Well, personally or in a broader sense? One thing ends up encompassing the other, giving a clearer direction. In general, I’m worried about the direction the world is taking. If we rely solely on newspapers for information, we’ll become even more concerned, although they are still one of the best sources of information today.
Some might criticize me for being overly worried about Trump’s election in the U.S., but the entire world is interconnected nowadays. Despite this man wanting to sever some of these connections purely for demagoguery, abrupt changes in the U.S. send true tectonic shocks across the rest of the world.
The fact is, people want improvements in their quality of life and will gravitate towards whoever proposes a break with the current status quo. Americans, as a whole, are not far-right (at least not the majority). What they want is change. They can no longer stand working long hours at two different jobs. They can no longer afford to buy a home and escape rent, which drains them because someone with a lot of money has bought almost all the houses in their region and charges exorbitant prices. They can no longer bear the risk of bankruptcy if they need medical services.
They want change, and Trump was the candidate who most seduced them with promises of bringing more jobs back to the U.S., as if that were the biggest problem — and not the quality and benefits of those jobs. He also promised to fight the so-called “deep state,” which people see as the root of all their problems (as if Trump weren’t one of the billionaires benefiting from this situation). It’s ironic.
However, electing this person comes with many “hidden surprises,” like the fine print in a contract. Alongside him, there will be withdrawals from very important agreements for the world at this moment, such as the Paris Agreement and some international nuclear treaties. Global trade will be deeply affected, causing worldwide inflation. With a trade war, other countries will retaliate with equivalent tariffs, at the very least. Brazil has already been pointed out as one of the targets if it doesn’t lower tariffs on their products.
These economic and environmental concerns will affect us all. Everyone will be impacted to some degree — the poorest, as usual, suffering the most, and the richest, as usual, the least. Overall, everything I mentioned above applies to all countries worldwide, including Brazil. Although we have recently reached the lowest unemployment rate in recorded history, many of these are underemployment positions.
Nowadays, flexible-hour jobs are counted as employment in Brazil. So, if a person works just one hour a day and earns a proportional amount to the minimum wage, they are counted as a positive statistic. What we truly need are quality jobs that pay well and provide stability for people.
Even those who manage to avoid these hardships more directly will still face indirect impacts. The increase in violence, hate crimes, involuntary social isolation, the air we breathe, the water we drink… everything is interconnected. As the saying goes, no man is an island.
People need to start understanding that their own happiness depends on the happiness of those around them. And happiness isn’t something to postpone until tomorrow; it’s not some utopian idea for the future. The fight should begin now.
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