> … and I'm hoping that the USA doesn't end up holding itself back out of a misplaced fear of the unknown. Why not? It's worked pretty well for the richest of

> … and I'm hoping that the USA doesn't end up holding itself back out of a misplaced fear of the unknown. Why not? It's worked pretty well for the richest of the rich 1% of humanity thus far. Holding back societal and technological progress to enrich the smallest percentage because they fear any change that might make the world better for everyone is what humans do (and have done for too many decades now). Just in the home computer industry alone, we're at least a couple decades worth of advancement behind where we really could and should be, all because of a couple few massive corporate interests holding the entire industry back from progress out of fear of various "unknowns" in the industry. Unknowns that in some cases have eventually played out to be of huge benefit to everyone (including themselves). The prevailing attitude seems to be that "because it's always been done that way" is a valid excuse to hold back any form of real progress, and doubly so if holding back progress leads to extended financial gains for a few specific individuals or corporate entities. (No longer care. Downvote me all you like. I've come to realize humanity's genuinely fucked anyhow, so nothing I or anyone else says or does at this point matters one little bit. Honestly not even sure why I'm bothering to read or comment on anything anymore, because it's all truly pointless bullshit.)