Thoughts on the World in 2026

I’ve been having a lot of big thoughts lately. Ever since the “prince of peace” Trump became president for the second time, I feel the world has become a much less safe place. Let me break it down a bit. Many will probably strongly disagree, and that’s perfectly fine.

My view of the world: It’s obvious that the internet—and especially social media—has had a massive impact on people’s perception of what is real and what is true. I remember when the internet first emerged. Back then, I thought that NOW it would no longer be possible for something like Hitler and the Second World War to happen again. The whole world would be able to see what was going on instantly, and major troop movements and acts of aggression would be detected immediately. World leaders would be able to act quickly and shut down such attempts before they became anything. How naïve.

I never considered that the same technology could be used to manipulate an entire following and/or an entire population in the same way the Germans managed with their massive propaganda machine—only much faster and on a much larger scale. Especially in states where access to media is limited to internal operators. This applies to both traditional, editor‑controlled media and social media.

And when the major and powerful states of the world run this machinery, and manage to manipulate most of the population into believing that what they are doing is both right and moral, then it doesn’t matter how loudly other nations protest. The leaders won’t be removed. Quite the opposite. They receive the full support of their population. And on top of that, they imprison anyone who asks questions, handing out long sentences.

In my worldview, I’ve primarily been thinking of Russia and China. But unfortunately, the USA (MAGA) has also managed to join this club. And there are many more, including in the Middle East. For simplicity’s sake, let me just call them “the others.”

So is my worldview correct? I’m quite sure that “the others” believe their worldview is the right and true one, in the same way that I believe mine is right and true. The MAGA movement in the United States feels the same way, but I think it’s a bit different there. People choose entirely voluntarily to rely only on conservative information channels and are unwilling to listen to fully available alternatives. It’s somewhat similar among Democratic supporters, but they don’t have a leader they perceive as a godlike figure. It’s possible that this type of cult‑like movement is unique to the United States, but I doubt it. In any case, the U.S. is very good at this sort of thing.

So, to take this line of thought to its natural conclusion: What are we in central Europe being fed? If we believe that the others live in an illusion of reality, shouldn’t we ask ourselves the same question? Are we doing that too? How can we know?

Well, it’s difficult for me to determine, so I choose to believe that if you live in a society with absolutely no restrictions on the flow of information, it becomes harder for authorities to sell a false narrative. Of course, in our part of the world we also have many individuals who live in their own echo chambers, with a somewhat distorted way of interpreting the world around them. I’ve certainly encountered many of them. But the vast majority of the population is well‑informed, with both access to and interest in staying updated.

That’s why I keep telling myself that my worldview is more or less correct — at least the broad strokes. I simply have nothing else to base this opinion on.

So I move on, hoping that “the others” will eventually see the light and come to their senses. Is that particularly likely? Hardly. The only thing that can change a people’s deeply rooted sense of truth is when what they believed in collapses completely, and they are forced to confront what they were part of. Think of the population living near the concentration camps after the war, who were forced to take part in the clean‑up.

The tragedy is that by then it is usually far too late. The damage is done. Enormous numbers of lives have been lost in a process that was, from the very beginning, completely unnecessary and pointless. Forgive me for being a bit skeptical about how the human race functions.

So, my worldview now revolves very much around the United States and Trump, naturally. Much can of course be said about that man, but I have a slightly different angle in mind here. The U.S. is a fully capitalist society, where the American Dream is the guiding principle. Ideas about creating systems in which everyone contributes to helping those who are struggling are seen as communism. Even those who would benefit greatly from such systems oppose them. Fair enough. It is deeply ingrained in the mindset that you must manage on your own, and if you can’t, it’s your own damned fault (the strange thing is that people create such systems in their own local communities, and then it’s fine).

So what has happened that has given a guy like Donald Trump so much power? The truth is that the vast majority of the country (the middle class) has gradually experienced worsening conditions. This has happened regardless of which party has been in power, and it has taken place over many years. What then becomes inevitable is that the masses begin to move. They start becoming angry and frustrated. They begin to distrust everyone involved in politics. They start looking for someone who can “clean things up.” Enter Donald Trump. His rhetoric found fertile ground, since he said he wasn’t a politician and that his mission was to root out all corruption.

Well, the rest is history. Now it seems that the cannon they thought they were buying has exploded, and everyone is beginning to suffer. He has become what everyone originally wanted to fight against, only several times worse (in my view). What that man might do before the midterm elections this autumn is something one can only fear. If there will even be a midterm election. He realizes himself that if this election goes the way the polls currently suggest, he will become a so‑called lame duck with no power whatsoever, and the charges against both him and several in his administration will come pouring in.

Conspiracy theories. I’ve always been very skeptical of conspiracy theories. They usually start with a grain of truth, but quickly grow into something huge and wild. This mostly happens inside people’s heads. What’s new is that all those who used to live down by the river, wearing tinfoil hats to protect themselves from the radiation of all the UFOs supposedly surrounding the Earth, or from government surveillance, are now all on the internet. And they have millions of followers.

In the past, they were gently taken care of by healthcare professionals. Now that’s no longer an option. Both they and the local village troll live and thrive on social media. Village troll is what Norwegians call the mechanism that can make an entire village turn against an individual based solely on a few loose rumors. This is also why I’m fundamentally skeptical of the entire social‑media concept, even though, strictly speaking, it’s exactly what I’m writing on here.

That’s why what I’m about to write next is a bit difficult for me, because it could easily come across as a conspiracy theory.

Why does Trump appear so friendly toward Russia? Why does it look as if he is working to ensure that Russia gets to keep occupied land in Ukraine? Why has Trump stopped all weapons deliveries to Ukraine? Yes, he sells weapons to Ukraine through European countries, but that’s a business he simply can’t let go of. Why is Trump at odds with practically all of Western Europe? Why would he put the entire NATO alliance at risk by trying to occupy Greenland?

Well, in light of all this, I can’t help but think a little. Either the man is someone who shoots from the hip whenever a thought pops into his head, and once he has said A he must say B so as not to appear like a complete fool (not very successfully), or he is “smarter” than we think and has a long‑term plan. For the sake of argument, let’s assume the latter.

Trump is a big fan of various dictators around the world and wants to be one himself. This is not my opinion — he says it outright. So what if he and Putin have sat together over a glass of vodka and agreed that Putin can control the entire eastern hemisphere, and Trump the western? For me, this would explain a lot of what is happening now. Let’s hope I’m wrong, and that I’ve simply fallen into the conspiracy trap. Time will tell.

This was just me feeling the need to get some things off my chest. There is A LOT more to say about all of this, but these were some of the main thoughts on my mind lately. Thank you for sticking with me all the way to the end.😊