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What Donald Trump’s election win tells us about our world. (part 2)
Donald Trump was uniquely positioned to tap into the massive societal changes brought about by democratising information and the erosion of traditional power structures. Trump’s approach to relationships exemplifies this individualistic moment. Known for his transactional style, he builds alliances with those who benefit his goals and distances himself from those who do not. Unlike many conventional politicians who adhered to established rules of political decorum and relied on traditional media, Trump understood the power of direct, unfiltered communication through platforms like Twitter and alternative media channels. By bypassing traditional news outlets and speaking directly to people online, Trump tapped into a growing distrust of mainstream institutions and capitalised on…
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What Donald Trump’s election win tells us about our world. (part 1)
I, like many others have been doing some reflection following yesterdays election result. I am more and more convinced we are in the midst of a massive societal shift that we are only now beginning to wake up to. This is part one of my reflection trying to wrestle with where we are and what it means. Someone I love very much said yesterday, “Are Americans stupid? How could they elect a man like that?” The truth is that while Donald Trump’s re-election has left half of America—and many around the world—bewildered and unsettled, the other half feels vindicated and empowered. Trump’s win feels like a reclamation of values and…
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Everything is not O.K.
Everything is not ok in my country. The latest mental health statistics indicate that 32.4% of Males aged between 16 and 24 have had symptoms of a mental health disorder in the last 12 months (2023). For young women, that number is 45.5%[1]. Before the COVID pandemic, loneliness was described “both as an ‘epidemic’ and one of the most pressing public health concerns in Australia.” [2]In 2021, more than 1 in 4 women aged 18–24 agreed with the statement ‘I often feel very lonely’ in 2021, an increase from less than 1 in 5 in 2015.[3] It’s not only my country. America is setting new records every year for teenage depression,…
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The depressing lie
Having the courage to question current assumptions Mental illness is reaching epidemic proportions in my country and whatever approaches we have been taking simply are not working. As I mentioned in the post “Remember the days of the old school yard“, our young people are coping with the worst of it: Just over a quarter (26%) of people aged 16–24 had a mental disorder compared to 6% of people aged 75–85. 1 in 3 young people experience moderate to high levels of psychological distress Around 160,000 young people aged 16-24 years live with depression One definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. When…
