"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex." – Dwight D. Eisenhower

“If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket.” – Lyndon B. Johnson

The United States of America was once mythologized as a beacon of democracy, upward mobility, and civic freedom. But for decades — and with breathtaking speed in the post-9/11 era — that myth has unraveled. Today, the machinery of the state, media, and economy appears not broken, but expertly reprogrammed to serve a new aristocracy, while convincing the working class to sacrifice themselves on its behalf.

The Voters Who Voted Against Themselves
In the aftermath of every economic collapse, legislative betrayal, or gutting of public service, a familiar refrain emerges: “Why do they keep voting for these people?” The answer lies in a mix of psychological manipulation, engineered identity politics, and systemic exhaustion. The working poor — many of whom are white, rural, and economically precarious — have been weaponized. Decades of strategic messaging have replaced class consciousness with cultural fear: immigration, race, gender identity, and religion are used as smokescreens.

Meanwhile, billionaires enjoy tax havens, gut regulations, and profit from privatized everything — all while being cheered on by the very people they exploit. This isn’t stupidity. It’s trauma, gaslighting, and deliberate conditioning.

Institutions Hollowed Out for Profit
From education to healthcare to the courts, America’s institutions have been systematically defunded, delegitimized, and then privatized — all under the banner of "freedom." Public schools are demonized so for-profit charters can swoop in. Medicare and Medicaid are under constant attack while private insurers rake in record profits. The Supreme Court no longer even pretends to be apolitical — it openly rules for corporate donors, religious lobbies, and deregulatory zealots. The Post Office, Social Security, and public transit systems are targets for death by a thousand cuts — all to pave the way for monetized alternatives.

Legalized Bribery, Eternal Gridlock
The American political system has been captured: Citizens United and similar rulings have made corporate influence indistinguishable from free speech. Elections are decided by billionaires funding candidates like startups. Legislation is drafted by think tanks and corporate lawyers, not public servants. Gridlock isn’t a bug — it’s the ideal state for preserving power: no accountability, no movement, no resistance.

Surveillance State 2.0: You’re The Product Now
What began after 9/11 as a national security initiative has become a permanent digital panopticon: Every move, click, post, or swipe is tracked and monetized. Social media algorithms feed division and outrage, not connection. Public dissent is monitored, flagged, and sometimes quietly suppressed. Your data is more valuable than your vote, and certainly more than your dignity.

Billionaires as Folk Heroes
We live in a time where tech moguls are worshipped like deities:
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel — they are marketed not just as businessmen, but as saviors of civilization. They extract wealth from workers, dodge taxes, exploit loopholes, and bankroll ideologues — and the working class calls them genius rebels. This is not a glitch — it’s an elite-engineered mythology where suffering is your fault, and wealth is proof of moral superiority.

Manufacturing Consent by Manufacturing Despair
The true genius of the system isn’t just exploitation — it’s how effectively it prevents rebellion: Rent, medical bills, and student loans keep people too stressed to organize. Misinformation creates echo chambers that fracture solidarity. Hope is sold back to us in pills, devices, and Instagram ads. People aren’t apathetic. They’re strategically overwhelmed.

The Road Ahead — or What’s Left of It
There is no cavalry coming. There is no political savior. But the playbook has cracks: Local organizing still matters. Mutual aid networks, unions, and community defense are how empires are quietly undone. Expose the narrative. Educate relentlessly. Refuse to let lies go unchallenged.
Redefine patriotism. Real love of country means fighting for the people in it — not the billionaires above it.

The Dissolution of a Dream
The American dream was never evenly distributed, but now it’s being liquidated in broad daylight. The poor are being squeezed into silence, the middle class is being bled dry, and the elites are selling off the remains with a smile.

“It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” — Mark Fisher

Yet, perhaps the final, blind act of a rigged system is to overreach — to become so nakedly cruel, so transparently fake, that even the spellbound break free.