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Duty Calls Us to Laugh at These Tarrific Times We’re Living In

Nobody can tax our free spirits

4 min readApr 19, 2025
Two penguins chatting
We’ve gone viral! (Image by Krissie Gwynne from Pixabay)

As long as we can find the funny in this disaster, we’ll win with a grin.

Tariffs are top of mind across most nations, even remote islands you’d battle to find on a map.

I can tell you, my nerves are frayed with the fusillade of attacks, fifteen so far, aimed at South Africa. The latest threat is to remove us from the SWIFT banking system, meaning I’d be denied access to my Stripe account and other sources of overseas income.

With this in mind, the only way I could see my sanity surviving this onslaught was to write a humorous piece about these trade wars.

I hope you’ll forgive my dreadful drivel. I’m aware the competition is tough. I mean, who can out drivel the ignorant pronouncements pouring out of MAGA mouths?

Let’s begin on a serious note. A minor discourse on economics.

When I attended Wits Business School in 1989, we covered the basics. As I told my professor at the time, it’s plain common sense.

Enough to say that we ordinary folks who live in the real world, unlike oligarchs and billionaires, make our buying decisions based on price. We purchase from businesses who offer the best price who, in turn…

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Caroline de Braganza
Caroline de Braganza

Written by Caroline de Braganza

Wise Older Woman (WOW). Poetry, essays, humor. Passion for mental health, social justice, politics, diverse cultures, the world and environment.

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