"Things are more like today than they have ever been before"

The statement "Things are more like today than they have ever been before" carries a paradoxical and almost humorous tone, playing on the familiar expectation that situations are always evolving or changing, yet positing that now is the culmination of what "today" has ever meant. It's a reflection on the nature of the present: the idea that the current moment represents the greatest concentration of presentness, an unsurpassed 'today-ness' that overshadows all prior 'todays.'

Digging into the language, the phrase effectively highlights the continuous and inevitable march of time, in which each moment becomes more defined and categorized by the qualities of the present. Every society and generation grapples with the tension between continuity and change, the familiar and the unknown. By asserting that things are "more like today", the speaker might be suggesting that the present always feels unprecedented, more acutely 'now' than anything before it. Each era tends to see itself as unique, facing unparalleled circumstances, challenges, or opportunities. Yet, the statement subtly mocks this tendency, implying that this sense of doing or experiencing something distinctly 'unprecedented' might itself be a recurring phenomenon.

The irony in the phrasing, essentially a tautology, also pokes fun at political rhetoric, which often sounds meaningful but sometimes obscures or circles back on itself without imparting much substantive insight. The remark plays with redundancy and the expectation that a statement from a figure of authority will carry weight and specificity. Instead, it wraps around on itself, ultimately saying that now is now, and never before has now felt so much like itself.

In a broader sense, it serves as a gentle reminder not to overemphasize the supposed uniqueness of the present, to keep a sense of perspective, and perhaps even find a measure of humility and humor in the ways we perceive and describe our times.