Netnet Camomot WHEN your orthopedic surgeon tells you, “Dako ka na. You know what's best for you,” it means, Shape up or ship out! The left knee has been hurting since January. It started as an exercise injury--I thought I'm still young and the knees could take all the pressure from jumping, hopping, twisting. Wait, it's not the kind of exercise you're thinking. But what you're thinking is even better. Way much better. Hehe. When a friend suggested what you're thinking as the cause of the injury, I was like, Wish ko lang! The pain comes and goes, though. There are days when the pain is faint, and there are days, such as last Tuesday night, that make me wonder, What have I done to deserve this? And I can imagine God replying with, Hmmm, let Me calculate the ways. Haha. Funny, that God. Don't ever ask God that question, What have I done to deserve this. What if He replies, huh? And surely there are Pinoy politicians who lost in the last election and are now asking God that question, What have I done...? Let's imagine God's reply: You didn't campaign from the heart. But veteran journalist Butch Enerio says it's the liver, not the heart. Oh, well. Wait, let's go back to God. What does He know? He's not a Pinoy politician, is He? But since God knows everything, He does have an idea on how to win the election. Look at it this way--if you lost, God is saving you from further harm. Politics is dirty, in case you haven't noticed it yet. It damages your soul, your being, your existence. It changes you. It can destroy you. You're better off losing so you can return to private citizenship and continue to serve the madlang pehpohl away from the prying eyes of media, social media, all kinds of media. Your public service from hereon will be known only to you and your God. Well, there's one challenge to this. The trend now is public image. How to have public image if your public service is only known to you and God? Hmmm. I think the term for this is Catch-22. Say, if you're playing basketball and there's no other player but you, thus, the ball keeps going back to you because there's no other player but you! That's Catch-22, right? Heh heh. A good public image is required to attract more members, more funds, more support. And this is true not only for government pehpohl but for everyone else--businesses, organizations, clubs... Look what happened to the former Makati mayor who ran for president. Expected to be No. 1 in the presidential race, after being bombarded with cases of plunder, graft and corruption, add the dirty kitchen sink to all that, and--voila!--could never be No. 1 anymore. Buti pa the son of the former dictator, he's on his way to second place in the vice presidential race. Or will he end up as the country's vice prez? Abangan! Which proves that the millennials, who were definitely not born yet during martial law and the Marcos dictatorship, have the power to change our country's trends. And guess where they're spreading the word--yes, through social media where there's no censorship, no grammar police, no dictator to imprison and torture you for not toeing the line. The millennials have no idea how it is to have no press freedom, no Facebook, no blogs. For that's what Pinas would have been if dictatorship is still the norm in this country. If you're complaining about the slow internet connection, wait till a dictator lords over these islands again and cuts off that internet connection. That's the time you'll say, Wish ko lang! Count your blessings. At least change is coming. At least the dictator's son is in the vice presidential race and not the presidential race. At least we have an Internet connection. But I'm still wishing for a fast connection. Haven't you noticed? There are Pinoys whose minute brains are always loading, buffering... Yes, they're behaving like that connection. Only minors should be exempted from loading and buffering. But for people who have reached a certain age, let's hear it again from my orthopedic surgeon: “Dako ka na. You know what's best for you.”