Thread by @AndrewSteinwold

1) I have recently seen a lot of celebrities speak about god and or reference religion

I think this is a trend because US society has increasingly become less religious

2) When I was growing up, believing in a higher power was not “cool” it was just the norm.

In addition to fewer people believing in God, US culture has an intense focus on individual vs collective. This means that the US “family unit” is not as strong as other cultures.

3) I look at my friends from Indian, Mexican, and Greek backgrounds (I live in Chicago) and I am always astonished by how large their family gatherings are and how everyone is always in each others business

4) My teenage self would view that as a negative but now as an adult, I see how it helps enforce familial bonds

People still need to believe in something so as religion and family bonds have gotten weaker, politics has stepped in to takes its place

5) I have family members that will not see each other because they have different political views

Historically, the intensity of this feeling has been reserved for religions. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, etc have always fought each other because of their different views

6) Today, we have people from the left and right fighting (and killing) each other with religious fervor

Every act of violence is justified by both sides as each truly believes in their struggle. We hear - “We are fighting for our lives!!”

7) The divisiveness in our society shows no signs of slowing down and we dont know what to believe in anymore

Maybe this is why conspiracy theories have gained so much traction

Maybe this is why some treat Bitcoin like a religion (I know I do)

8) I can’t really blame anyone for any of this.

These macro trends of religion, culture, and politics are something that is happening so we have to make do with what we have

9) So while I am very pessimistic about the future of the US and much of our “physical” world I am extremely optimistic about the future we are building on the internet

10) People from all over the world are banding together to experiment, learn, create, and have fun. Some of it for quick gainz and some of it actually to change the world.

You might think I am encouraging escapism, which by definition has a negative connotation to it

11) But I am.

I am inviting any and everyone to escape the bullshit happening in our physical world and come join the bullshit happening in the virtual one we are building now. History is occurring and it’s glorious

12) It’s messy, confusing, crazy, just like the physical world but at least when you are feeling pissed off, depressed, or anything like that, you can always turn off your computer, go outside and smell the roses