You can watch some videos on YouTube, if you really want to learn. It’s interesting, sometimes in a full-dystopian nightmare fuel kind of way. Yes, we are at the point where some of these robots can climb and jump.

It’s a gimmick, though, for sure. Just like human-mimicking androids are a gimmick. The money for robotics is in manufacturing.

But I’ll bet there will always be an obscenely wealthy person who is willing to pay for a cool looking robot prototype.

…and they’re so rich…

I hear ya, and I agree - but I think there’s a huge number of not-so-wealthy Americans who are just as culpable. People who happily empower the billionaire class, hoping to catch a crumb of their wealth. And I don’t claim to be different - when I was younger, I would have sold my soul for the right price.

The average ICE employee probably isn’t so different from younger me. When a young person without a college education is offered a six-figure salary - they will accept first and ask questions later. Any moral or ethical qualms are quickly overcome by the realization that their bank account is steadily growing every week. They can enjoy life instead of struggling. They can take care of their loved ones. Meanwhile, the screams of children become part of the normal workweek. It’s crazy but that’s human nature. We are cruel creatures.

Focus on midterms, my friend.

Don’t think about 3 years. Think about 6 months.

“Time for a new constitution”

Maybe.

The American Constitution is the oldest national codified government constitution in force. No other constitution has lasted so long. Ergo, either it’s a really solid document that can still serve us - or its time has passed.

Or, I guess there’s a third possibility. The Constitution might be like a virus - not an entirely wholesome organism, but very good at surviving. A document that can sometimes serve the masses, but also a tool for the elite when properly weaponized. Perhaps it’s a document that perfectly balances authoritative power with social conflict.

I think, though, that our forefathers should have addressed a balanced budget in writing. If the budget isn’t balanced and if the debt is above a certain percent of the GDP, then emergency elections should be held. This would avoid a lot of the looting from our coffers.

For the record, carrying a gun while marching in the street while eating apple pie is the most American thing you can do - as long as you’re wearing red, white and blue. This is true for people of any political persuasion, left or right.

In all seriousness, though, it’s our Constitution that brought us to this point. The laws aren’t being fixed - and gaps in the budget are kicked down the road. The government pays corporations in tax breaks, and corporations use their profit to pay politicians their bribes. All of this has been sanctioned by the Supreme Court, directly decided by cases brought before them (Citizens United, for example). The Supreme Court also has “stolen” elections, where the objective winner was not chosen. (Gore vs. Bush)

What we are seeing up to this point is no checks, no balances and no plan for the future. That’s a failure of the Constitution on a massive scale.

IMHO, I think the only chance for salvation is the economy. All middle-class Americans have one thing in common - the 401k. If the economy crashes, especially if the stock market takes an extended dive, then the opposition voices will get loud. The average American will draw a line at destroying their retirement income.

without having to sacrifice your wealth, energy, or life.

That hits so fucking hard. I feel that, deep deep deep down inside my soul.

America has spent the last couple of decades building prisons. They have recently accelerated the process, and thrown up huge confinement centers. There’s plenty of room to house all the boisterous dissidents.

Then look at my comfortable life. The electricity is on, the water is clean, the roof doesn’t leak, I’m using the internet to speak my mind. There’s a Walmart around the corner.

What’s the point in throwing a rock at a window, figuratively speaking? Why be the first lemming off the cliff?

Now, when those services are interrupted, people WILL take notice. Rolling blackouts and internet interruptions will get people off their asses. But unfortunately, until that happens on a massive scale, most people will look out for themselves and ignore the big picture.

…get busy asap and fuck it up from the inside…

Easier said than done. Security and risk mitigation is one of the first (if not the very first) concern of any IT company in this day and age.

I’ve been a system engineer. Digital assets are locked down, meaning that I couldn’t access anything outside of my scope (which was small and midsize banking websites). Physical assets (servers) sat in two remote locations, highly secure and staffed by a different team. Everything is backed up in 5 different places. Every keystroke is logged.

It’s built to be a trustless system of sorts, where no single person holds the keys to anything too important. About the only way to fuck it up would be to somehow incite a mass exodus of seasoned engineers.

There are plenty of leaders to follow, plenty of groups to join, plenty of events to attend.

This type of information isn’t broadcast on the local news. You have to go looking for like-minded people.

Gee, if only we’d tried that before.

Remember the “1%” protests against the billionaire class?

It doesn’t matter, because every time people contribute to a 401k or go shopping at a chain box store, they add power to the 1%. Nobody wants to sacrifice their comfort or security. And we know from history how this ends…

Then you’ve totally missed the point of freedom and democracy.

Collectively, our leaders are very much “average” people. Some are super smart, others are ignorant and stupid. Some are great leaders, others are petty and vindictive. Some are well-educated, some are Majorie Taylor Greene.

And let’s be clear - society isn’t collapsing. Freedom and prosperity are collapsing.