The amount of general craziness in the political sphere right now is truly breathtaking at the same time that it is heartbreaking. Let us not forget the war in Ukraine is more than four years old now, the persecution and systemic annihilation of the lawful citizens of Gaza is still in full swing; we're still blowing up boats in the Caribbean; we still have a kidnapped head of state in a New York jail right now; we are starving the entire citizenry of Cuba with a blockade of critical supplies; and now we are waging war to ostensibly 'prevent more war' in a way that feels very wasteful in terms of resources, and cruel in terms of execution. Not to mention questionably lucrative.
I know that modern media has been quite opinionated for sometime, in terms of unknown political bias on one side or the other. But somehow, in this post-Covid, post-Epstein sociopolitical climate, the distance between the two sides feels bigger than ever. But I still question the logic of blind centrism, aggressive, or not. Sometimes the goal posts get moved during the game and you have to reassess your position. it's not weakness, it's observation.
There is a lot of money in this game of social control. Having the ability to provide input into the modern spectrum of day-to-day messaging–whether that be through a news outlet, or a YouTube channel, or a popular show on XM radio–is more important than ever to the larger universe of independent creators that I belong to. Not all of us want to be the next MrBeast. Maybe we just want to have a music blog and a radio show. Maybe you want to show off your dance moves on TikTok. Maybe you have a hobby that you want to create content for. I think the kind of world where we encourage everyone that has an idea to go for it, by providing guidance and resources will help offset the kind of creators that are only going for shock value. When we refocus on the potential artisanal nature at the center of the creative process, we provide a balance against the chaotic nature of a spectacle-based culture.
Because we need this next generation to fall back in love with their hands. The making of tangible things. Remembering to embrace the process. Because it is these very activities of dexterity and knowledge based handiwork that teach us about the hidden details of our universe: the magical language of knots, the delicious voodoo of cooking sciences, the mysterious art of negotiation. The hard-earned joy of woodworking, sewing, and planting. These hands-on skills, collectively, represent not only the heart of humanity, but the best defense we have against the encroachment of AI. It's how you tell the difference. My guess is that society will evolve even faster now, because change becomes useful as a marker. Just like whenever you see that floss dance, it can't have been before 2010. It's carbon dating via memetic performance art. We need to move increasingly faster now, lest the robots start to catch up.
And here we are, with a press release from the White House and video that feels more childish than anything else. When real American lives are at stake, the video game metaphor becomes torturous. "That's not enough for me," says the mother, the sibling, the lover, because the loss is real but the threat was not. Everybody knows that video games aren't fun at all when you only get one life.
This is not the first time the White House has used video games to share its victory message. Last week, the White House posted a video using the popular game Call of Duty.
How's the war going? Depends who you ask.