I have always taken Naomi Klein's lessons heart. Klein is a Canadian activist and author of several game changing bestsellers.
In her famous book The Shock Doctrine, she describes how society is very reluctant or slow to change in response to minor changes in the environment. Society only begins to respond when it experiences major shocks to the system.
She describes how global warming (or climate change) has no shock value because the change in the environment is barely perceptible at an individual level. We only begin to respond when we experience major shocks to our system, such as devastating hurricanes or floods. These shocks are starting to come but I fear they are too little too late, as tends to be the case with stable systems eroded by decades of neglect.
In the case of global politics, it's fair to say that there has been a slow eroding of the political system or some time to the point where something had to give. A shock to the system was inevitable... and that shock came in the form of Donald Trump.
This is far from an endorsement of the man. But America is the centre stage of global politics, and Trump has inadvertently been the catalyst for an activist movement that's reached far beyond its borders and risen to a fever pitch. If he were not elected, disaster and deception politics would have continued under the radar. Instead people are taking notice, and are taking to the streets to protest, to social media to express their fury, and even to the late night talk shows to make fun of Trump.
My sympathy goes out to my American friends, but I have strong hope that your country's next 5 years of suffering will not be in vain. Trump has and will continue to deliver major shocks to the system. He will in turn galvanize an opposing leftist movement that will reverse the political tide with far reaching consequences, perhaps outlasting Trump's legacy. Years from now, looking back, Trump's presidential nomination will be seen as a turning point towards better times ahead.
But for now Trump is pissing everyone off from Mexicans to Muslims to women to, god forbid, even Canadians. Well, I say get pissed, and do something about it.
In her famous book The Shock Doctrine, she describes how society is very reluctant or slow to change in response to minor changes in the environment. Society only begins to respond when it experiences major shocks to the system.
She describes how global warming (or climate change) has no shock value because the change in the environment is barely perceptible at an individual level. We only begin to respond when we experience major shocks to our system, such as devastating hurricanes or floods. These shocks are starting to come but I fear they are too little too late, as tends to be the case with stable systems eroded by decades of neglect.
In the case of global politics, it's fair to say that there has been a slow eroding of the political system or some time to the point where something had to give. A shock to the system was inevitable... and that shock came in the form of Donald Trump.
This is far from an endorsement of the man. But America is the centre stage of global politics, and Trump has inadvertently been the catalyst for an activist movement that's reached far beyond its borders and risen to a fever pitch. If he were not elected, disaster and deception politics would have continued under the radar. Instead people are taking notice, and are taking to the streets to protest, to social media to express their fury, and even to the late night talk shows to make fun of Trump.
My sympathy goes out to my American friends, but I have strong hope that your country's next 5 years of suffering will not be in vain. Trump has and will continue to deliver major shocks to the system. He will in turn galvanize an opposing leftist movement that will reverse the political tide with far reaching consequences, perhaps outlasting Trump's legacy. Years from now, looking back, Trump's presidential nomination will be seen as a turning point towards better times ahead.
But for now Trump is pissing everyone off from Mexicans to Muslims to women to, god forbid, even Canadians. Well, I say get pissed, and do something about it.
