It seems to me that we are slowly creeping toward the downfall of our democracy. With each passing day, the news reveals more information about the previous man-child who managed to become our country's leader. Or more information about players and participants of the cult who blissfully follow whatever contrived conspiracy put forth that supports their ideology.
Previous political right agenda administrations have used the tired and simple-minded tactic of "The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend." To this same philosophy, the followers of the right have comfortably fallen in line. The demographic who are less educated, less creative, and less open-minded have too found comfort in using that same simple-minded philosophy. They hate liberals and inclusiveness, so if some politician incites hatred by the left, then that person must be the one the right will stand behind. The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend.
In a way, I believe, this is much like a hard-core religion. If you consider yourself a member of this group, then you don't need to think about what is right for you or the country. Just follow the politician who is hated by the group you hate. Nothing more to think about.
Every day, we slide a little more down the hill. A little further from becoming a country rich in diversity with a place for everyone to contribute. Instead, we grow more and more divided. More delusional about what is real and what is a contrived, made-up, and imagined conspiracy.
When I was young. I believed that with the passage of time, humanity would continue to mature and find ways to improve. Now that I am old, I have less and less faith in humanity being able to mature. We seem to be locked in a spiral. Circling and circling. Changing this technology for that. Using a national and global communication network to do little more than perpetuate contrived stories that previously were left on the walls of public restroom stalls.
My faith in a better tomorrow is all but evaporated. We have often asked the existential question, "Are We Alone in the universe?" I suspect we very well could be alone.
On one side of this question, I think we are witnessing the very reason why we have not seen or heard of any evidence that there could be a civilization on another planet. Because that other civilization likely followed the same path we are now on.
On the other side of that existential question, here is what I suspect. There could be other civilizations in the universe that may have discovered our existence. But, they wisely decided to study us before revealing themselves to us. And, after studying us and our ways, they decided it was best to leave us alone. We were either totally uninteresting to those observers or they found us so repulsive that they decided it was best we were left alone. Almost like a parent telling a child. "Yuk! Don't touch that!"
In either case. We are for all purposes and considerations, alone in the universe. Either by something as simple as fate. Or because we are being left alone by those more mature than we are.
