by Duns Scotus
Predictably the indictment of Donald Trump has become a simplistic Red Team vs Blue Team issue. If you are on Team Trump, Bragg is the bad guy, part of a Soros-backed conspiracy using frivolous charges to get Trump because he is the last bastion preventing the Babylonian ascendancy of a national drag-queen-story-hour culture. If you are on the opposing team, you are all for stopping this "evil, misogynistic, sub-racist monster" by any means necessary, including using his own petty corruption against him.
This sort of thing is called "not being able to see the wood for the trees." Luckily I'm not American, so I can take a step back and see this in its wider context.
This sort of thing is called "not being able to see the wood for the trees." Luckily I'm not American, so I can take a step back and see this in its wider context.
What we're seeing here is basically part of a process of the American body politic to heal itself, grow a bit of scar tissue, and kill off bacterial agents washing around in its bloodstream. Trump has been a frequent cause of high fevers in recent years.
Sure, there may be legalistic issues involved in this latest case. Sure, the law might be being bent in new and unexpected ways. Sure, there's a hint of "banana republic lawfare" that undermines America's claim to stand for "democracy."
But, if looked for, those things have always been there. Legalistic purity is and always has been a myth. The American constitution lost its virginity long, long ago. Laws are meant to be bent and imposed in lopsided ways. C'mon, look at what happened at Charlottesville. This is nothing new.
I could go on but I prefer to view political entities, like the United States, through an organic rather than a legalistic lens. After all, we're not dealing with collections of ideas or some sacred principles here. No, in reality we're talking about herds of animals divided and united into sub herds and super herds, for whom laws, principles, and constitutions are baubles and occasional conveniences. Right now it is convenient for the American entity to shoot down Trump's star.
Sure, there may be legalistic issues involved in this latest case. Sure, the law might be being bent in new and unexpected ways. Sure, there's a hint of "banana republic lawfare" that undermines America's claim to stand for "democracy."
Think what you want about former President Trump and the reasons he’s being indicted.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 4, 2023
But just imagine if this happened in any other country, where a government arrested the main opposition candidate.
The United States ability to use “democracy” as foreign policy is gone. https://t.co/svdFxtaf4q
But, if looked for, those things have always been there. Legalistic purity is and always has been a myth. The American constitution lost its virginity long, long ago. Laws are meant to be bent and imposed in lopsided ways. C'mon, look at what happened at Charlottesville. This is nothing new.
I could go on but I prefer to view political entities, like the United States, through an organic rather than a legalistic lens. After all, we're not dealing with collections of ideas or some sacred principles here. No, in reality we're talking about herds of animals divided and united into sub herds and super herds, for whom laws, principles, and constitutions are baubles and occasional conveniences. Right now it is convenient for the American entity to shoot down Trump's star.
It should be clear by now that America, as a political entity, has been under attack for the last few years. Its weak point was its main feature, namely the political bipolarity (Dem-Rep) that has traditionally provided stability and renewal. In the 20th century the necessary switching between these two poles was mediated by an establishment-tethered media which insured that things stayed generally cordial and that neither electorate, nor any racial group, was ever alienated. This is what made America strong. Under such conditions, bipartisanship was the watchword, with Dems and Reps working across the aisle and agreeing on the big stuff.
However, in the early 21st century, a window of opportunity opened, where this system could be hacked and subverted. The sudden burgeoning of an open social-media-driven Internet meant that, at least temporarily, the establishment-tethered media could be bypassed and other darker energies pumped into the system.
Let's be clear on the traditional role of the US mainstream media: it was always to "launder" the energies of America and remove any particles that might cause serious ailments and divisions. From around 2006 to 2016, the country was effectively without its cultural liver and kidneys, allowing poisons to proliferate.
Let's be clear on the traditional role of the US mainstream media: it was always to "launder" the energies of America and remove any particles that might cause serious ailments and divisions. From around 2006 to 2016, the country was effectively without its cultural liver and kidneys, allowing poisons to proliferate.
One of the forces unleashed by this was of course the Alt-Right, an entity that started off as a legitimate critique of America and the West, but which history will prove was co-opted, hijacked, and diverted to an ulterior agenda. Without having to point out all the smoking guns, this agenda was one that objectively served Kremlin interests. As is well known, the Kremlin has long studied the ways to play up the divisions in Western societies.
The agenda with the Alt-Right and the rise of Trump was simple -- push down the Neo-Cons and if that wasn't possible simply create or exacerbate debilitating divisions.
Trump was made-to-measure, especially as he so perfectly weaponised American iconography against American global power. The Neo-Cons, by the way, were simply a well-intentioned group of often elderly Jewish men, some with roots in Marxism, cognisant of the difficulties of getting Redneck America to do its duty of enforcing a global order from which most, if not all, the countries in the world and certainly most Americans benefited. Putin's actions last year made this abundantly clear.
Russia Today back in the day
The agenda with the Alt-Right and the rise of Trump was simple -- push down the Neo-Cons and if that wasn't possible simply create or exacerbate debilitating divisions.
Trump was made-to-measure, especially as he so perfectly weaponised American iconography against American global power. The Neo-Cons, by the way, were simply a well-intentioned group of often elderly Jewish men, some with roots in Marxism, cognisant of the difficulties of getting Redneck America to do its duty of enforcing a global order from which most, if not all, the countries in the world and certainly most Americans benefited. Putin's actions last year made this abundantly clear.
The result of this campaign of subversion, which kicked into high gear in 2014, was that, instead of alternating smoothly between the Red pole and the Blue pole every one or two election cycles, Americans were whipped up, as far as possible, into becoming slavering demented mobs and tribes that wanted to rip out the eyeballs of their rivals and piss into the bleeding sockets. It is these same blind mobs, with their ammonia soaked eyeholes, who are now viewing the Trump indictment either as a parable of "Christian martyrdom" or the caging of a monster.
But what is really going on here is that the American body politic is slowly but surely healing itself.
We saw this process begin in the immediate aftermath of Trump's astounding election victory in 2016, with what was effectively the creation of a new Internet. This was characterised by massive censorship, deplatforming, and a kind of "algorithm fascism" that re-created an information hierarchy. It also created cosy little ghettos and shtetls for the unwanted "untouchables" of the modern age in places like Gab, BitChute, and Telegram.
All this happened as a direct response to the Alt-Right and it's Eurasian backers, and it happened in order to stop the divisions of American Society being whipped up against it. From around 2016 America started to get its cultural "liver and kidneys" back. It was these that "fortified the election" and caught the Hunter Biden psy-op and quashed it, right where the Russians had strategically dumped it -- on the doorstep of the election.
But what is really going on here is that the American body politic is slowly but surely healing itself.
We saw this process begin in the immediate aftermath of Trump's astounding election victory in 2016, with what was effectively the creation of a new Internet. This was characterised by massive censorship, deplatforming, and a kind of "algorithm fascism" that re-created an information hierarchy. It also created cosy little ghettos and shtetls for the unwanted "untouchables" of the modern age in places like Gab, BitChute, and Telegram.
All this happened as a direct response to the Alt-Right and it's Eurasian backers, and it happened in order to stop the divisions of American Society being whipped up against it. From around 2016 America started to get its cultural "liver and kidneys" back. It was these that "fortified the election" and caught the Hunter Biden psy-op and quashed it, right where the Russians had strategically dumped it -- on the doorstep of the election.
But the divisions in America are still extremely potent. In fact, it could be said that they have gone viral and have infected the normies. There is even a sense that the establishment might be shutting the stable door after the horses have bolted, and, of course, Bragg's attempt to bring down Trump may give the US another burst of fever. But this is exactly why Trump is still so important.
Those opposed to the entity that is America have few options to strike at it and subvert it. In multiparty Europe it's always possible to boost some small party with a thinly-disguised Kremlin agenda -- Greens, anti-NATO, Brexit, Scottish Nationalism, etc. But in America you have two giant parties both imbedded in the establishment. Attempts to take over either one of them are difficult if not impossible. Communist-backed infiltration in the past was a slow and tedious process and merely strengthened the other party. But with Trump they almost got what they wanted at a cut rate price. A great part of that was the rather lazy way the US establishment in 2016 dumped a choice of Jeb or Hillary on the voters.
Vomit or diarrhoea? Please choose!
Rather than having to be pushed like countless other try-hard Russian memes (e.g. "good guy Assad," "chad Putin," etc.) Trump turned out to have rocket-powered legs of his own. He had a ready rapport with the bruised egos of the great sweltering mass of American boomers and he instinctively tapped into the wellspring of isolationism that has long underlain America, and which always threatens to derail its wider destiny as the keystone of international order.
Trump came to represent an America that would shrink back from its role of underpinning the world order, plus an America bitterly divided against itself, ready, as in 1861, to rip itself apart; something that would leave the rest of the world to the tender mercies off Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-Un, and whatever monstrosity the Middle East cooked up next.
Trump is now much weaker and indeed older than he was in 2016, but so too is the fabric of America. Culture wars and tribalism are much more deeply ingrained. It is therefore not impossible for him to become the "chaos candidate" again and win in 2024.
That, of course, would exacerbate major divisions within America and also signal to its rivals and allies that the world order was teetering on collapse. So, stopping Trump in some way -- ending his career, forcing him off into retirement, etc. -- is an inherent goal of the American political entity. Only someone emotionally wrapped up in its tribal politics could fail to see this, so, if you are reading this and not understanding, this probably describes you.
Even if Bragg's "lawfare" assault on Trump succeeds in pushing him out of frontline politics or hamstringing him as a candidate who can appeal to independents, this would by no means eradicate any of the inherent divisions in America. They will still remain. But gelding Trump would push the country towards containing its divisions better and help to defuse the emotions and dark energy they create.
If you hate aspects of America, as I do, whilst recognising some the positive effects of the U.S.-backed world order, then you can't help but have mixed feelings about the attempt to bring down Trump.
Even if Bragg's "lawfare" assault on Trump succeeds in pushing him out of frontline politics or hamstringing him as a candidate who can appeal to independents, this would by no means eradicate any of the inherent divisions in America. They will still remain. But gelding Trump would push the country towards containing its divisions better and help to defuse the emotions and dark energy they create.
If you hate aspects of America, as I do, whilst recognising some the positive effects of the U.S.-backed world order, then you can't help but have mixed feelings about the attempt to bring down Trump.
If you love America, as many on the Dissident Right claim to do, but only as a fantasy version of what they think America should be, then your feelings on the matter will be clear -- Bragg is a blatant villain.
But if you love America, as it is -- a big, ugly, fucked-up country that nevertheless dominates the world and is not quite centralised enough to be really evil -- then Bragg's attempt to kill the Orange Godzilla and his polarising effect on American Society, could be seen as heroic.
But if you love America, as it is -- a big, ugly, fucked-up country that nevertheless dominates the world and is not quite centralised enough to be really evil -- then Bragg's attempt to kill the Orange Godzilla and his polarising effect on American Society, could be seen as heroic.
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