Yes! I keep wondering what is being referred to when people say great "again" because the US is not great in anything that truly matters, and I'm not even sure that it ever was.
Great "again" means it was great once. Yet without mentioning when or why, it becomes a hidden affirmation. The affirmation it was once great. Hidden propaganda.
Dear Lefty Dissident, (I like the name, it places you clearly!).
Thank you for your nice words.
Unusual and accurate, I'll take both compliments.
About deserving more follower. Indeed I'd love more follower and subscribers, and the unusual is probably what keep me in a niche, a place not too many people are willing to wander. I do not stray away from the discomfort. Most people want solutions before they have felt the discomfort fully, which I believe to be a form of denial...
Maybe more subscriber will come. Who knows. I almost gave up many times, and I am still here. I remember when I started an other Substacker I connected with, grew thousands of subscribers in a matter of days. now he has 3500 and me just 865. 🤷♂️
That was hard to to stay motivated without reward. But your message is the reward i feed on now! Gratitude.
This gets to a certain core of what Trumpism represents as foreign policy: a kind of ignorant, end-stage exceptionalism. In decades past, leaders were more educated and had some understanding that American hegemony rests on the cooperation of other nations, not on raw power. We couldn't just say "America first" because we needed other countries to believe that participating in our system of global institutions was beneficial to all. Trumpism believes that American hegemony rests on the power of American identity alone, so we can abandon all allies and treaties, proclaim an era of cutthroat darwinian competition, and always remain on top.
You're commenting about a well-honed 'patriotic' psyop that's been running strongly since WWII. I suppose that psyops, depending on the type, have their own intrinsic lifespan, stages of development and eventual disintegration. While they are in their prime, multiple spin-offs can be manufactured, riding along the coattails of the original. But when the original begins disintegrating, all hangers-on will crash with it. We'll see a spectacularly destructive demolition... and if we're lucky, a major worldwide reset as well.
Thank you for this. The Dzhemal reference is new territory for me and I'll follow the thread.
Three different entry points — Islamic political metaphysics, structural analysis of fascism, political economy and theology — arriving at the same coordinates. That convergence is not coincidence. It's what happens when a diagnosis is accurate. The method doesn't matter when the terrain is real enough. Different instruments, same map. It reminds me of triangulation in sailing.
Your framing of Nazism as structural mechanism rather than ideology is exactly the distinction that matters and the one most people miss. Ideology can be argued with, reformed, replaced. Mostly it is diluted by propaganda. People are given scandals to focus upon while the important work is being done elsewhere. Structure just reproduces itself — it doesn't need believers, only participants. Which is precisely why the Caesar architecture doesn't require Trump to be a genius. It only requires the conditions that make Caesar possible. And those conditions have been building for decades.
That your essays read as premature in August and factual by September is itself data. The structure was always there. The assassination just made it visible to people who needed an event to see what was already in place.
Yes! I keep wondering what is being referred to when people say great "again" because the US is not great in anything that truly matters, and I'm not even sure that it ever was.
Exactly.
Great "again" means it was great once. Yet without mentioning when or why, it becomes a hidden affirmation. The affirmation it was once great. Hidden propaganda.
I was led to this article and to subscribing to your feed by your response to a post on the same theme.
I think your analysis is unusual but very accurate about the effect of those myths on the rest of the world.
You deserve many more followers, Gabriel. I look forward to reading the rest of your content. Thank you.
Dear Lefty Dissident, (I like the name, it places you clearly!).
Thank you for your nice words.
Unusual and accurate, I'll take both compliments.
About deserving more follower. Indeed I'd love more follower and subscribers, and the unusual is probably what keep me in a niche, a place not too many people are willing to wander. I do not stray away from the discomfort. Most people want solutions before they have felt the discomfort fully, which I believe to be a form of denial...
Maybe more subscriber will come. Who knows. I almost gave up many times, and I am still here. I remember when I started an other Substacker I connected with, grew thousands of subscribers in a matter of days. now he has 3500 and me just 865. 🤷♂️
That was hard to to stay motivated without reward. But your message is the reward i feed on now! Gratitude.
This gets to a certain core of what Trumpism represents as foreign policy: a kind of ignorant, end-stage exceptionalism. In decades past, leaders were more educated and had some understanding that American hegemony rests on the cooperation of other nations, not on raw power. We couldn't just say "America first" because we needed other countries to believe that participating in our system of global institutions was beneficial to all. Trumpism believes that American hegemony rests on the power of American identity alone, so we can abandon all allies and treaties, proclaim an era of cutthroat darwinian competition, and always remain on top.
Indeed. And the lessons are coming. Someone is going down the history has the one who accelerated the decline of the Empire. Full decadence…
Incredibly well summarized!
Thank you dear. This kind of feed back from people with your mind means a lot!
You're commenting about a well-honed 'patriotic' psyop that's been running strongly since WWII. I suppose that psyops, depending on the type, have their own intrinsic lifespan, stages of development and eventual disintegration. While they are in their prime, multiple spin-offs can be manufactured, riding along the coattails of the original. But when the original begins disintegrating, all hangers-on will crash with it. We'll see a spectacularly destructive demolition... and if we're lucky, a major worldwide reset as well.
Fantastic column. So perceptive and to the point. Where to now?
Where to? I am not sure. I'll wait until the wind decides.
🤣
I want to check out the Baleares and Sardinia and Corsica. I hear Malta is pretty cool.
The south of France beckons
Indeed...
I'd love to do a sail trip around the Mediterranean...
I would offer to become Smutje and some mate on that trip, Gabriel…
That sounds great as long as you're skippering 🤣
Thank you for this. The Dzhemal reference is new territory for me and I'll follow the thread.
Three different entry points — Islamic political metaphysics, structural analysis of fascism, political economy and theology — arriving at the same coordinates. That convergence is not coincidence. It's what happens when a diagnosis is accurate. The method doesn't matter when the terrain is real enough. Different instruments, same map. It reminds me of triangulation in sailing.
Your framing of Nazism as structural mechanism rather than ideology is exactly the distinction that matters and the one most people miss. Ideology can be argued with, reformed, replaced. Mostly it is diluted by propaganda. People are given scandals to focus upon while the important work is being done elsewhere. Structure just reproduces itself — it doesn't need believers, only participants. Which is precisely why the Caesar architecture doesn't require Trump to be a genius. It only requires the conditions that make Caesar possible. And those conditions have been building for decades.
That your essays read as premature in August and factual by September is itself data. The structure was always there. The assassination just made it visible to people who needed an event to see what was already in place.
Love