The above image was made with stable diffusion using the prompt 'american flag viewed through a telescope.'
Until very recently, humans were primarily tribal. Tribalism organized society and structured our thinking in a particular way. This remained the case until society became too complex, at which point institutions were created. From there, as complexity continued increasing, we developed markets, then networks.
Despite these relatively recent developments, tribal programming continues to dominate popular thinking. This programming frames politics in terms of personalities. It frames society in terms of kinship groups. These things aren't bad, but they're limiting.
These days, our innate tribalism is used against us by the powers that be in a variety of ways. Our attention is currently being directed away from our dumpster fire of a system and towards the personalities competing to become the country's most important figurehead. The pure networked tribalism of social media plays a role in this. So does mainstream news.
Yesterday in Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old registered Republican named Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Donald Trump in the ear with a military style rifle from about 150 yards away. Trump's security forces and police were warned by bystanders that a man was crawling around a roof with a rifle, but they took no action until the shooting started. After he was hit, Trump stood up and raised his fist in a display of triumphant defiance guaranteed to galvanize his base. A bystander was killed and Crooks was summarily executed.
Within hours, social media was flooded with reds blaming Biden and Antifa for the assassination attempt. The blues, for their part, lamented that the bullet had missed before continuing their incessant fear-mongering about Project 2025. Joe Biden stammered through a non-response to the incident wherein he implied that Trump's campaign had somehow created the conditions for it. Notably, Biden initially refused to characterize the assassination attempt as an assassination attempt.
Everything about this event seems fishy. How did a 20-year-old manage to hit Trump at all from so far away? 150 yards is one and a half football fields, which is an easy shot for a trained sniper, but a very long shot for your average kid. Why did Trump's security forces allow the shooting to take place before responding? And why did they execute this kid before finding out what his deal was and who else he may have been working with?
These questions are quickly falling by the wayside as the country becomes even more polarized. The blues fear the red plan of gutting social services, destroying ecosystems, and outlawing abortion. The reds fear the blue plan of criminalizing conservative views, expanding medical fascism, and courting hyperinflation with irresponsible spending. All of these fears appear justified.
Now, with this latest violence, the lines are clearly drawn. We're under immense pressure to choose one side or the other, and to dehumanize our ideological enemies. This pressure is only going to intensify. More violence is sure to come as the election approaches.
Trump Victory
Before the assassination attempt, a Trump victory seemed likely. Now it seems almost inevitable. If Trump takes office again, he will probably begin mercilessly persecuting his blue enemies. In anticipation of this, the blues may produce civil unrest in the streets like we saw in 2020. And in the halls of power, the pro and anti Trump factions may wage a bureaucratic war that makes everything less stable.
Kennedy Victory
If Trump doesn't win the election, it will most likely be because Robert F. Kennedy Jr. somehow gets the votes he needs to beat the establishment candidates. If this happens, the actual deep state will probably go to war with his administration. While a Kennedy win would be the best election outcome for our country as a whole, it would be very chaotic. Remember how crazy it was when Trump first got elected? A Kennedy win would be ten times crazier.
Harris Victory
The least likely outcome in my opinion would be a Kamala Harris Victory. Biden is obviously not up to the task of continuing to be president. So even if his handlers somehow manipulate the election to secure a victory, Harris would almost certainly take over as soon as possible. The prospect of a former prosecutor in this office fills me with dread. Would she began going after the reds en masse by further weaponizing the criminal justice system against them? Probably. And this could lead to violence on a mass scale.
With the lines of tribal enmity now clearly drawn, the conflict between the reds and the blues is sure to escalate. Our population may become consumed by the upcoming political popularity contest. Yet no matter how this contest turns out, the next few years are going to be challenging. And for reasons largely unrelated to the issues being endlessly rehashed by the establishment candidates.
Some of the crises we face are natural byproducts of the decomposition of our unsustainable systems. Other crises we face were deliberately caused by the selfish actions of powerful interests. Our polarized population appears determined to keep fighting with itself instead of dealing with the problems we're all facing together. This doesn't seem accidental. As long as we're fighting each other, we can't unite to oppose the control regime's agenda of further power consolidation.
Personally, my plan for the election is to just try to stay out of the way. I'm not interested in picking a side because both sides are wrong. I'll vote for Kennedy but expect Trump to win. This causes me no great concern, because it barely matters who is president.
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