In the ‘Fight Club’ (1999), a man who suffered from chronic bad mood tried to color up his life by initiating a fight club. A club in a dimly lit bar that accommodated dozens of other men struggling to find a way out of their boredom of life, by fighting against each other.
The journey of mankind to find the meaning of life and identity is a universal theme that has ever been felt by anyone at any age. Therefore, it is understandable when some people admit to watch the film starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton repeatedly, as the plot around self-existence is an eternal inner conflict in every era for decades, and God only knows when it all stops completely.
As United States President Donald Trump announced a list of reciprocal tariffs (rates or trade restrictions for one country in response to the same action by such country) for a number of countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, America, and Australia on April 2nd, 2025, ripples of emotion began to awake, heating up the situation. That's how I see it on several online media outlet, local, regional, and international, as well as their official social media accounts on Bluesky, X, and Facebook. Their narratives are basically the same: displeased and frustrated.
As ‘Fight Club’ put it, it is a hard blow on the face or a spurn to one’s body part that move them to jump right into action, whether it's a fight (retaliate) or a flight (run away). The pain of being treated in a certain way has dragged the person out of their comfort zone. They feel an urge to immediately retaliate, so that the other person knows that being hit is painful and stops hitting accordingly. The imaginary figure in this story tries to find a solution to stop all the negative feelings that arise due to physical offence on him/her.
Seeking
Durability
China and the European Union are two camps that have openly expressed their rejection of Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs. For them, tariffs are an arbitrary act that tries to preserve the quaint of imperialism. It is a policy that is irrelevant and should be avoided in the free trade era, since it hinders the rights of other countries to advance and excel in trade sector.
I see that China and Europe's rejection arose from their awareness of their respective reputations as a group of developed countries with the world's largest economy after the United States. It's like two rich people with a commendable reputation and admired by the universe, whom suddenly being forced to accept the fact that they must submit to a Donald Trump, who has a less than perfect reputation due to several bankruptcies in his business and money embezzlement cases.
One source says that some people in China do not support China's retaliation decision, but another source says otherwise. It is said that patriotism is rising in China, and the people fully support the government's decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on all imported products from the United States.
Seeking
Safety
So, how did other tariffed-countries respond? Since the first day of tariffs announcement, Singapore declares that it will not retaliate from the start. So has India. As for Indonesia, the 34% tariff which imposed on all its imported goods is considered quite burdensome even though consumers in the United States will bear it. Tariffs will make Indonesian products more expensive, and consumers may turn to other products that are cheaper.
Calls to unite and to retaliate against Donald Trump's tariffs have been quite loud on several online platforms lately. The taunts of several netizens towards the Indonesian government's decision to compromise with the United States are quite annoying and make the ears red. However, if we really examine it by setting aside emotions, these voices tend to direct the audience to defend a certain party.
My suggestion is: let us look at them as frogs that keep croaking, because The Creator created them with such ability. The decision to increase imports from the United States is a thoughtful one. As a country that received US government aid funds through USAID for various sectors, such as health, education, and disaster management, it is only right that Indonesia gives back the US's kindness by helping it to solve the problem currently lingering on the superpower nation, which is the trade deficit. Don't let us being an ungrateful nation.
