People really do not know how to deal with all of that, at all, and probably won't figure it out. The trouble is, we are organisms which evolve to adapt to our environment. Well, we have not had nearly enough time to adapt. The reality is, we are all going to be obsolete. There is a sense of dread about that. I feel smug only because I don't have kids, but I do fear for my brethren, H. Sapiens. I have always wished H. Sapiens the optimal outcome in things, and I dislike feeling as though things are hopeless for my own species.
My hope, when I try to rationalize it, centers upon science rescuing us from science. Surely, in the end, couples will listen to a scientist prior to reproducing. They will consult with a laboratory, which will determine the optimal genetic outcome for their future offspring. Reproduction will occur in a petri dish. Sorry, romantics, but that's the way it has got to be. However, birth can take place as usual. Nothing needs to change about birth, although women may have a different viewpoint. My hunch is, I don't care about refining birth, because I'm a man, but a woman would say, let's change things, and make birth take place in the lab, too. If I were a woman, would I want to give birth? No, certainly not, if it were optional, if I could reproduce by some other method, while conveying my genetic code to the next generation. Although, I'm not really sure--I might change my mind, if there were advantages to gain by birth.
Also, in the short term, I am worried about Trump. Now, I also worried about other Republicans in the past, but Trump seems to be a worse rendition of Republicanism. He is the type of guy that plays to his base all the time and never extends an olive branch to the other side, never tries to expand his base. So, I don't think that the Republicans are going to do too well next election, and whatever nasty things that Trump does now is quite likely to be reversed in time. My chief fear is that Trump will start yet another war. We have had so much of war, and it is not good for the economy. Most of our debt is tied to all of these wars, great and small, and the preparations for war. An honest Republican will look at the budget and agree--"Sure, but we spend all that dough to keep the world safe. This era is the Pax Americana!" And there is some merit to that argument, that we are able to sway global outcomes, and that could be potentially positive. However, the outcomes in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq were far from optimal, and I don't think anyone can say that our investments over in those blighted lands was rewarded in any way. I would rather that we invest here, in the U.S. Imagine if we did that. Better highways, railways, shipping, high-speed internet from coast to coast, medical care for everyone. These are some of the things we could have had, if we had foregone the foreign adventures so pleasing to the pride of the well-to-do, who love power and control over others, and wish to extend their power and control to foreign lands.
Perhaps the corrupt, selfish elite of China are correct, in their cold realpolitik, that democracy is doomed, that the best governance is obtained by dictatorship or oligarchy, because democracy results in Mr. Average ascending to the levers of power, and Mr. Average just isn't very good at anything, as we see with Trump. I am philosophically opposed to dictatorship, because it can also turn very bad in a very short amount of time, but China has been lucky, so far, in some ways, although their leaders are playing with a stacked deck. China had been destined to rise for centuries, and merely needed mediocre governance in order to do so.
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