2016 was bad. 2017 will be even worse.
Died David Bowie. And Prince, too, died. Elie Wiesel. Mohammed Ali. Leonard Cohen. And at the end of the year and George Michael. The temperature at the North pole was 20 degrees above normal. Donald trump was elected the 45th President of the United States, probably with the help of Russian hackers and typing more than 2.5 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.
In March, during the attack in the Park in Lahore killed 72 people, 29 of them children. In June, 49 people were killed in a bar in Orlando, which was about homosexuals. 45 people were killed during the attack on the Ataturk airport in Istanbul, and politician-labour’s Joe Cox (Joe Cox) was killed when he was attacked by right-wing extremist supporter of breccia. In France, 86 people died in the national day of the country on July 14, when the crowd in nice was hit by a car. Now, in December, the victims of similar attacks in Berlin were 12 people.
In Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, thousands of innocent people, including many children, were victims of suicide bombers, war crimes and terrorist attacks. In the Mediterranean sea set a new record. The office of the UN high Commissioner for refugees UNCHR in October reported that in the sea killed 3 740 people. On the way to Europe dies every 89th refugee.
Having in the White house is unpredictable and authoritarian narcissist, there is no reason to expect that 2017 will be better. There are no such grounds and those who became victims of wars and terror, and those who fled from them. It makes no sense to argue with the fact that we are entering a year in which there will be more instability, fear and violence. If worse comes to worse, then Europe can get hold of a few right populist, extremist state leaders-xenophobes.
Bloomberg warns in its pessimistic forecast for 2017 of a possible trade war between the US and China, the world cyber war between Russia, China and the U.S. economic collapse in Mexico, anarchy in the middle East, the victory of Le Pen in France and the defeat of Merkel in Germany. And the nuclear arms race, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and Japan. It seems wild? But the pessimistic forecast Bloomberg in 2016 predicted brakcet, anti-immigrant trends in the EU, the increase of climate change and the victory of trump. A year ago many laughed. Now no one laughs.
The main reason why Bloomberg is so much different future scenarios, is that the Agency wants to do a solid financial analysis. On which stocks to bet when the world goes the roof? But when the world is on the path to serious bad weather, think not only about best buy stock. Much more important to arm ourselves politically. As for us, ordinary citizens to live in a world where there is more anxiety, more extremism and more conflict? Where are the best protection from the nasty currents that entice an increasing number of people? A short guide to action may sound like this: insist that something is true and something untrue. Insist that something is right and something is wrong.
Conspiracy theories, fake news and false balance — the strongest, most corrosive substances, which devour an enlightened public debate. On Christmas eve, the former leader of “progress Party” Carl I. Hagen (Carl I. Hagen) got quite a lot of time in the media, because he claimed that climate change is a bluff.
Fake news has played a significant role in the American election campaign. As we have in Norway next year’s elections, there is every reason to be alert. Treat the sources critically, do not use the expression “mainstream media” as a pejorative, but it is better rely on those media outlets who you can really trust — and remember, facts do not happen on both sides. Facts only one side. That is why they are facts. Truth is not what you can come up with myself, based on their own insights.
After breccia and trump the old theory became popular again. According to her, a dark political forces come to power thanks to the ignored and forgotten working class, who despised the arrogant elite academic leftists live in a bubble, where the so-called identity politics (e.g. feminism, anti-racism and gay rights) — the most important thing. White and neglected and frustrated ordinary man falls into the clutches of right-wing populists. The conclusion is that “left” must descend to the level of this neglected accident, stop banging on about values and principles and be taken more seriously xenophobia and contempt for women. No need to contradict or come into conflict with politicians-right-wing populists. Because they want to.
It’s a dead end road and it is dangerous. The left should realize that it is not necessary to believe in the possibility of an Alliance with these forces. Not worth it to snort contemptuously over politics of identity and believe that everywhere we are talking only about classes and the economy.
Equal rights for all, fight for equality, rights of sexual and national minorities should not be considered something that can be done at the expense of economic inequality.
Completely understand the “angry white man” in this sense is the true elitism. It’s when you underestimate his ability to think about someone else and not just about himself, consider him intelligent enough and not capable of compassion, so absorbed by the fear and anger that he should be allowed to give vent to his feelings, and when it affects women, Muslims and sexual minorities.
To jettison core values in an attempt to meet the forces that you want to overcome, never a good strategy. Not a good strategy in 2017.
