Until a couple of years ago, I never thought I would live in a world where a real war would break out, but since 2022, Russia has invaded Ukraine and Israel has decimated Palestine in all-out shooting wars that have led to casualties in the hundreds of thousands for the former, and tens of thousands for the latter.
It’s a horrifying thought, especially after decades of relative peace, where the international rules-based order that was able to prevent such conflicts has now obviously failed. Countries like Russia and Israel can now just drop bombs and send troops and tanks into foreign territory and aside from making statements of condemnation, and maybe sending military aid to the nations they support, it has become pretty clear there isn’t much the rest of the civilized world can do about it.
Russia has been invading and bombing Ukraine since 2022, and Israel has pretty much levelled Palestine, as well as bombed other surrounding countries where it says its enemy is hiding, and we have seen just how useless the United Nations and the International Criminal Court are when there are nations led by men who don’t care about violating the rules that are supposed to keep war at bay.
Unsurprisingly, the continuing actions and war crimes of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has emboldened the United States’ budding emperor Donald Trump, who has recently jumped into the bandwagon by declaring that he wants to take over Greenland, a territory that does not belong to the USA, using any means necessary. It makes one wonder how many other crazy world leaders out there are looking at taking advantage of these chaotic times to expand their own personal wealth and national territories, and more importantly, if there is still anything the rest of the world can do about such leaders. The problem is that the voters seem to be choosing the worst kind of people to put in power during these troubled times, making the times even more troubling.
Aside from the shooting wars, another phenomenon that I never thought I’d witness is a trade war, such as the one that the good old USA has started with its “Liberation Day” tariffs. The self-inflicted trade war between the USA and China will be interesting to watch, especially with the American leader having fired the first shot, seemingly without any idea of what he is trying to do. The USA has imposed 104% tariffs on China and in response, there is now an 84% tariffs on American goods coming into China. Trump’s war has wreaked havoc on international trade, upending all the gentlemen’s agreements and rules that everyone has until now, understood and followed. What comes next is going to be interesting, especially if other powerful nations see the opportunities that come with all these broken rules.
The ongoing shooting wars and trade wars do not bode well for the world’s future. Everything has suddenly become uncertain. We cannot count on the UN and the agreements countries made 80 years ago to stop wars. After Trump’s tariff tantrum, the world has how it only takes one crazy leader to break apart the trade deals and conventions that have kept markets and economies relatively stable for decades. What if Trump suddenly decides that it would be in the best interest of his great America that his meme coin is suddenly the official currency of his country?
All these rules and conventions being broken left and right by world leaders makes me wonder how much more stress can our forms of government take before they break. If Donald Trump can do pretty much whatever he wants, why can’t other leaders do their own thing too? What is scary is his formula for castrating the legislature and ignoring the judiciary can be replicated by politicians who are smarter than him. What happens when these checks and balances are also ignored in other countries, when leaders with a tendency for dictatorship know that their own government can’t stop them, the UN is all talk, and the International Criminal Court can only make them accountable for their crimes only if their successor gives them up (which can be remedied if they ensure that there are no successors).
All this chaos and uncertainty makes it important for the people of a country to ensure that they put in power leaders who are not crazy, are not convicted felons, don’t have dementia, and instead take their time to pick those who have integrity, competence, and respect for the rule of law. The world is at a tipping point and if we could very well tip over and everything could fall apart if we put more Vladimir Putins, Kim Jong Uns, Benjamin Netanyahus, and Donald Trumps in charge.
Sometimes the world needs a tipping to make it better, especially if we’ve become complacent. However, if we get unlucky and it tips the wrong way and it makes things worse instead, it won’t look good for the next generation because they will be spending all their time and energy just to get it back in a better direction. And given that they will most likely be fighting against authoritarian and fascist regimes, it could get really ugly before things get better. If you come to think of it, if it comes to that, it will be bloody and could take time, and everyone could lose a lot.
In other words, we should be more involved in the effort to prevent this era’s worst leaders from banding together and gaining the critical mass required for them to completely change the world in their favor.*
