#BuildBackBetter: A Scream

In 2020, we are in a place where tech billionaires and their pocket politicians are no longer hiding their teeth.

First off, this is an existential post because the task at hand transcends politics. For clarity, and to get the political emotion out of the way, my politics is “human.” I am greatly appalled by the spectacle-at-large, by the cruelty and dishonesty of it, and I am not contributing any of my mental energy to the hyped and nerve-racking fight between competing parasites. By choice, I remain unmoved by the pressure to “sound smart,” according to the rules of the echo chamber. In my Soviet childhood, I have written enough mandatory cliché essays—full of talking points that a “smart child” would recite—to become allergic to propaganda for life. No propaganda please.

I have friends who love Biden, I have friends who love Trump—I don’t fancy either but I get along with my friends as long as there is respect—which so far seems to be the sanest way to go about it. In the past, I have been involved in activism to protect artists from Big Tech’s sharp teeth (see my article about Google from 2…