Who Do We Want to Be?

by Rob C.
Art by Bilicki

TL;DR: Humanity sits at a crossroads. We can destroy ourselves through nuclear bombs, environmental destruction, or unchecked pandemics—fueled by superstition, greed, and stupidity. Or we can use our compassion, intelligence, and wealth to create an abundant, meaningful life for everyone. The choice is ours.

We now possess the unprecedented ability to end civilization—and perhaps our species itself. The list of doomsday options is depressingly long: nuclear weapons poised to erase entire nations in minutes, a rapidly warming planet threatening food, water, and shelter for billions, and global pandemics spreading faster than our politics or health systems can keep up. Greed drives us to consume the Earth’s resources as if we had a spare planet waiting in the garage. And stupidity—willful ignorance, wrapped in arrogance—spreads faster than any virus, dragging us toward a darkness deeper than anything in recorded history

At the same time, we are also capable of staggering brilliance. Our compassion and intelligence have lifted millions out of poverty. Our technology can map the human genome, explore the surface of Mars, and connect people across the globe in real time. Our collective wealth is enough—not just to meet basic needs, but to create an abundant, meaningful life for every inhabitant of this fragile world. We could enhance education so that every child grows up not just literate, but curious about our planet and our universe. We could eliminate hunger. We could guarantee health care. We could do all this—and more.

And yet, what do we actually do? The United States, self-proclaimed beacon of democracy, has propped up some of the most violent and self-serving dictators in modern history. From the Shah of Iran to Pinochet in Chile, from Suharto in Indonesia to the Saudi monarchy today, we bankroll brutality so long as the oil flows and the markets stay open.

Our corporate overlords demand austerity for the many while hoarding billions for the few. They pollute our air and water, strip-mine our resources, and then buy up media outlets to convince us that endless consumption is freedom. Politicians, their pockets lined with dark money, vote for tax cuts that funnel wealth to billionaires while slashing services for working families. Children go hungry while executives debate which mega-yacht to buy. Hospitals close while pharmaceutical companies raise drug prices to “maximize shareholder value.”

And then there is the propaganda machine. Billionaires pull strings not just on Wall Street, but in media and politics. They are buying up studios and TV stations like vultures, eager to consolidate even more cultural power. This isn’t entertainment; it’s narrative control. Gaslight the people, shrink their horizons, and keep them docile while they toast with $1000 champagne.

The truth is stark: we can be destroyers, or we can be builders. We can embrace superstition, greed, and stupidity, or we can choose compassion, intelligence, and courage. Carl Sagan reminded us that our destiny is not written in the stars—it is written in our choices. The question isn’t whether humanity can survive. The question is:

Who do we want to be?

Inspired by Carl Sagan.
—Robert Cain, author of Democracy for Sale – How Corporate Greed is Corrupting Democracy and Endangering the Planet.