Every one of us knows, “morning shows the day.” Starting from the morning of the first day of 2024, the world is under siege. We are seeing the serious impact of climate change in Mississippi too. The world has already witnessed a large amount of destruction because of the Middle East war, in addition to the Russia-Ukraine war. At the same time, the Middle East war has started expanding,
Who could have thought a friendly trio would be involved in war? Iran, Pakistan and Syria are now fighting.
On the other hand, the U.S. is not sitting idle. From the very start, the U.S. whole heartedly supported providing weapons and intelligence. But we are now involved militarily against a terrorist group, the Houthis from Yemen.
China on the other hand is threatening Taiwan after a pro-China leader didn’t win the Thai election. It looks to me like a third world war is knocking on every country’s door.
However, most importantly 2024 will be the war of the “US vs itself – that poses a greatest global risk,” according to Ian Bremmer in Time’s Jan. 22 edition. I agree 100% with Mr. Bremmer’s view.
My native country, Bangladesh had a general election on Jan. 7 where the main opposition party boycotted the election. They wanted the election to be held under a caretaker government. With this demand they started vigorous street protests that killed innocent people. Ultimately the government managed and succeeded in holding the election without the participation of the main opposition party, so the party in power got a walkover with a super majority in the new parliament. Neighboring India was happy with the outcome, but the U.S. showed their uneasiness. I am not sure why. The election was fair. The new government has already been formed for another five years. Things are okay now in Bangladesh.
On the other hand, our election in the U.S. will be held in November, but the situation is already getting tense. Will it be a fair election? Whatever the results, are the parties ready to accept? Win or lose, there are risks I can see. The past experiences were not pleasant.
Losing an election is heartbreaking no doubt, but should it lead to a petrifying situation that kills people including law enforcing members? Tragically, that’s what happened in the U.S. This was what used to happen in the streets of Bangladesh a couple of decades back. Nothing happened this time during and after the Bangladesh election.
Will it be a landslide victory for one party in the U.S. election? It doesn’t seem like it. It could be a very close game in the so-called swing states. In that case, who would be protecting the bullet-filled guns?
Several U.S. presidents served consecutive two terms and only one president, Grover Cleveland, returned for a second term after four years.
This is an exceptional year when a one term Republican president lost in his second attempt. He now prepares for a contest against the incumbent Democrat candidate. The rhetoric is in the air. Sometimes it is frightening.
Hopefully, the war of “U.S. vs itself” will not take place and diplomacy will prevail to avoid all-out war around the world. We must live on to see what artificial intelligence (AI) can offer us!
Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. He writes occasional column in the Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. His email address is [email protected].
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