it?
I think, we should all thank the Lord, be proud of our age, and celebrate our birthdays every year with family & friends, if we are still alive, happy, and healthy. I do; even when I'm feeling blue, in order to change my mood, by going on a honeymoon and birthday cruise with my lovely wife, friend, lover & soulmate Gie, who prefers to cruise with me, than celebrate her birthday at home.
Three months ago though, I was able to convince her to highlight a milestone in her life, by celebrating her birthday in a big way for 4 weeks, because we will never know when our time on Earth is up; and we survived our biggest, unfathomable (although Mama Mary warned us during the 100th Anniversary of her Apparition at Fatima, but Gie and I were complacent about or not attuned to it,) and the most challenging family life's hurricanes, real & imagined, that we had encountered so far, including our children's horrible experience in the US Virgin Islands for Claire-Voe, Kendra & Xiomara, or in Houston for Osbert (and also unexpectedly, with some in-laws who cooperated with the devil, even if they had no business inserting themselves into our own personal hurricane at home, which only exacerbated the devil's resolve to destroy and weaken our family.)
The devil didn't win because, not only did she enjoy her birthday party at home in Las Vegas, with Fr. Nadim, close friends, and Charismatic brothers & sisters in our Bible Study group; but also her birthday bash at a lovely Spanish restaurant in New Jersey, where our daughters Claire-Voe & Kendra, and our adorable granddaughter Xio, whom we babysat for 10 days, took us, with Osbert joining us via Skype while traveling with the Astros; and finally, during our honeymoon and birthday cruise for her aboard the Norwegian Getaway, which took us from New York, to Portugal, Ireland, Paris, Portland & Salisbury England, and London.
What a lovely & enjoyable cruise that was, to cap Gie's 70th birthday celebration, and our 37th wedding anniversary this year; which for me was another form of antidote against feeling gloomy and depressed sometimes, which is normal, by tasting and seeing the goodness of the Lord in our lives, instead of smoking weeds and taking anti-depressant drugs which are prevalent and legal in our State of Nevada.
But the best way for us to avoid getting depressed is by serving the Lord as lector and Eucharistic Minister in our Parish Church of the Holy Spirit; advocating online through prevention, while praying for the healing of abused children & parents of aborted children; and feeding impoverished kids, or giving bottled water to homeless and abandoned children in the streets. Also, when we are not cruising or visiting our children, relatives & friends in the US and abroad, I like to keep busy in Las Vegas by pursuing my hobbies of: working out, cooking, blogging, singing, learning to play golf with my friend, scriptwriting, and filmmaking; or taking Gie to parks & recreation, conventions, lectures, exhibits, dinners, shows, concerts, games, movies, parties, prayer meetings, and Bible study, instead of getting addicted to gambling and losing money in the casinos, which could have driven me to bankruptcy and self-destruction, easily.
Anyway, I was about the same age as Anthony Bourdain when he committed suicide, and apparently not alone in feeling his pain because "the TV host and authors's untimely death was uniquely gut-wrenching for men his age." And according to a recent article regarding the "Silent Epidemic of Male Suicide," which accounts for 80% of all suicides at present (especially those men between the ages of 55 and 64) because "Older men tend to be more pushed to the margins and seem to be viewed as less relevant;" which I can definitely relate to, even before my retirement two years ago.
My first experience with ageism came about when I listed the newer, 4-bedroom home of a retired, and divorced man in his late 60's with no children, but wanted to go back to his relatives from his original country, after living in the US for more than half of his life. I got his signature, and told him before I left to call 3 electricians and choose one who was reasonable, price-wise, to fix the electrical problems inside his house, asap. I was surprised when he told me to send the electrician that I trusted to do the job, and he would pay him, instead of getting some estimates himself because they would only overprice and take advantage of him, as a retired old man.
I found that hard to believe because the guy was only in his 60's; and yet, it happened to me also last year when my landscaper moved out of state, and all the landscapers that I called told me to replace my broken sprinkler system's timer and charge me between $65 to $120; when I discovered later on, that all I needed was to replace the worn out triple A battery inside the control box. I am only 64, still active, strong, and alert; yet they all lied to me; maybe because I told them that I was retired, and they saw me living in a beautiful guard-gated golf community, who knew nothing about sprinkler systems.
Or, probably, my greyish, long & thinning hair, shabby appearance, and man-in-the-street demeanor gave me away as old and retired; which was so unlike me when I worked as a college books production editor at Prentice-Hall, or real-estate broker-salesperson in New Jersey & Las Vegas, with nicely trimmed beard and conservatively cropped hair, while wearing modern and designer suits & ties, and expensive dress shoes, that even the two Filipino-American ladies at the gift shops would have been impressed, instead of ignoring and talking to me condescendingly; which had never happened to me before, when I was younger and wore professional attires.
And, I wasn't being grumpy or cantakerous either, but a nice and humble fellow to them, when it happened. It was only after I became assertive, and put them in their proper places (which I did, every time I encounter ageism) that they treated me right as a regular shopper and paying customer. But, why bother? Because appearances deceive; ageism is real; and nobody should be judging or thinking that they are better than us, since we are all equal in the eyes of God, whether we are at our prime, or not.
Sometimes, we just have to remind people in a nice way about our great, funny, productive, and incredible jobs; and that even though we are now retired and grey, we know and understand the rules of customer service, as a successful real estate broker-salesperson for 30 years, for example; while conversing with them in our impeccable logic & fluent English language skills, in order to disarm their biases & prejudices.
Sadly, and many times, your own kind or neighbor (meaning: the people closest to you, like friends and family) are instrumental in putting you down, with or without their knowledge; hence, you need to find a way to call out their attention, and tell them exactly what's in your mind, in order to avoid any misunderstanding. While nobody is perfect except God, and there is no Perfect Friend other than Jesus Christ; don't ever forget that our love ones will always disappoint us, sooner or later, because they are imperfect, and have their own lives, families, and problems. But still, you can't stop being a parent, or spouse, sibling, in-law, spiritual brother or sister, teacher, student, and classmate to them, if you had been one.
However, take courage, because nothing happens in a vacuum; and acccording to Scholastics: Whatever exists must have a sufficient reason for its existence and for being what it is; everything changes in this life circle or circus of ours; and there is always the Spirit of God Who orders all things according to the their proper ends; because if God is dead, then everything is dead too; and there is no point of discussing hopelessness, depression, drugs, suicide, and the sanctity of life, or contemplate the beauty of it.
For instance, what's the point of reminishing the good old days during your Golden Jubilee if you think that everything revolves around you, and have stifled your growth, or are still locked in a time capsule, and treat your classmates as constants, when you have never walked in their slippers, since you graduated from high school 50 years ago? Isn't that a formula for disaster, or Reunion hara kiri? Instead, why not cherish their newfound selves, loves, talents, hobbies, and vocations; or aches, pains, suffering, and deaths, all in the spirit of empathy, fun, and camaraderie? Just take a listen, leave your ego at the door, and don't even think that you're the leader of the group, because there is none, and you're all servants of the Lord, and each other; so therefore, you are no better than any one of them. Why? Because you are all equal in God's eyes. Don't worry; just be happy for your classmates; and everything will be fine.
In fact, nobody should be driving us to perdition, or bossing us around after we retire, or reach a certain age; and children must learn from their parent's lifelong experience, just like Gie & I did from Papa & Mama, or Amay & Inay, and the older folks back in our native land, the Philippines, during their twilight years.
Not anymore, I guess, even in the old country, because I noticed that during my consecutive visits there in the last two years, Filipinos are becoming more Westernized, or Americanized. They have nursing homes there now; and the young generations don't want to listen to the wisdom of their elders because they are glued to their cell phones and electronic devices. I just hope that Duterte (because he makes the rules, and everybody follows) does not allow divorce in the Philippines, which is another factor that could drive people to commit suicide or homicide.
Looking back, the most memorable and poignant moments I got in visiting my parents when they retired in the Philippines were: Seeing them at their happiest during their renewal of marriage vows at a Nuptial Mass in our village Chapel of Sta. Rita, in celebration of their Golden Wedding Anniversary; and taking care of them, at least for three weeks each, before they died. I remember asking the Lord to extend their lives because I loved them so much, and didn't want them to die, by having their final operation or physical therapy done, against the advice of our neighbors, for wasting our money; while I continued praying and singing Charismatic praising songs to them in their hospital rooms, and at home when they returned to recuperate, but never did. My sister, brothers, and myself never stopped loving them, more and more, even when the end of their lives became inevitable. And, I believe that they are praying for us too, in Heaven.
The same is true with our spouses and vice-versa; and our children who must continue to love and respect us more and more, as we get older and older, even when we become senile, and don't recognize them anymore.
Or don't remember these blessed memories of mine because I know, that someday, these too, shall pass. But somehow, I just want to recall the times when I had to drive a U-Haul for the first time, twice in a row in New York City, to my son's apartment, but had to double park and turned on my blinking hazard lights because I couldn't find a parking spot, and had to climb the stairs up & down to the 3rd floor, with two Spanish guys who helped me deliver his living, dining & bedroom furnitures, including the artworks & cookwares, in order to make him feel at home in his furnished apartment, when he comes back from work; or dropped off my daughter unexpectedly and braved the heavy traffic to Kennedy Airport, after drinking the necessary liquid before my scheduled colonoscopy, and while taking bathroom breaks along the way, I accidentally pooped inside my pants.
Priceless memories, indeed; including the countless good and unforgettable stuff, and quite humorous yet unbelievable feats that we had to accomplish for our children, from the time they were born, and up to today when we have to help them babysit our grandchildren after they buy their first house, or simply keep giving them advices and praying for them five times a day, or unceasingly, even if they don't appreciate it; which came about from our natural parental instincts, or were sometimes done blindly by us, without counting the costs, but because of our unselfish love for them, and not to keep scores either, like in baseball.
Finally, neither our siblings and in-laws, whether they're older or younger than us, should gang up against us into thinking, that because they are many, and we are alone, then they must be right. On the contrary, I don't have to please them anymore; and fortunately, I would rather please God, and be with Him; so, who can be against me?
The truth is, even though I care about my siblings & in-laws (or I would not have shared our fortune to ALL of them in our previous Last Will and Testament, if we happen to perish during our annual cruises & travels; and saved Gie's eldest sibling & his spouse lots of money by sharing my knowlege to them about wills & estates, and helping & accompanying them to replace theirs which was obsolete and drawn up in California, using our own lawyer in Nevada, or they would have lost half of their retirement money, if I was selfish to them; or refrained from bringing over my own siblings to the US, without asking them anything in return; again, if I only cared about my own immediate family;) I'd rather keep my sanity, and avoid thinking unsavory things about them, or get even, by being with real friends and Charismatic brothers & sisters, who bring out the best in me.
The fact is, although Gie, and all of my in-laws lied to me about her real age, I still married her in the Catholic Church with no possibility of divorce (because I believe that "What God has joined together, let no one separates,") seven months after our civil wedding. Why? Because I love her, and know deep in my heart that we were meant for each other, by God Himself, Who had given her to me, and me to her, until death do we part. So, after I found out that she's six years older than me from my siblings who got hold of her Baptimal Certificate in the Philippines, I didn't leave her for lying to me; while I confirmed unexpectedly later on from reliable sources, that my own siblings told some relatives and people in our village in Pampanga, Philippines, that I married an old & ugly woman in the US, which is a vicious, devilish lie, brought about by their malice and envy towards our flourishing life in the USA, even today.
Now, my attitude towards my siblings & in-laws is the same for every decent human being, whether you are family or friends; just like the way I told my real-estate clients (50% of whom reject you, no matter how good you are in sales; so I'm no stranger to being the object of rejection, malice & envy; for afterall, even Jesus Christ was rejected by his own people & village neighbors in Nazareth) and that is: If you did not buy a house from me, then I have no hard feelings towards you; but it's your loss, not mine, because I know that I'm honest, knowledgeable, and will sell you the great house that you can be proud of, without me even thinking of my commission.
So, if you cross me, then it's your loss, not mine; and I forgive you because I'm a good & decent person, who loves God; and that's all that matters, even when we die.
Thank You Jesus.... Thank You.
EPILOGUE
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise."-- 1 THESSALONIANS 4:16
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