The Future We Deserve

Something broke tonight

Here is my late night, tired, inebriated reaction to tonight's pathetic showing for the future leader of the "free world".

That was not the presidential debate I hoped for.

Here we are, civilization entering the abyss, and this is the best America has to offer? Bickering over golf and growth?!?

I really don't know what the fuck to think anymore. It's like the officers of the Titanic arguing about the dinner menu as the ship sinks in the Atlantic. I shouldn't really expect much else, I suppose. But something definitely broke tonight.

We're on the precipice of world war 3. People are actively planning to turn America into an authoritarian state. The biosphere is collapsing. This could be the last free election. Yet these are the presidential choices on the menu?

I am doing my best to warn others and prepare for an uncertain future. However, after today's performance I feel like giving up.

It's clear that voters don't care, candidates don't care and moderators don't care. We're fighting for our lives yet these existential risks are essentially a non-issue to those given a podium to speak.

I suppose I knew this already.

Given our history, these risks won't be brought up until they smack us all in the face. I'm reminded of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008/2009. During the heat of the crisis, it's all politicians talked about. However, the risks were present and growing for years prior. Despite this, anyone who talked about the risks to the financial system prior to 2008 were laughed out of the room.

Leading up to the financial crisis, in July of 2007 Bob Prince, CEO of Citigroup explained it succinctly, “When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance.”

Prince's argument highlighted the competitive pressures forcing financial institutions to continue taking risks, despite the clouds on the horizon. The alternative to taking risk was to leave money on the table. Shareholders would have revolted.

Today we have two ragged presidential candidates beholden to their corporate sponsors. One a convicted felon and the other too weak to fight. Neither will address the looming crisis until it drags voters below the surface. The music is playing and they're still dancing.

One platform is better than the other, so with a little research we can at least choose the candidate that doesn't accelerate the destruction. Unfortunately, most people vote like they never left grade school. They pick the loud jock with great one-liners that promises to remove bean sprouts from the cafeteria.

What do the 20-something year-olds think about all this? They must think the old folks are losing it. It's embarrassing, assuming they're paying attention at all. I hope they are because they have yet to experience life.

So there you have it. America is one step closer to fascism and still miles from even acknowledging anything that really matters.

I guess we're about to get the future we deserve.