Gex-Xer here. Politics is just theatre, and you know this, umair. I would say that Noam Chomsky knocked it out of the park when he authored Manufacturing Consent. He said that American politics are just two sides of the same coin. Both parties want to keep people distracted and ignorant of the real nastiness the government perpetrates. The media are complicit in keeping the status quo by focusing on politically trivialities and not reporting on the real scandals (or glossing over them, as the case may be).
The rise of the Internet and Social Media has merely accelerated this trend. We are Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. We've unleashed Pandora's box, and there's no going back now, especially with AI's rapid ascent in the past few years, and especially in the past six months.
I see conditions getting worse every day. I live in Canada, which is supposed to be the United State's saner, milder cousin. Every week I see new or increasing signs of malaise and collapse that the government seems incapable of solving. There is a deep housing crisis where first-time home buyers are essentially locked out of the market, barring a miracle. Rents are insane. Overdose deaths from opioids are higher than Covid deaths. Our medical system is overwhelmed. Food inflation is epic, and protit-taking from grocery companies has pissed off everyone. Even the grocery store clerks (those that haven't been replaced by automated self-checkouts) are looking nervous and grim. Homeless encampments are rampant--so bad that the police have been called in to supervise their removal from city sidewalks, yet most are given no viable option for housing. We have the MAID (Medical Assistance In Death) program, which now allows people with mental illness to apply and be accepted for state sponsored suicide. There was a little bit of reporting and some feigned concern from the media, but overall the response has been fairly muted.
I can understand why people are reverting to fascism. There isn't enough to go around when people are mindlessly consuming shit to keep them from thinking about how bad things really are. Governments are seen as helpless at best, and useless at worst. For example, our provincial government recently raised the minimum wage by about $1/hr, but inflation is so bad that it really needed to be raised by at least $5/hr just so people can tread water.
How dare you say that that I glumly accept the tyranny? I have to survive in a society that's increasingly hostile to me. I have medical needs that are expensive, and if I lose my job, I lose coverage, and if I run out of money before I get a job, I'm done for. I've done my best to mitigate this over the years, but if hyper-inflation kicks in, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm raising a child in a world that is unrecognizable from the one I grew up in.
I feel alone in this world, and I suspect that many in Canada and the U.S. feel equally isolated. I mean, come on, I'm writing a reply to an article on a social media site instead of talking to real people. At work, it's all Zoom calls and Teams chats, with thumbs up emojis and Giffy pics.
Our institutions have failed us for decades. From Politics to religion to big business, all I've seen are those with power sucking the life out of everyone. The problem is, we are all complicit, as we are all ego driven, and we tacitly accept what we are given. Coffee in a disposable cup? Sure! Drive 90min to and from work so I can live in a big house that I can afford? Sign me up! Buy clothes on the cheap that I might wear three times--if at all? Why not? Fly around the world twice a year? I can afford it, so sure! Pay high taxes to support a war machine? Shrug, Not like protests accomplish anything. Credit card interest at 20%? Meh, at least it's not 30%, so whatever.
I care. I want the world to be a better place. I reduced my carbon footprint to be about 20% lower than the global average. Despite this, I feel nothing but contempt and rage at the world around me. I feel like we're being sucked into a black hole of "poly-crisis", and there isn't anything left I can do but shake my fist into the void.
Once you realize that the situation is hopeless can you be free to abandon it and start something different. Koyaanisqatsi is what defines our era.
The Gen X response is the only valid response.