When Worse Comes To Worst — A Note From Today's Guest Editor
Up until the last hours on Election night, pollsters and experts were convinced that Donald Trump's victory would never happen. Yet here we are: A week into the Trump era, and in many ways it's already a worst-case scenario for the history books (or if alternative facts win, will there even be history books?). My head has been spinning.
Among much else, Trump's presidency is a lesson in why we shouldn't discount the improbable or dismiss a long-shot, and it's a case study on why taking a 'worst-case scenario' seriously isn't a mere gloomy game. In world affairs and in our own lives, imagining the worst that can happen is an exercise that helps prevent terrible outcomes and build resilient structures for when Plans A, B, and C must be tossed aside.
Worst-case scenarios are more difficult to describe than you initially think. It's not easy to anticipate all the little ways one thing leads to another and then suddenly there's a cyberwar. On the flip side, you don't want to overstate what can go wrong so far that it departs from reality. Then you'll never leave your house, and that's not the life many of us would choose to live. And sometimes, even the worst case scenario, isn't as nightmarish as you'd think.
Importantly, the future isn't something that just happens to us. Every day, societies can make choices to create a more just, free, and advanced planet, or they can choose to give into fear and uncertainty, looking back toward the past. Worst case scenarios help us embrace our pessimistic visions in a productive way, so that we can be the people working to prevent these grim potential futures.
Today, let's embrace our darker thoughts, and tomorrow, let's do the work necessary to stave off a superbug that no drug can kill, save our Internet freedom, and much more.
