How the world turned upside down in 2017

Can we go ahead and say the world has turned upside down in 2017? Or that 2017 blinded us all? This year took us by surprise, shocked us, startled us and caught us off guard. Looking through a political lens, we can sum up the year with the expression, “No way!”

First thing’s first: The new president of the United States

A businessman who has been known for his gaffes and scandals and who had been treated like a joke during his election campaign was elected the president of a longtime global superpower last year. Since then, Donald Trump has raised hell on Earth, making hate speech a regular tone against refugees.

Trump has begun building a wall between Mexico and the U.S. He has placed a visa ban on citizens of certain Muslim countries. He has called Meryl Streep “talentless.” He has called Elizabeth Warren, who is of Native American heritage, “Pocahontas.”

Trump has lowered the boom on country leaders, whom he had viewed as (physically) inadequate. As a result, the American population has become introduced to polarization. Welcome to the club.

Although Trump has been enough of a shock to our planet all on his own, he then went on to declare Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Dec. 6, following Israel’s decision. Yet, his surprises did not end there.

Throughout 2017, the North Korean and American leader threatened each other with nuclear weapons. And of course, the infamous “Rocket Man” line Trump uttered against his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un. What ever happened to good old Cold War etiquette? No one knows.

Hollywood speaks up against sexual harassment

Hollywood’s renowned director Harvey Weinstein has turned out to be a sexual harassment mogul. As it turns out, the times he had not sexually harassed women he had worked with were odd times in his career. Women in the American film industry have spoken up and the scandals have been revealed. Pandora’s Box was opened for Hollywood in 2017.

A Turk who wooed Adriana Lima

Metin Hara, a Turkish spiritual author and workshop instructor, became a popular topic in national dialogue. He became a household name after being spotted with Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima. Hara and Lima’s relationship was certainly a hot subject during a very hot year.

We were shocked again in 2017 with this gossip, as Turkey had never experienced being in the global spotlight with such tabloid material before. The year 2017 was not a dull one at all for Turkey. Then again, you might ask when it has ever been dull here. Well, this year we also experienced a change in our governing system and constitution.

The concept of a brand new “presidential system” has entered our lives in the blink of an eye. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became the first leader in the new system following the countrywide referendum held on April 16.

This year was a learning period on how to adapt to change at the speed of sound.

So, here we are. The axis has shifted. And what happens when the axis shifts? You lose balance. You waddle. You clumsy around.

When you look at this through simple logic, I feel relieved. That is how I see 2017. We have been clumsy around this whole year.

I wish us all a monotone and steady 2018. And if you ever need some sort of excitement in the world, there are actors and actresses who can solve that for you.