Maybe we don’t need to have a president. Another chaotic debate among the Democrats, another feast for television pundits. They talk about jabs, attacks, and blows like it’s a boxing match. Meanwhile the Center for Disease Control is telling us to prepare for clusters of infection. Russian disinformation is spreading across our screens. Feels like everything is happening at the same time these days. Maybe it’s always felt that way.

Two hundred years ago, the philosopher David Hume pondered our imperfect world and theorized it was “only the first rude essay of some infant deity, who afterwards abandoned it, ashamed of his lame performance.” Not bad as far as magical nihilism goes. Beats the idea that we’re living in a terrible video game.

Instructional videos at the train station teach me how to behave in 2020. If there’s gunfire, take cover. Silence your cellphone. Take action only as a last resort. Be on the lookout for victims of human trafficking.

Pole – Winkelstreben (Peverelist Remix)

From Steingarten Remixes | ~Scape, 2007

A heavy slab of dub that shudders and jabs. See also Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion.