I had a really messed up dream last night. I dreamt there were some puppies, and one of them had been enhanced with artificial intelligence. I was terrified and kept thinking: how did we get to this point?

Commuter rail, education, healthcare, farming, fishing, the self-employed… Anyone might think I'm listing sectors with no connection to each other, but the reality is very different. Either they aren't functioning as they should, or they're on strike and mobilizing because they're fed up with the situation.

Visiting three supermarkets to find grapes produced relatively locally shouldn't be normal in a region full of vineyards. And yet, that's what happened to me last year. The produce filling the shelves came mostly from elsewhere, while local farmers find it increasingly difficult to survive. This everyday example explains better than any report what's happening to the agricultural sector. Farmers have been burdened for years with cumbersome bureaucracy, increasingly stringent regulations, and rising costs. Now, on top of all this, there's the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, which further aggravates an already precarious situation.

This week we've had some great news, at least in my opinion. Starting January 1st, the DGT (Spanish Directorate General of Traffic) will implement new regulations: electric scooter users will have to have liability insurance, be registered, and display a license plate or other visible identification. Is it late? Well, yes, we won't deny it. But, as the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes Laertius said, better late than never. It was about time someone put common sense into action and realized that these electric scooters, or rather, their users, must comply with the same regulations as cars or motorcycles. After all, they travel on public roads and until now have gone unpunished if they caused an accident. In fact, I know someone who was hit by a scooter and was off work for months, and relatively recently a scooter crossed my path in a roundabout in El Vendrell going the wrong way. Now, I have some questions: Will insurance companies be willing to insure them? Will the registration system on the DGT (Spanish Traffic Authority) website work correctly? And how will the companies that sell these vehicles incorporate the license plate numbers? We'll see how things develop, but one thing I'm sure of: from January onwards, all those who use this vehicle will be in the same situation as all other drivers.

The state government assures that the increase in self-employed contributions will be "moderate" and "manageable." But when a self-employed person hears these words, they already know what they mean: that, once again, they will have to pay a little more while everyone else looks the other way.

The other day I was reflecting on the strength and fragility of the human being, or rather, the human body. Because, even for a non-believer, it's undeniable that our anatomy is absolutely marvelous. You only have to stop for a moment and observe how we function to realize what a miracle it is to be alive. We automatically breathe, self-regulate, eliminate what harms us, our heart beats regularly, and our immune system fights for us. All of this without us having to be aware of it. It's a technology so advanced that no human machine can fully match it. And all of this happens inside us, constantly, every second.

They say that everything that isn't shown or said doesn't exist, but I don't fully agree with that statement. Social media arrived several years ago to change our world. And yes, it has changed it. Now, the question is whether it has changed it for the better or the worse.

I don't know if I'm the only one who sees that we live in a very crazy world. So crazy that many people find themselves unable to manage everything around them and must seek psychological help. But the thing is, after many years of stigmatization, taboos, and secrecy, it seems we can finally normalize it. If our tooth hurts, we make an appointment with the dentist, right? And if, for example, our knee hurts, we go to the orthopedist. Well, the same thing happens when we suffer and need help and must go to a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

Perhaps the topic of this opinion piece was predictable, but certain behaviors never cease to surprise. The commuter train system hasn't been working well for many years, and unfortunately, that wasn't news. But now, in the wake of the latest construction work on the Roda Tunnel, shuttle buses, delays, overhead lines, fed-up passengers getting off the train, strikes, and now, ridership protests, it's starting to become unspeakable.

Pepet and Marieta already said it with their song Not in the MAT: a cry that, for once, has united politicians and civil society. And it seems to have worked: the project has been rejected. But how many MATs will have to come before we fully wake up? This time we have found out, but how many decisions that affect our territory are taken without us being aware of it? How much information is published in the BOE without us being aware of it?