Over winter break, I spent a significant portion of my time in the same way I imagine many of my fellow students did: doomscrolling. In the wake of the presidential election, my social media feeds were awash with terrified posts about the future of American politics. The scared sentiments of transgender and immigrant Americans joined the usual horrors of climate change and war overseas. It seemed like a bleak moment for humanity, with omnipresent discord, violence and division making me feel more hopeless for the future than ever before — combined with that was an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. All I could see was constant terrible news when there was little I could do about it.
However, I didn’t have as much time to focus on that as I did before when I decided to take a remote class called Video Games and World Politics for credit. Many of my assignments had me analyze a video game called Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, which tasks the player with selecting a historical leader and developing their society from ancient history to the present. It plays almost like a board game, with players taking turns to explore the map, build up their cities, make scientific and cultural advancements and interact with other civilizations through peace and war.
When we look at the issues that have stretched from the past to the present, it is easy to see history as the long story of people trying to kill each other because of differences or because they were more concerned with their own wealth and power rather than the good of society. Playing the game taught me that it is reductive to say there is only one version of history. The simplest view of history only looks at massively impactful wars against countries, groups of people or ideologies, while the more complete view offered by the game shows how far we have come with culture and technology.
Through gameplay with a large scope, years and eras pass in the blink of an eye. The focus is removed from the day-to-day political squabbles and fears we are bombarded with today and instead is placed on human progress: sending construction workers to build cities for the benefit of the public, making strides in science and technology, testing new systems of government. All of these are innovations that have been happening since the days of cavemen and will continue to happen far into the future. This does not mean the game was without moments of crisis and panic, but the world was never bare of those who used their ingenuity to make the world a better place.
And these innovations are not the responsibility of the leader — they are brought about by the rest of society. Artists make important works that inspire and unite people. Writers tell moving stories or challenge popular philosophical ideas. Scientists study the world so that we can all live easier lives. Inventors unlock our potential with new technology. Using history, Civilization VI tells us that we are all important. Each one of us, through the things we study as students or the jobs we take in society, contributes to the larger human project. This is where our true power in society comes from. Even if we don’t like our political leadership or live in turmoil, we will always have the ability to think, work, dream and innovate in the name of a better tomorrow. The political moment we are in is frightening by design, but its operators use fear in hopes that we will forget our agency and bend to their will. The nonstop march of history in the game showed me that those in the past didn’t let the political order stop them and neither should we.
When we look only at the present, falling into the trap of hopelessness seems inevitable. The easiest response to all of the pain, suffering and turmoil we witness daily is to shut our eyes and accept that the world is coming to an end. I’ve lived much of my life in this way, ignoring my own agency and waiting for the civil war or climate change hurricane to arrive at my doorstep. But this game taught me to think differently. Every one of us makes up the next chapter of the beautiful story of humanity, the same one that began with the ancient tribesmen I saw on my computer screen when I started playing. Since then, countless visionaries have dedicated themselves to making meaning in our lives and shaping the world for future generations. It is now up to us to continue their work, to meet the challenges of today just as they and everyone who came after them have done.
More than ever, I am confident that the human race can rise to the challenges of today. My gameplay matched all the incredible moments of our history — the parts where we embraced knowledge and enlightenment, pioneered free and democratic systems of government, cured countless diseases and launched ourselves into space. Each day, we move closer and closer to the next great innovation, one that will come from the sum of all of our work today. So if you ever feel like the world is coming apart before you, remember what those who came before you achieved what seemed impossible, remember the potential of our species to fix every problem that comes our way and remember that we all have the power to build the better future we dream of now.
Video games can do a lot for us. Some use them as an escape into worlds of fantasy, some treat them as activities to keep up with friends and some analyze them as works of art to better understand the world around them. Civilization VI showed me something real: the history of our species. At the same time, it showed me the dream that we have the power to make the world we live in better, as though we were indeed pushing all the buttons. This dream was shared with all the dreamers of the past and all of you today. It is something I’ve always believed in — I just needed a reminder that it is possible.
So keep your chin up. Keep thinking, keep dreaming, keep challenging the status quo. Maybe play some video games, they can do a lot more for you than you would think.
Kevin O’Connell is a freshman majoring in political science.
Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the staff editorial.