Without doubt, the worst thing that could happen in 2024 is the re-election of Donald Trump, which I am convinced will happen. But I am so sure that my American pal and co-writer Dean will choose that miserable apology of a human being as his subject this week, that I am going for something different. (Remember, we never see each other’s musings until they are finished.)
The recent Covid pandemic and aftermath was the first occasion that affected almost every human being on our planet, and adversely so. My huge worry is that a nastier version of that virus might manifest itself next year.
I don’t think many countries covered themselves in much glory in the way they dealt with Covid. Certainly not the U.K., where there is a public enquiry ongoing into the way the government dealt with it, and let me tell you it isn’t a pleasant experience to learn about our despicable, lying, perverse, shit-hole of a regime that allowed thousands to die needlessly, while they were partying themselves into regular intoxication. (And like Trump, unbelievably, they will get re-elected.)
The general scientific consensus is something like Covid is coming. We all know that pandemics kill more of us than any war and indeed cost economies well beyond that of conflicts. But governments worldwide seem more interested in merely treating symptoms rather than addressing the cause of disease, like Ebola, Sars, Mers and Nipah, all which have materialised in the past half-century.
Let’s think what needs to change to avoid the pitfalls of the past. We urgently need to work out human relationships with animals, who have played a major part in every outbreak of disease, including intensive farming, where 70 billion are slaughtered for meat, with farms becoming factories for storing disease.
We need to urgently restore ecosystems and greenhouse emissions, which at the moment guarantee that pathogen-carrying insects and wildlife flourishes and moves into new areas.
The risk of a pandemic kicking off in a lab is growing exponentially. There needs to be much stricter controls that we have at present.
None of this is going to happen, at least nowhere fast enough, and I fear for the future.
Maybe there is one piece of good fortune that could come out of a new pandemic. It could wrap itself around Trump and his band of illiterate supporter thugs, saving the world from a grotesque dictatorship, but at what cost to the rest of humanity?
The worst thing that could happen next year
The world is very diverse, so it is no surprise that it is full of bad expectations, depending on the individual.
Today, I had an excellent prequel to some of the worst things to happen in 2024: Vladimir Putin’s ‘re-election’ bid. So today, he said he would ‘run’ for president. I wish him the best of luck; I am sure his campaign would be very tough and competitive.
Dean and Roger would roast me, but Trump’s return to the Oval Office won’t be something terrible, especially regarding Ukraine. The Biden administration was and is weak in handling this crisis. I mean, it was Trump who had sent anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. It was during the Trump presidency when Ukraine was safest ever since 2014. According to rumors, Trump once said to Putin: ‘Vladimir, if you try to invade Ukraine, I would hit Moscow.’ I don’t know if it is true, but I can believe it as he did it once at Dair ez-Zor in Syria, sending hundreds of Wagner troops right to hell.
Anyway, to me, the worst thing would be Russia’s further iranization. Getting back to archaics, prohibiting anything, from public protests against authorities to abortions to LGBT.
As this started in 2012 and has boosted since February 2022, I expect this process to grow stronger and more intense.
Personally, I hope to continue being a spectator in this exciting, ever-lasting freaking show, not an actor. This is the only thing I can do: the tide is too strong; it can only be stopped if our strongman suddenly – and somehow – leaves us, politically or physically.
I don’t see any chance of this tragedy happening in the next five years. The good folk of Russia would happily re-elect him, getting poorer daily in the process. Sure, they would feel themselves the greatest people on Earth, fighting various demons coming from abroad from all directions. This is their choice. Amen.
The worst thing that could happen next year…
So, I’ve been trying to think: There must be something worse that could happen. If you take the man at his word, and I do, the only thing worse would be total world war.
See, most Americans fall into two camps:
- He’s going to return America to the its former glory;
- He plans to destroy the democracy so he can stay for life.
There is almost no-one without a passionate position. Not only is he extreme, he makes the rest of us extremist.
By now you assume I’m saying if he wins, that would be the worst. Naw, not by half. If he wins, others will stand aside and there will be a normal transfer of power. I imagine there will be protest in some cities but the basic functioning of government will carry on.
See, if he wins he wins, but if he loses he will claim he won. He will call his mob into the streets and there will be serious violence. There will be a real attempt to overthrow the Republic. He will tell his followers that the vote was rigged and they were cheated. He will say he won by a landslide and it’s the biggest crime in history.
It really doesn’t matter if he wins or losses, he will claim the prize. The difference is that if he loses, there will be death. There will be blood.
There is one way… Many of his base, who used to be religious Evangelicals, say they cannot vote for a convicted felon. They’ve come this far so I don’t see why that should matter. Why is total betrayal of your values acceptable except for this one thing? The irony is: the exact same people who plan, no, want to destroy the country may well end up saving it. Too bizarre for Hollywood.