Idk where my post I just wrote went in reply to this. It was so long :'-(. Coracle SAID it was posted... Anyway, it boiled down to looking at civilizational collapse of the past from a perspective of the grief cycle. Folks like Hobbes, in denial, thinking things weren't over after the fall of Rome -- we could just replace the collapsed system by holding an election to appoint a king, give him all power, and things would go on as well as an organic system that existed previously had. A bit like gluing sticks together and propping them up to replace a fallen tree. Then came Anger, and a lot of the medieval doctrines of devils, demons, etc seem to speak to this. Also, anger at the old system for failing us -- it must be that the hierarchy itself had been the problem! When the tree collapsed, did it not land right upon us, when we needed it most for shelter? We decided we had to dispense with rulers, and even depose those that remained, before they have a chance to do it again! Bargaining, as we sought to device complex systems to replace the organic ones of the past, with checks and balances, and elaborate artificial constructs. We know we can't just glue wood together to build a tree, but we'll be data driven, so it can be LIKE a tree, and even better. We swear. Depression seems to be hitting particularly hard for many as of late, and especially in the post WWII period. It doesn't hit all at once, but we're finding ourselves fighting more and more wars and believing less and less that we're on the right side, but nobody appears to HAVE a right side. And meanwhile, things get worse. The tree is rotted, and all of our attempts to replace it fallen as well, having not the means to sustain themselves with the organic processes that the original tree had. But then there's Bitcoin, shining a ray of hope down to us as we wake up groggy in a puddle of the vodka that we fell asleep in. It doesn't promise us any large system that can replace the hierarchies of old. It doesn't seek to put anyone on a throne, or suggest really anything controlled. It offers us soil in which new life can take root, if we're willing to give it a little water, and patience, and make sure it gets some light. And maybe, just maybe, we can move on from the collapse of the past, and actually grow a new tree, perhaps even taller and stronger than the one that came before. Anyway, that's the gist of what I wrote. Wonder what happened to it. In any case, hope it's a nice little allegory for Christmas as we end the period of waiting around our little candles in the darkness for the salvation that is upon us tomorrow. GM. And Merry Christmas Eve.