Towards a Century of Longevity:
A Legacy of Senior Citizens to the Millennial Generation
Dr Abe V Rotor
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A century of liberalization, of freer expression (Women’s Lib), the role of women being the greatest manifestation, women becoming heads of states, women sharing common professions and fashion with men;
Lola Virginia “Viegie” Lagasca, 94, entrepreneur, philanthropist, lives a Spartan life, the key to a long and fulfilled life. As a WWII veteran and guardian of a successful family, she keeps on going with three generations in a row, remarkably at the forefront to caution change with priceless values and tradition.
A century of capitalism, a system that cannot exist without democracy, and vice versa, yet inevitably falling into the trap of economic crisis in the US, Europe and Asia;
A century of excess capitalism plaguing countries victimized by cartels, trust and syndicates, capitalism breeding and pampering consumerism, creating a use-and-throw-away society, and failing to differentiate need from want;
A century of consumerism, the lifeline of capitalism, prime mover of accelerated and indiscriminate use of goods and services that has led to a monstrous threat to our environment, from pollution and ecological degradation;
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A century of weapons of mass destruction, born with the horrendous bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which put an end to WW2 and defined the reality of the Cold War which ended in 1989. The fear of Armageddon persists to this day;
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A century of sports and games, other than the Olympic games, came non-conventional and highly dangerous sports (skydiving and survival games) pushing human endurance to the limit, and making big business at the expense of many sports;
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Right: Dr Domingo Tapiador in his past nineties of the UN-FAO shows to the author his Jeepney-Ferryboat- in-One invention for Laguna Bay. At the center is the late Dell H Grecia veteran Journalist for three decades.
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A Legacy of Senior Citizens to the Millennial Generation
Dr Abe V Rotor
A century of liberalization, of freer expression (Women’s Lib), the role of women being the greatest manifestation, women becoming heads of states, women sharing common professions and fashion with men; Lola Virginia “Viegie” Lagasca, 94, entrepreneur, philanthropist, lives a Spartan life, the key to a long and fulfilled life. As a WWII veteran and guardian of a successful family, she keeps on going with three generations in a row, remarkably at the forefront to caution change with priceless values and tradition.
A century of capitalism, a system that cannot exist without democracy, and vice versa, yet inevitably falling into the trap of economic crisis in the US, Europe and Asia;
A century of excess capitalism plaguing countries victimized by cartels, trust and syndicates, capitalism breeding and pampering consumerism, creating a use-and-throw-away society, and failing to differentiate need from want;
A century of consumerism, the lifeline of capitalism, prime mover of accelerated and indiscriminate use of goods and services that has led to a monstrous threat to our environment, from pollution and ecological degradation;
A century of mass-market beginning with Henry Ford’s assembly line to mega factories run by robotics whereby production and marketing are done in centralization and conformity, from toothpaste to magazines, shoes, automobiles and homes;
A century of stereotype economic, politico-social and cultural patterns, narrowing down personal choices and freedom, prodding non-conformists to explore new horizons in the humanities and science, and even behavior;
Editor in Chief Feliciano U Galimba Jr of The Greater Lagro Gazette (left) and author, in their seventies, share a common vision of development through mass media and active community involvement.
A century of weapons of mass destruction, born with the horrendous bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which put an end to WW2 and defined the reality of the Cold War which ended in 1989. The fear of Armageddon persists to this day;
A century of exploring the peaceful application of the tremendous nuclear energy, so with alternative sources in lieu of depleting supply of fossil fuel to meet the world’s increasing demand to run industry, agriculture, transportation, and electricity particularly in large urban centers;
A century of electronics which opened the kingdom of the invisible, heretofore seen only through a keyhole, now revealing the structure of the virus and chemical molecules, including the genetic makeup of life;
A century of social media enabling popular access to information and entertainment, knowledge and ideas, and other fields of human endeavor with the use of a palm-size gadget at fingertip command;
A century of computers: university-without-walls (e-Learning, on-line teaching), marketing (e-Commerce), publishing (e-Publication), remote control management (tele-conferencing), satellite imaging (weather forecasting); guided navigation (GPS);
A century of global village in the making, virtually shrinking the world with cyber communication, efficient and convenient transportation, thus erasing so to speak the boundaries of culture, politics, ideologies and pooling them altogether;
A century of fun and pleasure, from floating pleasure palace (Titanic), to pleasure and adventure parks (Disneyland, Ocean Pavilions), beauty and fashion shows (Miss World, Miss Earth), virtual reality shows, casinos, ecotourism;
A century of sports and games, other than the Olympic games, came non-conventional and highly dangerous sports (skydiving and survival games) pushing human endurance to the limit, and making big business at the expense of many sports;Auntie Caridad R Lazo, 95, with the author, her pupil at San Vicente Elementary School. A mother of successful professionals, she keeps being involved in church and community activities.
A century of organized violence, the bombing of the Twin Towers being the eye opener to a global enemy – terrorism. ISIS, Al Qaeda, et al are getting bolder, prompting countries to unite in their fight against terrorism.
A century of senseless violence committed in the home, on campus and street, often involving juveniles as perpetrators, raises disturbing questions on eroded values, breakdown of law and order, and the dark side of The Good Life;
A century of population explosion, now 7.4 billion dominated by Millennials, among them aged 10 to 14 years that comprise 30 percent. On the other hand, the world is getting old as population growth rate slows down, and life expectancy rises ( 70.7 years is world’s average versus 68.5 for the Philippines);
A century of scientific and technological breakthroughs: nuclear physics (Higg’s Boson), space travel and exploration (man landing on the moon), breaking the code of life - DNA (genetic engineering), invention of the microchip leading to the Computer Age;
A century of religious conflicts mellowing through ecumenism, but has yet to resolve conflicts arising from extremism and fundamentalism that triggers genocide, terrorism, and mass evacuation, such as the case of the present Syrian war;
A century of growing transience of people all over the world, migrants, overseas workers, refugees, weakening the institutions of family, home and community, and spurring exodus from rural to urban centers, which has now a ratio in favor of urban population;
A century of massive pollution in air, land and water, heretofore unprecedented in history, destroying the very foundation of life itself in what scientists term as autotoxicity – an indiscriminate and irrational genocide of living things including the human species;
A century of man-inducted catastrophes, more frequent, more destructive and varied, triggered by global warming, deforestation, desertification, pollution,
Nuclear testing, rise of megapolises, excessive affluence;
A century of prohibited drugs on the loose, clandestinely channeled to millions of users worldwide, such a menace has destroyed countless young men and women, and undermined the integrity of governments and organizations;
Right: Dr Domingo Tapiador in his past nineties of the UN-FAO shows to the author his Jeepney-Ferryboat- in-One invention for Laguna Bay. At the center is the late Dell H Grecia veteran Journalist for three decades. A century of test tube babies, surrogate mothers, menopausal and multiple childbirths, egg and sperm banks, organ and stem cell transplantations, which emerged into a multi-billion dollar industry amidst ethico-moral criticisms;
A century of transgender, transvestite and same sex marriage; of single-parenthood, multiple union and divorce, radically changing the founding concepts and principles of the institutions of marriage, family and dignity of the human person;
A century of mega structures that dwarf the wonders of the Ancient World: Burj Khalifa in Dubai the tallest building today, the Yangtze River Complex in China the biggest dam, and the International Research Station orbiting the Earth as prototype space city;
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A century of freedom from three totalitarian alternatives – colonialism, fascism and communism - the realization of ideas of liberty inspired by the French Revolution and that of our own in Rizal’s time, and as a whole, the indomitable human spirit.
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A century of dissolution of the USSR, creation of new states (South Sudan, East Timor), reunification of divided states (Vietnam, Germany); on the other hand emboldening separatist movements linked with civil unrest and terrorism (Al Qaeda, ISIS, Tamil);
A century of global and regional organizations – United Nations and its various organizations (FAO, WHO, ILO. UNICEF, UNESCO), European Union, APEC, ASEAN, G20; and international summits and conferences with agenda of global importance such as Climate Change;
Most Rev Antonio R Tobias DD (left) of the Diocese of Fairview QC is one of the most senior bishops of the church today. The author presented him two of his books – Light in the Woodsand Light from the Old Arch
A century of optimism and dream of a better world – globalization, space travel and loftily planetary migration and virtual immortality – attest to the bold and adventurous nature of man, his awareness of time and space, and even his future, minuscule he and his spaceship the Earth may be in the universe;
A century of countless valuable lessons distilled from victories and defeats, successes and failures, pride and humility, joy and sorrow, good and bad times,
that humble the Homo sapiens to go down his knees and look up to Heaven, an experience from which wisdom grows, and shared to the younger generations and humanity as a whole. ~