In terms of the broad, centuries-scale, view of history, who is the most important human currently alive...

Some currently unknown guy who will spearhead the liberation and salvation of western civilization.

I'd argue the Patriot Act was the most impactful thing that came from Bush's admin, and it in no way seemed inevitable

The biggest impact he can attain is having edgy teens writing his quotes on tumblr or twitter like Nietzsche

Putin hasn't done anything anyone in 19th century Europe wasn't already doing. He literally just recycles the same nationalist shit every other leader has ever said, ruskies are just too brainwashed from a history of brutal ruling classes to realize nothing will change

The Democrats were as all-in on curtailing civil liberties as the Republicans. And ultimately did it really amount fo much anyway? What civil liberties of yours have actually been curtailed?

Absolutely, if what he wants to get done actually happens he has the potential to be one of the heroes of human history. He's just not as edgy as Trump/Putin so no one will talk about him

Admittedly he probably desperately wants to be influential but you gotta do more than just rehash Nietzsche quotes and rack up Patreon bucks to actually leave a mark.

it's me. just wait a few years and my decentralized technosocialist regime will be global

I think listening in and spying on Americans is a direct violation to the 1st Amendment, the TSA is a bunch of diddlers who can't even change a lightbulb, and a lot of the tax money that was sent to completely unnecessary programs could have been used for actual defense and to help save some of America's failing cities, instead of helping the DEA in SEA and help fund wars we're still fucking fighting.

Whoever (likely alive and working now) that creates the self-aware AI that either solves all our problems or causes our extinction.

*villains