2016 is the year of paralysis in the face of certain disaster

We are frozen, like the proverbial deer in headlights, just staring as our own doom barrels down upon us

Just waiting for it to come our way.
(Image credit: Brain light / Alamy Stock Photo)

Calvin Coolidge reportedly said that "if you see 10 troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you." Well, it seems that Europe and the Americas can see enough troubles rolling down the road that a few are getting past the ditch and to us. And we're frozen, like the proverbial deer in headlights, just staring as our own doom barrels down upon us.

Welcome to 2016, the year of paralysis in the face of certain disaster.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.