Vibe Shift
cowboatIt has been two weeks since the Presidential Election in the United States, and the change in the air is palpable.
Just a couple months ago we were bopping to coconut-themed autotunes as we watched the last vestiges of our republic seemingly crumble around us. We spent the summer and the better part of this year questioning just how insane this reality can actually get. It’s current year! Why are we poorer? Why are there so many wars? Why are we less safe? Why doesn’t our government work? Why can’t we just build stuff anymore? How did we end up on the lamest timeline? This is America, gosh darnit! But with the re-election of Donald Trump as America’s 47th President, something has definitely changed. The machine did not expect that.
Liberals seethe in indignation (and hopefully don’t miss the opportunity for self-reflection), while right-wingers revel exuberantly in expectation that their chosen avatar will deliver them, treating him almost like Christ himself (he very much isn’t). Partisans will do as they will. Meanwhile, the beauracratic red tape between us and a Moon colony is being shredded. Nuclear power is back in vogue. Crime is illegal again. Free speech is free again (Free Speech Premium costs $16/mo). Authoritarians of all stripes have been delivered a setback. This is a good thing for humanity. We’ve been given some room to breathe from the pervasive woke nonsense and staved off doom for a little while. But how much of the mood change will stick, and is this a cultural turning point, or merely a brief respite? Through all of this we’re still lurching closer to World War 3 by the day. Are we headed for our golden age or our swan song? (Could it maybe be both?)
By the time the next election rolls around, we’ll have flying taxis and rockets will be headed to Mars. Humanoid robots will be a common sight on our factory floors. AI then will make AI now look like children’s toys. If we’re still here, that is. Wherever we’re going, we’re accelerating. Buckle up. Oh, and enjoy it if you can. Whether this is the beginning or the end, it’s shaping up to be pretty metal.
-cowboat