EDITORIAL- Good deeds

A photo of a Cebu City policeman, PO1 Mark Wilson Roa, has gone viral. In the photo, police officer Roa was seen helping a senior citizen fix a flat tire. He was said to have later refused to accept a gratuity. To you, Sir Roa, our sincerest salute.

But why did the photo go viral? Even police officer Roa himself was surprised. To him, what he did was an ordinary thing, something he expected someone should do to another. People should help other people in times of need. Or so Mr. Roa thought.

But is it? We believe the photo went viral because, contrary to the ordinariness with which a good man like Mr. Roa regards a good turn, it was an extraordinary thing to many people in these extraordinary times. It was something you do not see happen everyday. People helping strangers in ordinary situations is now a rarity.

And because it was such a rarity, it called for a celebration. It was something that made people feel good about the basic humanity with which we ought to regard one another but which many have forgotten. And so it was that, to celebrate a fine moment, the photo got passed on and on.

And it helped extraordinarily that the good samaritan in this case was a young police officer. Indeed, it was Mr. Roa's being a police officer that made an otherwise common expectation among human beings become a noteworthy feat of charity and kindness.

We will not spoil it for Mr. Roa by going into what made him different from others, especially those with whom he shares his uniform. Suffice it to say that by that one simple act, he truly stood out, and must therefore be commended, even if, in a more idealistic time, what he did should have come as a matter of course.

In fairness, we are certain that there are others like police officer Roa out there who may have done even greater acts of kindness and charity, who have had their own opportunities to shine in nobleness, only that they did not happen to be caught on camera doing them.

To these other fine officers and men, do not lose hope. Public appreciation does not always get manifested in obvert congratulations. A pat in the back does not always come as a pat in the back. Sometimes they come in the silence of genuine gratitude and respect.