Pardon me as I dry my eyes. The World Cup proved to me something I’ve been looking for. Humans meeting humans is marvelous. Pundits and politicians don’t have a clue. You want the finance part of the picture? Imagine all the money spent on hotels, flights, food, and beer; and look at all the fun they generated. Imagine an economy run by having a better party. (Thanks, Rick Ingrasci.)

But, but, but…politics and AI and climate change and… And you’re right those threats exist. But they aren’t the only things that exist. Balance.

2026, the World Cup came to North America. I didn’t watch the games. I did, however, watch dozens of YouTube videos of people having fun with people. People got past the media summaries that are necessarily short sound bites. They got past the political statements that emphasize our differences. The people posted their videos of their lives.

The videos of their lives were of people realizing that the other people are people. Certain criminals claim the spotlight, and the media plays in to that. That’s news. The people posted fun, amazement, and wonder. That’s not news, but that’s far more important.

The media and the politicians are gatekeepers, editors of the world that filter the events into ‘simpler’ messages that hope to grab eyeballs and votes.

Have a better party. At least for a while, skip the news. Skip the politics. Dance, sing, talk, travel, listen, look at what you see, not what you’re shown.

Then, the kicker was that much of this was happening in the US. Foreigners who’ve only seen the country in the news felt betrayed. Sure, there’s bad stuff, but they celebrated a wonder at the country, not as a news item or political position, but as a people, culture and land that they could enjoy. I’m proud of us, and surprised and not.

Do we have flaws? Duh! Everyone does. Should we fix them? Yes. But we shouldn’t forget the positives. And, having traveled a bit, they do too, flaws and positives. We are humans. We have more in common than will fit in a news item or a speech.

As I mentioned, I watched dozens of videos. I’m sure there are hundreds, maybe thousands. Some were staged by YouTubers craving an audience, but many, most, were authentic.

My favorite was “America Hosted The Best Sleepover Ever”, which included an intro of “…The World Cup is just the US having a giant sleepover with the cousins we never get to see because our parents hate each other.” Just a bunch of people having fun with people.

Then I found a few others which were reaction videos. Reaction videos is where a YouTuber reacts to the video. These two were from different countries (Ireland and Britian?) saying much of the same. (~8 minutes each)

The parties were good and loud. The explorations were quieter and filled with wonder. Individual cities were called out, but I particularly enjoyed the ones from people who had the time to travel to small towns and to National Parks. I chuckle as I type because for each I’m thinking, ‘Oh, that’s good but they shoulda seen…’. And that was for our National Parks, of which I am a fan. Our state parks are pretty magnificent too.

They also showed us us. Texas is bold and brassy, just right for many of them. LA is warm sand and beach life. NYC is, of course, the most familiar from its size and movie exposure. They aren’t for me, but I respect those Americans and the way they enjoy life; and the visitors did too.

They were warned about murders and guns and so many other of our faults. They weren’t warned about our portion sizes, our diversity, our hospitality.

But, Tom, this blog is about personal finance. What does this have to do with that?

After social media gained traction (and after reading a few books like Powershift), I expected that a great movement, a great positive movement could arise from individuals. Individuals can now reach past the gatekeepers and spread messages that have been filtered out. Organizations have some control over global messaging, but they have significant competition now. Imagine a world where we have more and they have less. Imagine a world where positive messages eclipse negative ones. Imagine a world where criminals aren’t given the pulpit and the stage. What do you want to watch? What do you want to show the world?

But about the personal finance?

The world’s economies run on consumption, competition, and crisis. Imagine a world (and pardon the accidental alliteration) built from cooperation, creation, and compassion. 

How much money was spent on all of these parties? In the same time, how much money was spent on bombs, bullets, and missiles? We’ll never get rid of both, but which economy would you rather see dominate?

And here I’ll get personal for you and me. What kind of business… What goods and services can we provide that fosters that other economy, the better party economy? B&Bs? Yes. Travel across oceans will almost exclusively belong to billion dollar companies (and I cheer my friends who’ve crossed oceans in sailboats). Food? Go local. Skip the restaurant in a box, decorations and menues included. What can you serve that you eat that is from your location? Thai may be great, but here around the Salish Sea I’d like to see more salmon and elk.

This may be a dream, but dreams come true.

My four main worries are AI, politics, climate change, and social injustice. I don’t use AI on purpose. I vote, but I don’t know of any party that matches my values. Climate change would be impacted by the travel, but not everyone has to travel, just enough to spread the stories. But social injustice, now that may be best assaulted by people treating people as if they are people. They aren’t labels or stereotypes or races or genders. They (assuming AIs are sentient yet) are people, flesh and blood, trying to get through life and maybe even pursue happiness.

Pursue happiness? Sounds like a fine business opportunity. I wonder how I can invest in it.

PS I watched a video from a local news channel. They acknowledged the trend, and then spent a quarter of the time describing all the bad things that happened. Sigh.