I have been spending an inordinate amount of time under ground lately.
Just to clarify, what I mean by under ground is that I keep finding myself falling down rabbit holes as I search for any sign of sense in the new global landscape. Unlikely alliances and feckless quarrels between nations, big dawgs attempting to pile on and bully the small feisty ones in puzzling displays of complete foolishness is what I am finding and all of this while the world is literally on fire.
The planet is angry and constantly reminding us through brutal tantrums of record breaking fire storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, rain, floods, extreme heat and although I hate to challenge her, I think she has shown every possible flex to get our attention in a hope that we might band together and try to find some way to take the “heat’ off of her.
Distraction is the enemy of achievement. Every now and then we come across a master of distraction , someone that can always manage to keep your focus off the real issues with constant parade of unimportant nonsense. Like a pick pocket that bumps into you and distracts with apologies and noise while their hand is in your pocket. Our new(ish) neighbour is the perfect example.
It surprised me that our old friends to the south have taken to evacuating their bowels in our cereal bowls on a daily basis since the arrival of the new “regime”. They claim that we have taken advantage of them and their nefarious plan is to beat us into financial submission until we surrender our country to become the 51st state. There has been an epidemic of broken ribs in Canada over this suggestion due to hysterical laughter.
The only thing that was accomplished with these taunts has been an incredible ground swell of patriotism that had been lying in wait for a lifetime. The most amazing part of is was not just the expected homegrown variety of patriotism but how it bonded nations across the Americas, all throughout Europe and even included support from many of their own subjects.
Threats of annexation of Canada, Greenland, Panama Canal and the Gaza Strip seem to be the onset of some sort of Napoleanic disorder or just some longing to be more like his right wing heroes from Russia, China and North Korea. When the global community seemed to brush aside these rants as if he was just rambling metaphoric wet dream to himself, he turned up the heat with his own private world tariff war.
Economically, there can be no clear winners in trade wars. The ones that often get hurt the worst of course are the regular people while the heads of state play a dangerous game of chicken. In many cases the one that initiates a fight often under estimates their opponent’s determination or simply have an over embellished their own sense of self worth.
It appeared that he was actually somewhat shocked that all of the countries he attacked with crazy tariffs unanimously retaliated. The answer of course was not common sense negotiations, it was escalation. Then retaliatory reactions followed by, yes you guessed it …
It has all been hard to follow but I am sure that this is definitely the “scenic” route to the Economic wonderland that was promised to the people that voted him in on “my first day in office”.
Like I said, Hard To Follow.