The Big New Wow, when it first appeared, was so comforting, so homey. A modest little thing, it sought only to be our friend, to make our lives simpler.
Soon, it acquired new abilities.
We willingly, knowingly, gave it the power of choice.
As it became such a presence in our lives, it felt the need to reassure us, to say, "No, there is no dystopian future ahead for you, meat puppets."
But we, clumsy vessels of mere flesh and blood, allowed it to dominate us. What point is there to human contact? The Big New Wow, in all its perfection, is there for us as we drive through a barren landscape curiously devoid of any other people, and surely can provide more comfort for a baby than all the silly hugs and kisses humans once deployed.
It continues still to make us think we have some semblance of control over our lives, to make us think we have a choice between different things when those two things are exactly the same, to provide a bland, inoffensive soundtrack to our stilted, joyless lives.
Every day there is another Big New Wow, A Bright New Promise, A Great New Something. Every day, it wins.
