Two months ago the Democratic primaries had a crowded field. It was a relevant political consideration. Bernie still had a chance – even a good one.
Two months ago was a different era.
March of 2020 ushered in a new world, all at once and so suddenly that we still can’t quite tell what this new world looks like.
One by one, we awoke from our complacency to a new world of shock and horror. We had a new choice: we could overhaul everything about how we work, play, socialize, and contribute to society overnight… or we could watch pretend nothing had changed as millions of our fellow citizens died from a new virus.
We chose to live.
We chose the new world.
It took some convincing and there are a few who still aren’t on board, but the world they’re clinging to is already dead.
The American Century has passed, and the world has entered a new epoch of multipolar geopolitical power that has, so far, a distinct vacuum where leadership would normally be. As states and federated unions struggle for mere survival, the smaller states are left to fend for themselves without much in the way of guidance or coordination.
There are no Alliances – nor is there even an Axis.
The enemy is invisible and inert. It cannot be reasoned with or negotiated with and it can’t be refuted in the court of public opinion. The op-eds and advertising campaigns cannot stop it, and in many ways our government has frozen in response to such a threat that is immune to their particular strengths.
It’s a new world. We’ve seen what the limits and the rules will be, but we’ve got a lot of room left to create within these boundaries.