Imagine a society where the culture of its people is to have the majority learn to work against their own best self-interests so that a greedy, selfish, and select few can extract, steal, and destroy literally everything they want.

Welcome to the United States of America, or as I now call it… Dumbfuckestan!

Let me explain…but first, let me say, it doesn’t need to be this way.

Sustainable cultures that are conscious, educated, and aware societies function well with a balance of capitalism and democratic social governance, often called democratic socialism. All members of the society are treated equally and not just in word but by deed. Many nations exist all around the planet without the massive economic imbalance and looming economic crises the majority of US citizens have experienced nearly every day now for decades.

If you look at the Scandinavian countries as just one example, you will see that they consistently rank among the world’s most successful and happiest countries in the world.

Why? Because they do the opposite of what we do here in the USA.

I call what we do, Feudal Extraction Capitalism. It is an economic system where wealth and resources are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, resembling the hierarchical structures of medieval feudalism.

In this historically failed economic model, powerful elites or oligarchs control key industries, financial institutions, journalistic outlets, and political mechanisms, extracting wealth from the broader population without equitable redistribution for labors hard work, all while spreading a culture of hatred, fear and separation of and from others.

The expansion of oligarchic power exacerbates economic inequality, as these elites influence legislation, taxation, news, information, and labor policies all to favor their own interests. They hold power over political parties and the media so much so that the majority of the public is often left feeling there is little they can do. As a result, apathy and anger become a cesspool of despair.

This concentration of power undermines democratic institutions, limits social mobility, and erodes the middle and working class this nation was built on after WWII.

Citizens face stagnant wages, reduced access to quality healthcare, housing, limited and costly education choices, as well as diminished political representation.

Because the elections are often heavily funded by wealthy individuals who manipulate the general public to vote for issues that only benefit the wealthy, by pointing fingers at those who are not really at fault for their problems. Minorities and anyone they have likely never met.

Ultimately, this system creates a cycle where the rich grow richer, leveraging their wealth to entrench their dominance, while the majority struggle with significant economic limitations.

The erosion of civic trust and the widening gap between the wealthy elite and the populace threaten the foundational principles of democracy and social cohesion.

How did we get here?

This nation has been through significant economic battles over its 250-year history, experiencing Gilded Ages to economic collapse many times, and each time, the general populace needed to have two things in common: 1) a small group of wealthy, greedy people with a strong belief in their righteous power, and 2) an ignorant, uneducated, and easily manipulated populace.

For our recent situation, it started with Paul Weyrich in the 1960s, his ideas were of this righteous greed mindset. His beliefs were of a libertarian white people who see themselves as more deserving of wealth and dominion over others. Thus began a long and deliberate journey of destroying any semblance of social and economic cohesion amongst the public, ultimately destroying democracy itself.

First, they created think tanks and associations like the Heritage Foundation that put out constant propaganda messages that the government is the enemy of the people. Then President Ronald Reagan picked up and pushed that ball. Taxing Social Security and pressing constantly, the cultural mindset that liberty and justice were not for all, but only those who ‘worked hard’ for it.

The message was deceptively clear and played to the underlying racism in US culture: minorities were to be excluded from any significant economic benefit. What many whites never realized was that they too would not benefit in the long term as their taxes and fees have been going up, as their income, for decades, has been stagnant at best. All while the wealthy enjoyed the opposite.

Education became increasingly degraded, civics and government was no longer taught in schools, and media bought off by oligarchs, diminished the citizens’ awareness as they could now easily be manipulated with fear and hatred of others… all while the wealthy benefited from cheap labor and the collapse of unions and journalism.

The culmination was the election to the Presidency, for a second time, an idiot man-child who is a convicted felon, racist, constantly lying, malignant, sociopathic, narcissistic con man.

These same powerful people also worked decades to capture the US Supreme Court, installing like-minded judges who made legal the criminality we now face in the White House, and turned this nation into the laughingstock of the world.

As such, a very dangerous and corrupt government of sociopaths now holds power who either believe in oligarchy or their own form of religious domination over everyone who isn’t a white Christian nationalist like themselves.

The illegal ICE raids are just a precursor to the law-breaking, violent agenda soon to unfold if they are not stopped.

Add to this Republican nightmare, a Democratic party that constantly works for the neoliberal ideal by accepting the massive donations from Corporations, Wall Street and the Military and Medical Industrial Complex who don’t want to lose the power and money they have and control.

So the question is, how do we escape what is now an apparent annihilation of our nation by a powerful group intent on implementing fascism and authoritarian rule in place of our democracy? A democracy that was bought and paid for by those who most benefit from controlling it… oligarchs and religious zealots on the radical Christian right.

We first have to wake up to our ignorance and hatred of others, especially minorities and people whose lifestyle we don’t understand. We have to recognize we have been propagandized to hate the wrong people and causes. So to start, turn off the faux news feeds of oligarchy. Follow the money, who benefits and who loses.

Question everything you hear from corporate and social media. Much of it is intended to deceive you by pointing your fears in the wrong direction… away from oligarchy and Christian white nationalism.

You can confidently assume that the Republican Party is lost as it fully supports this Trump-led authoritarian agenda of fascism. It will never return or recover. It is a walking corpse of zombies that must be removed from power, hopefully by peaceful means.

The Democratic Party is under tremendous pressure now to face the fact that their rank and file are no longer willing to let them continue with their neoliberal agenda of backing the powerful who bankroll their runs for office via the political hacks who have deceived the public for so long.

If you see any Democrat in or running for office who isn’t pushing for Medicare for All, taxing the extremely rich, investing in education, higher living wages, taxing Wall Street, no backing of cryptocurrencies, and fighting for climate change, rest assured, they are receiving big money to vote against your best self-interests.

Enough is enough, support those running for office who speak to progressive issues and will work to implement them.

The most recent turnouts for AOC and Bernie Sanders “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies around the nation, along with elections of democratic socialists and progressives, even in the financial capital of New York City, are sending shockwaves through Democratic leadership stubborn hearts. The wake-up call is raising to a fever pitch, as there is now no turning back.

Ultimately, sustaining hope and commitment to democratic ideals is crucial, even in challenging circumstances.

Stopping authoritarianism and fostering democracy in the U.S. involves a combination of civic engagement, legal measures, and cultural shifts.

Key strategies include:

• Active Participation: Encouraging voter turnout in local, state, and national elections to ensure diverse representation.
• Civic Education: Promoting understanding of democratic principles and critical thinking to combat misinformation.
• Grassroots Movements: Supporting community organizing, peaceful protests, and advocacy groups that push for democratic reforms.
• Legal Protections: Strengthening institutions, upholding the rule of law, and protecting civil liberties through judicial and legislative actions.
• Media Literacy: Encouraging independent journalism and critical media consumption to counter propaganda and disinformation.
• Dialogue and Inclusion: Fostering open discussions across ideological divides to build mutual understanding and reduce polarization.
• Sustained efforts in these areas can help reinforce democratic values and support a just society. Let us hope we still have elections to make these seismic corrections and save our Constitution and Democracy.
• Failure to do so will cause unlimited damage to our economy our people, our nation, and ultimately, to the planet and life on Earth.

Please feel free to share far and wide.