Hang on, the wild ride of 2018 is far from over

The Christmas week turmoil in the stock market serves as a national metaphor for 2018 and a likely harbinger of what lies ahead in the New Year.

Not just on Wall Street, but also in Silicon Valley, in Washington, across the nation and around the world. The year we’re leaving behind has been rocked by daily revelations. And the only thing that’s certain about 2019 is that nothing will be certain.

Fasten your seat belts. When the world’s most powerful nation has one of the most mercurial leaders, anything is possible. We shouldn’t be surprised that there are so many oscillations.

Starting with that stock market, where the Dow seems very likely to end the year below where it started. The Trump Bump of 2017 has turned into a Trump Slump this past year.

A market correction was inevitable. But when tax cuts drive up the national debt, the United States engages in a trade war with the world’s fastest-growing economy, the president tries to politically demonize the Federal Reserve Board and its chairman whom he appointed, and part of our government is shut down because Donald Trump can’t convince members of Congress to pay for the border wall he had previously insisted Mexico would finance, the volatility was exacerbated.

It’s said that when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. While there’s certainly truth to the notion that our economy affects other nations, the contagion is not contained to the financial markets.

Global instability is exacerbated when the United States abruptly moves to an isolationist-driven foreign policy, when we abandon allies, when we refuse to condemn murderous world leaders, when one president unilaterally abandons agreements of a predecessor, and when we, a nation of immigrants, demonize those seeking a better life and escape from despotic leaders or terrorist gangs.

We’ve seen all of that – and more

— in 2018. Each day seems to bring new drama and uncertainty. Norms we had come to rely on have been abandoned. Environmental protections have been jettisoned. Continuing Supreme Court protection of a woman’s right to choose an abortion is suddenly uncertain. Our national pursuit of stringent fuel economy and combating global warming has been abandoned.

We saw that with 9/11. We saw it during the Great Recession. And we’ve seen it here in California with the wildfires this year and last. It’s why our national security agencies are so important. Why diplomacy and close relations with our allies matter. Why we must not endanger our economic well-being with foolhardy trade spats. Why science matters and global warming must be acknowledged and addressed.

At times, it feels like we’re on a surreal collision course. If only someone would apply the brakes.

It’s unlikely that 2019 will end this wild ride. Elections have consequences. The opportunity for critical political change is still nearly two years away. But now is the time to prepare and engage — and to hang on for the ride ahead.

— San Jose Mercury News, Digital First Media