I’ve been in a kind of funk lately. Negativity bias is extremely difficult to counter these days especially when being inundated by news of a crypto market in stasis and under seige, malicious social media influence, monster hurricanes brewing in the oceans, and the surreal circus that is Washington D.C.
On my recent trip to Montreal I also read Madeleine Albright’s book, Fascism: A Warning. Halfway through this book, which is excellent albeit frightening, I realized what a dangerous decade we’re facing. The growing nationalism and extremism so prevalent in the political landscape here in America, and abroad, is becoming the perfect petri dish for the deadly virus of fascism to, again, be cultivated. One thing that would-be dictators prize among all else is lack of hope from their citizenry. A general lack of hope allows them to present themselves as the only viable solution.
Watching the recent Joe Rogan interview with Elon Musk somehow brightened my outlook. I urge those who’ve only caught the minute long clip of Elon puffing (but not inhaling) a blunt to watch the entire two-and-a-half hours. If you don’t watch the whole interview you’ll miss a huge opportunity to feel a little bit better about the world. It was like a sort of cleansing for me. Two guys, both accomplished in their own respects, just sipping good whiskey and talking about exciting stuff.
Check out the full interview here:
Elon doesn’t necessarily paint a utopian future for our world. He admitted there are things that keep him up at night. Among his largest worries are environmental catastrophe and the dangers of artificial intelligence but one consistent message rang through the entire interview...it was one of absolute optimism. He’s taking action to help correct the things that worry him as only he can. This is a great example for us all to become actively involved in what we're passionate about.
Elon also repeated time and time again that he thinks humanity is inherently good, we should trust people until they give us a reason not to, and there is still a lot of hope for us as a species. Lack of hope paralyzes and right now it’s more important than ever to wake up each day with hope. Hope equals action.
This moment in time we’re living in is the largest point of transition that humanity has ever faced. We have to take better care of our planet immediately and we absolutely have to get A.I. right. If these two things aren’t handled properly it could spell disaster for us. Right on the horizon is a new day for us, all we need to do is not turn a blind eye and walk towards it.
The job each of us can do each day is be cognizant of the quality of the thoughts swirling in our own heads. The ideas and attitudes we carry around with us shape our future more than we think.
As I speak with more cryptocurrency and blockchain teams through the HardFork Series project they sense this moment of transition and they’re doing their part. But just like the gust of wind in the .gif above, the twenty-four hour news cycle continuously tries to strip the umbrella from our grip, soaking us with its bluster, doom, and gloom. It’s as if the old world senses its own demise and keeps trying to pull us back into its suffering, systemic corruption, and greed.
I share Elon's optimism, as many do. That's why HardFork is so extremely important to me. It's the Sci-Fi writer's job to create a crystal ball that allows people to gaze in and see a sliver of what the future could be. Humanity is inherently good but the time is now for optimists to be diligent and to take action in shaping a new future. Future generations will thank us for it.
Thanks for reading,
Eric
(.gif sourced from Giphy.com)
