Hüller has a beautiful voice, but what’s perhaps more resonant is that, in the context of the film (about the earth dying), her version of the song[1] represents the inner emotion of what someone really feels versus the outer exterior she feels she needs to project.   

It’s perhaps that perfect encapsulation of the cognitive dissonance we’re all experiencing right now. Our sign of the times.

Our Markets Go Up Regardless of What’s Happening in the U.S. or the World

What do I mean by that? Look at the markets. If you ever want to see how disconnected Wall Street truly is from the rest of society, just look at the Dow and the S&P 500 recently. Despite inflation caused by Orange Nightmare’s tariffs and other policies, the ongoing and useless initiation of a war in Iran that’s killed children and U.S. soldiers needlessly, the income disruptions to farmers, to immigrants, and the poor, and the steady high unemployment rate of recent college grads due to AI and other factors, those indexes hit all time highs (as of this writing.)

Nothing sums up that dissonance more than CNBC anchor Sara Eisen and her discussion of the Iran War after Agent Orange wrote the following on his Truth Social account: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will…”

Eisen, co-host of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” discussed the implications of this threat… in the context of investing. 

“This deadline that President Trump has set, 8 p.m., has threatened to destroy a civilization,” Eisen said. “How does an investor process that? Is it a bigger upside risk or downside risk?”

Understanding this is CNBC, and it’s about making money in the markets, have we really sunk that low? That in trying to “do our jobs,” we can’t acknowledge the inhumanity of what was said? At all?

Ask AI. Even It Understands What’s Going On

What’s interesting is that, without any other background, I asked AI the following prompt: “Give me an example of something happening today that you think represents a ‘sign of the times.” What would that be, and how would you characterize the past year up through [date of submission]?”

Here was its first response (slight editing):

A powerful “sign of the times” today is how ordinary people are quietly living through a convergence of war, economic strain, and AI‑driven change, while still streaming entertainment, planning travel, and going to work as if everything were normal. The past year up through [date submitted] feels like a year of normalization of crisis: geopolitical conflict, inflation aftershocks, and rapid AI adoption have stopped being “news events” and become the background operating system of daily life.

But the 2026 “sign of the times” isn’t just crisis + normal life; it’s crisis + normal life + a pervasive sense that the story you’re being sold—by politicians, parties, and platforms—doesn’t line up with what you feel, see, and pay for. [You’re] being repeatedly assured you’re overreacting, in a year when your unease is not only understandable but, by any reasonable measure, actually pretty rational.

It added this:

One example that captures this “sign of the times” is the way a regional war—currently centered on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz—is being tracked less as a moral or political issue and more as another variable on people’s gas, grocery, and travel costs. Analysts are watching whether Iran’s intermittent closure threats on a single maritime chokepoint will keep pushing up energy prices, slow global growth, and further erode consumer confidence.

At the same time, major April events like the NAB Show in Las Vegas and Milan Design Week are going ahead as hubs for media, design, and tech optimism, even as participants quietly factor in higher costs, security issues, and AI disruption to their business plans. That coexistence of serious structural risk and business-as-usual enthusiasm is, in itself, very 2026.

Wow.

I’d say that’s pretty on target.

It’s probably worth asking: If a machine can see that, shouldn’t we be able to acknowledge the same?

Business as Usual Isn’t Going to Cut It

I know what you’re thinking: “So what?” you ask. “We’re all feeling a little uneasy. But there’s nothing we can do about it. So, why not just go about our business?”

I don’t begrudge anyone for feeling that way.

One way to survive in the world is to do things the corporate way: don’t make waves, don’t question, stay under the radar.

Keep making money.  

But there are several problems with that approach. First, I think we’ve demonstrated in previous articles that those in power don’t have your long-term interests in mind. And the insistence on a keep-your-head-down, business-as-usual modus operandi has actually enabled the truly fraudulent and criminal elements to steadily gain influence and take over. Indeed, every time we don’t pay attention or disengage, it’s like letting another weed grow in your garden. Pretty soon, it’s overwhelming if you don’t pull them out.

Secondly, it has to do with understanding and having empathy for those whose circumstances might not be as fortunate as our own currently. Many are hurting out there. For example, farmers, who can no longer sell soybeans to China, thanks to Agent Orange and his tariffs. Or how about the poor, who have seen their SNAP benefits cut by $186 billion over 10 years – a 20% cut that marks the largest reduction in the history of the program – while we’ve spent more than $50 billion so far in a war no one wanted, and no one asked for. Meanwhile, recent AI and government layoffs have meant tightening budgets for many; at the same time, companies are trying to extract more and more from the average person.

Lastly, how about us simply facing the truth? 

In the long run, it’s not the money that matters. It’s about having integrity and solving problems that we face, which all agree are pretty significant. I know that’s not going to go over well with all the business types who can’t get bogged down in such matters when there’s money to be made. But…

What happens when that economic extraction machine that we’ve so carefully crafted in our own favor turns against us?

What happens when the AI we’ve said we have to do at all costs wipes out the middle of the economy and replaces us for the very jobs we hold ourselves?

What about the fact that, very soon (if not at the present moment), we won’t be able to tell real from fake anymore?

And we’re not even addressing all the issues we face with the current administration and its steady march toward dictatorship, cronyism, and corruption.

Wouldn’t it have paid to consider or at least debate some of these issues today and confront them head-on? And not after the fact, when it could be too late? After all, do any of us have a real window as to what’s going on? These things will almost certainly affect our lives greatly, but we’re not being clued into them.

That should worry you.  

Maybe part of this is demanding more transparency. Real businesses and real governments act with the truth in mind, just like your best personal relationships. They have values. And they uphold them.

If we don’t start exerting those values soon, and if we continue to sweep everything under the rug, we’re going to end up as the song says.

You can’t bribe the door on your way to the sky.

You look pretty good down here.

But you ain’t really good.

[1] Styles apparently wrote it about a pregnant woman who knew she was going to die in childbirth, and this is her last message to her child.