Author’s note: I initially published this essay in 2021 in my book The Digital Dilemma. Given we are nearing the finish line in the presidential cycle, I thought best to resurface this. The rancor, expediency, and general incompetence that characterizes our ruling class need not be the new status quo, but make no mistake, the politicians are not the ones to blame. In this great nation by the people, the buck stops not at whoever occupies the Resolute Desk but at the conscience of every ordinary citizen who put them there.