Passing the Torch

Let’s Cede the Power of Reality Creation to the Next Generation

Hey everybody. It’s been a harrowing couple of weeks.

From Biden’s impaired debate performance to the attempt on Donald Trump’s life and his defiant comeback, something about these phenomena is so…20th century. I feel like I am watching the two main ways that the last millennium’s white male archetype unwillingly disintegrates — either decay or defiance. There’s something “off” about the way 21st Century America is depending on the fate of these two men — as if we’re collectively denying the agency and readiness of the next generations. The necessary passing of the torch is not happening gracefully, or seemingly at all.

We’re probably afraid. I think we sense that we’re moving into a more networked, participatory, and horizontal world that doesn’t require leaders and figureheads as we’ve traditionally understood them. The 20th century was dominated by men. Great men and terrible men. Hitler, Stalin, and Mao but also King, Ghandi and Mandela. No matter the movement, it always had a personality at the top. I think we’re moving toward something different, more distributed, less cultish, more fluid, less marching, more compassionate, less military.