What was the most shocking aspect of the sandbox fight that took place before our eyes?
That one of the brats is the richest man in the world (next to Putin, perhaps), and the other one is the most powerful man in the free world?
Nope.
The most shocking aspect of that sandbox fight is that no one seemed to ask, “How did we let it come to this?”
These two toddlers have been cheered and crowd-surfed all the way to the top. Still, any sign of soul-searching from all those who participated or enabled it (which is most of us) is totally absent.
So, what if we ask ourselves some inconvenient questions?
What if we had not been so eager to embrace a man providing us with status-enhancing electric cars and lift him up as a champion of sustainability? We were so eager to have such a hero that we disregarded all the signals.
This fun nerd wanting to colonise Mars, forces his employees to work themselves to death, calls them f— idiots and fires them at a whim. We didn’t want to listen to that. Musk was the good guy because that is what we wanted him to be.
Likewise, few asked why this person seems to be uninterested in giving back to the world, despite, at some point, amassing more wealth than the GDP of South Africa. Imagine what he could have done for his country of birth. Fixing the electricity crisis. Make children play football with shoes on. No more shanty towns with open sewers.
The peak of this unbridled adoration came from a man who should know better: Richard Dawkins, who tweeted the following after Musk had bounced around on a stage at one of the Orange’s rallies.
“Highly intelligent. The welfare of the world at heart.” My respect for Dawkins collapsed like the dinosaurs under the Yucatán asteroid. And it has far from recovered. How can a scientist, a champion of reason and critical thinking, be so deceived?
And then you have the Orange. Where to start?
We have, of course, all those who voted for him, once, twice, or thrice. We have the millions who didn’t bother to vote. We have the ones with grievances over the cost of living, and believed the Orange man would do something he has never done —help other people.
Not to mention all those calling others racist for being concerned about immigration, or those busy cheering “Queers for Palestine.” They drove many voters into the verbal vomit of the Orange.
He became the good guy to millions of Americans because he made them feel good about themselves.
But what about the rest of us?
America is the embodiment of consumerism, celebrity culture and anti-intellectualism.
But we, here in Europe, can no longer shield behind the “America is much worse” solace.
We too bought luxury cars and pretended to save the planet. What more can you ask?
Voters in our countries also embrace “Only I can fix it” messages from politicians with limited brains and even more limited hearts.
Our TV channels are just as rife with reality shows where participants dance, bake and copulate for a few hours of fame. And viewers devour. As they did with “The Apprentice,” where the leading star now runs his ultimate docuseries from the White House.
I don’t have all the answers to “How did we let it come to this?” I can’t imagine anyone has.
One thing I do know:
We, ordinary people, need to take more responsibility for what happens in the world.
We need to acknowledge that this sandbox fight between two of the world’s most mighty men did not happen due to some abstract “system.” It didn’t happen because of some “they” either.
That sandbox fight happened due to our culture and our mentality. And since we created it, we are the only ones who can change it.
We need to stop being seduced by “He is famous.” - “She gets things done.”- “He is one of us.” -“She says it as it is.” - “He has made a fortune.” Or - “He is intelligent,” like Richard Dawkins did.
We need to grow up and take much more responsibility for whom we admire, buy from, work for and vote for.
Some of the sources I used for this article:
Vladimir Putin: how much is Russian president's net worth?
Elon Musk's Wealth vs Countries’ GDP – 2010-2025 Comparison
Is the world’s richest person the world’s worst boss? What it’s like working for Elon Musk
Cape Town business owners concerned about loadshedding
Understanding the Energy Crisis in South Africa
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I wish you a pleasant day. Be an adult and do the opposite of what the Orange would have done.
