The more I learn about Mark Zuckerberg, the more I like him. Last Sunday, while I was driving home to San Diego from Los Angeles, I decided to listen to Zuckerberg on Facebook live, filmed in his backyard while he was cooking some BBQ for friends. He was talking about everything from Artificial Intelligence (he thinks it’s good) to global health issues and immigration. It was very cool. The rumor is that Zuckerberg is interested in politics and would like to run for president someday. I don’t know if this is true, it seems like he could actually do more for humanity doing what he is currently doing, but it made me think. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a person lead our country who is a smart, compassionate, visionary leader – who makes decisions based on data and facts, and who is above the pettiness of partisan politics? I realize that despite his obvious flaws, some people voted for Donald Trump because they thought they were getting some version of that, but the divisions in our country have never been deeper and the pettiness has never been greater. Political parties and blind partisanship are slowly eroding the fabric of our country. It seems like the only people who can get elected these days are those who can demonize their opponents the most. Like most people, I have great friends who are liberal, and I also have great friends who are conservative – and with some very small exceptions, they are not that different from each other. Our political system is at a breaking point – and something has to give. Hopefully, the net outcome of this historically divisive period in our history will be that a new political apparatus will emerge – perhaps one without political parties. If so, it might be worth the pain and disappointment we are experiencing right now.
Almost everyone, including Democrats, were expecting last Tuesday’s midterm election results to heavily favor Republicans. Many predicted a “red wave” where they would pick up 50-60 seats in the House and 3-4 in the Senate. Joe Rogan said the red wave that is coming will be like the elevator doors opening in the horror film The Shining.