I am going to update my resume with the skills: able to exist within the cognitive dissonance that is our current dystopian reality. The slow descent into madness has made it just comfortable enough for someone in my social status to endure.
My perception, or rather, understanding of the United States of America has slowly evolved over the years. At first it was a matter of a few dysfunctions within an other wise sound society. Then the facade started to crack, and the reality of the state of things began to peak through. In 2016, there was a full reveal - and ever since, the grim realities of life in the USA has only continued to darken.
We’ve all heard about the parallels found in literary works of art - Parable of the Sower, Hand Maids Tale, Snow Crash, etc. Many read these dystopian future novels and revel in the similarities. “How did they get it so accurate?” many ask.
These stories are the re-imagining of our history. These stories seem so familiar because they are. The themes are consistent throughout history.
We have all this technology. All these shared stories. History documented and archived. We can see the patterns, they are clearly defined.
Why does it keep happening?
Why do people keep allowing this to happen?
Why are people HAPPY when this happens?
The subtle foreshadowing is always there.
It always has been.
But we think things are unrelated. They are related. Everything is connected.
Our society is a development of social behavior. When sociologists try to interpret and understand current social behavior, we look for context, symbolic changes, and we look for historical patterns.
To say I am surprised by anything in the news would be a lie. I’ve seen it coming, as many of us have.
We can only do what our heroes have done in history - continue to be empathetic, continue to fight, and continue to be on the right side of history.
“Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!” - Charlie Chaplain, 1940