Shock and awe

Netnet Camomot .

AS Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin, other wealthy parents, and universities in the US wrestled with the aftershocks of the college admissions scandal, “Operation Varsity Blues,” Pinas was again in a shock-and-awe mode last Thursday when President Rody Duterte revealed the 46 politicians that are on his narco-list.

How many times has the president released such a list since his war on drugs began? Has the Pinoy lost count? Well, if my senior-moment brain can still count, it’s guessing this is only the second time. For a while there, it did seem like the Pinoy has been bombarded with narcolists for so long, making the great reveal last Thursday as merely another opportunity for Duterte to prove the seriousness of his war on drugs.

Drug use should have these two words: Just don’t. Especially now when crimes are either extrajudicial killings of suspected drug users and suppliers, or murders committed by alleged drug users and suppliers. Their common denominator: drugs.

But Metro Manila’s shock-and-awe was more on the lack or absence of water. Imagine living in a condominium, and you now have to line up outside your building. With the hope the fire truck assigned to your area will still have water once it’s your turn to fill up the pail or whatever homemade water container your high-tech 21st-century existence is able to download from the Jurassic Age.

Facebook (FB), Instagram, and Whatsapp happened to be absent, too, at that time, thus, worsening the already worse-case scenario—you have selfies while lining up for water but could not post them. Darn. To the one addicted to comments and likes for his FB posts, a social media shutdown can be worse than a water crisis.

El Niño is here. Like as if low coco prices are not enough to convince the Pinoy how vulnerable farmers can be. And no, that’s not Coco Martin.

‘Tis the season again for the government to promise to do its duty in ensuring a water supply for Pinas. Dry dams don’t only result to no water but also no electricity if water is its main source. No water, no power, no social media can definitely force the Pinoy to return to the Jurassic Age when life was as simple as fleeing from dinosaurs while hunting for food.

The world is now on its way to relying on artificial intelligence for news writing and even for driving cars. Yet, nature—and the way human nature has abused that nature—will always find a way to remind us of what truly matters in this oh so cruel world. Try going waterless for a week—no showers, no baths, no water therapy. Surely, you’ll have a eureka moment: Aha! Better no power than no water!

That Realization 101 can also happen for other things you take for granted. Like air, for example. Imagine a world with no air. Or not being able to breathe. Or see, hear, feel. Once you reach a certain age, the knees may begin to complain, affecting your mobility, so that you’re now extra careful with the shoes you wear and the way you walk. Gone are the days of climbing stairs without the knees whining and cracking.

At that certain age, you’re expected to have the wisdom to focus on what truly matters but a no-water situation will always manage to test your resolve to be serene at all times.

Huffman and Loughlin probably have not reached that certain age of wisdom thoughts yet, since they seemed to believe that a good public image could be propped up by a good college education at a prestigious university. So, with the help of the college admissions scandal’s mastermind, William Rick Singer, they bribed whoever was willing to be bribed, to ensure their children are enrolled in a prestigious university.

“Senatoriable” and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos must have also realized by now the importance of telling the truth and nothing but the truth when it comes to one’s college diploma. Technology has made it easier to discover the truth and the anti-Marcos Pinoy won’t stop hounding her about her Princeton University blues. Ano ba talaga, Gov. Imee? Did you or didn’t you? Graduate, that is.

In case the madlang pehpohl have already forgotten, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs were college dropouts. Had this trio’s achievements served as inspirations to wealthy parents, “Operation Varsity Blues” would not have been possible. Oh, well.