08-08-2017, 12:59 AM
I'd be wary of seeking a 4T to solve any of the glaring faults of America. A heritage of militarism can end in catastrophic defeat that implies that giant cities and everything unfortunate enough to be in them (from goldfish to masterpieces of painting) being turned into cinders. Taking out the narcissism of America's economic elites will take another Great Depression that dashes the selfishness of current plutocrats and executives but also delivers mass poverty as few living Americans can now know (aside from immigrants from poorer countries) or a violent revolution that topples the economic elites and culminates in a lethal purge (with Madame Guillotine or its higher-tech stand-in performing the questionable honors).
One thing is certain: after this 4T is over there will be little nostalgia for the degenerate times leading to the Crisis. Commonplace objects left over from the 3T will often be put to new purposes that mock their banality:
I can hardly imagine the appearances of numerous Nissan, Toyota, Honda, and low-end GM, Chrysler, and Ford vehicles of our time being turned into hot rods... but I expect it to happen.
One thing is certain: after this 4T is over there will be little nostalgia for the degenerate times leading to the Crisis. Commonplace objects left over from the 3T will often be put to new purposes that mock their banality:
I can hardly imagine the appearances of numerous Nissan, Toyota, Honda, and low-end GM, Chrysler, and Ford vehicles of our time being turned into hot rods... but I expect it to happen.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.