Dear fans of Peoplemon,

I released this game almost one year ago. I was surprised and gratified that so many people appreciated it. One year later, the game's joke of a weird, disintegrating society is apparently all too close to reality.

We in the United States are seeing plainly that many among us have lost their trust in their countrymen's will and ability to protect them and serve them justice. A country whose people lack the will and ability for those things is a weak country, and without each other's trust we are just as weak: too weak to survive disease, to outsmart our enemies, or to uphold our values.

Many of us indeed feel powerless in the face of this year's onslaught of shocks and draining burdens, and many of us felt that way before. Peoplemon was partly a way for me to address my own feelings of powerlessness and communicate them—in a healthy way, I hope.

Ultimately I am confident about my health and security, but for many Americans such confidence is a luxury. Uninformed by that experience, my outlook may be understandably dismissed.

Nevertheless I am proud of the United States and of my fellow Americans. I believe that we have the will and the ability to protect each other and serve justice. These are hamstrung by bad precedent, bad policy, and bad blood. I believe we can change that. We have already begun to change it.

Dark comedy is a useful device. But as reality turns grimmer, it becomes essential to take note of our strengths and not dwell on our weaknesses. If we despair that we in the United States cannot thrive, we won't thrive. And that would be a tragedy, because we have a great country to offer each other.