Authored by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, I want to really think differently than the very consistent liberal-media line of, Well if they just knew better they would vote differently. They’re under-informed, they’re under-educated. I think it really misunderstands something, which is that, just because people are not acting rationally in accordance with what you think is rational, doesn’t mean that they’re not acting rationally. And I think there’s perfectly rational voter behavior in voting for Trump. For economic reasons and social reasons. Life is getting worse. You are less comfortable in your own house, in your own town, in your own skin. Your outlook for the future is worse with every passing year. And you conscientiously voted for people through this entire time. So it is actually an established fact that the system did not work for you. This representative democracy thing. And so you go and lob a grenade at it, when the grenade becomes available. And that is rational. – From the excellent interview of Masha Gessen via The Atlantic In yesterday’s post, I discussed the future opportunity and danger presented by that large mass of the American public that self-identifies as part of “the resistance.” Before I continue, we should revisit a few of the key points made. For example: With Trump’s election, the mask is finally off. Even Trump supporters admit that his election was a reaction to how corrupt and fraudulent our economy and society had become during the 21st century — first under Bush and then Obama. Independents such as myself, despite finding Trump revolting and dangerous, tend to agree with this assessment. The only significant group of people who simply refuse to admit this fact are those who proudly proclaim themselves to be part of “the resistance.” Many of them thought everything was going just fine for the country while Obama was President simply because things were going well for them, which is just human nature. If things are going fine for you on a individual level, there isn’t much incentive to peek behind the curtain and question what’s really going on. You’re simply too busy feeling good about yourself and focusing on getting ahead. I know because I’ve been there. Also this: It’s tempting to just write these people off as useful idiots being easily corralled into the vicious arms of neocons and deep state psychopaths following the emotional trauma inflicted upon their psyche by the election of Donald Trump. It’s tempting to do that, because in many ways that’s a fairly accurate description of what’s going on, but I want to try to be less judgmental right now. When thinking back to the early days of my awakening, I remember how malleable my mind was to all sorts of influences, both positive and negative. This is what happens to people when your entire worldview is suddenly shattered or disrupted. Human nature is to look for an alternative narrative that can help you once again make sense of the world. Unfortunately for most card-carrying members of “the resistance,” nefarious characters within corporate media and U.S. intelligence agencies were ready with a comforting narrative which gave them permission to avoid confronting reality: Russia did it. We should not write off our fellow humans simply because they voted for Trump, or because they foolishly embraced some delusional conspiracy which blames Russia for everything. There are tens of millions of very decent people within both these groups who genuinely care about the country and making things better. We must never forget that convincing one group of voters to hate and dehumanize another group of voters serves the interests of the power structure and no one else. People have been successfully manipulated into thinking that their fellow citizens with essentially zero power are the real enemy as opposed to the oligarchs who actually destroyed and pillaged the country. This is why I focus pretty much all my posts on the bigger picture and direct my energy to calling out those with actual power. If you spend your entire day fuming about how stupid Trump voters are, or how “the resistance” are just a bunch of brainwashed useful idiots, you’re being intentionally played by those who’re really in power. As discussed yesterday, Trump’s election caused a mental breakdown across a wide swath of the U.S. population. This happened because millions upon millions of people thought things were going just fine under Obama, simply because things were going fine for them. The corporate media and discredited neocons/neoliberals working in tandem with U.S. intelligence agencies immediately saw this crisis for the opportunity it was. They could present themselves as leaders of “the resistance” and blame Trump’s rise on Russia. This way demoralized, yet financially successful, Hillary Clinton voters could continue to tell themselves the same comforting tale that everything’s inherently fine in this country were it not for Russia. You couldn’t come up with a more perfect narrative for the rejected status quo to use in order to reestablish its authority if you tried. Unfortunately, it’s largely worked thus far. Sounds depressing, I know. Nevertheless, just because it’s worked so far, doesn’t mean it’ll work forever. One of the key points I highlighted in yesterday’s piece is that people are very vulnerable to manipulation and bad ideas in the immediate aftermath of any trauma that comes with one’s worldview being shattered. People tend to look for grand enemies in the face of such distress, whether that be the Rothschilds, the Illuminati or Vladimir Putin. It’s all the same in the end. This isn’t to say I deny the existence of extremely rich and powerful people in the world who wield tremendous influence in world affairs, I certainly think there are. Rather, it’s to say that human beings often times get so caught up on grand conspiracy theories they do nothing to change the world around them. This leads them to just sit around shivering in fear warning everyone around them about the masters pulling the strings, and how these forces are unstoppable. The truth of the matter is that we’re the ones ruining everything. All of us are extremely flawed, yet most of us choose to focus on and highlight the flaws of others as opposed to looking inward. As I wrote about at length earlier this year, the greatest impact that 99% of us can have on the world comes from working on ourselves as individuals. Imagine if in the course of such personal work a couple billion people on the planet truly became more decent, conscious people. Don’t you think that would change the world far more than electing another loathsome politician with false promises? As frustrating and dysfunctional as the current political environment is, we need to remember that we’re still only one year apart from the 2016 election. The clownish “resistance” to Trump rooted in Russia conspiracy fantasies is still very young in the tooth, and I’m optimistic a certain percentage of this group will eventually see the error of their ways and move on. I’m not talking about a majority, but enough to make a difference. There are two things that lead me to this conclusion. First, since I think people are most vulnerable right after a trauma, the low hanging fruits of manipulation have been picked. Second, the argument that Russia is to blame for all that ails us, ignores the existence of the surveillance state, endless imperial wars abroad, a dysfunctional healthcare system, a parasitic financial services industry, etc. The singular focus on blaming Russia for everything as opposed to admitting that our biggest problems are homegrown is as irrational as it isn cynical. It simply doesn’t stand up to any sort of reasonable debate, and will only continue to work on people who desperately want to live a lie in order to feel better. As Caitlin Johnstone wrote in her excellent piece, Accusing Someone You Disagree With Of Being A Russian Troll Is Admitting You Have No Argument: There is no legitimate reason to ever accuse a stranger you disagree with of being a Russian agent. Firstly, you cannot possibly know that the stranger you’re dialoguing with works for the Kremlin. Secondly, even in the highly unlikely event that the person you are speaking to really is a secret Russian agent, you should still be able to out-debate them. Kremlin trolls don’t have magical powers. They can’t hypnotize you. If you’re interacting with one they’ll be advancing arguments and ideas just like anyone else, and if your arguments and ideas are defensible you should be able to defend them clearly and articulately. This is exactly right, and it’s why I don’t think this Russia narrative will continue to exert the societal influence it does today as we move into 2018 and 2019. It’s a psy op which doesn’t stand up to any critical thinking, and a certain percentage of “the resistance” will ultimately move on to more productive behavior. Even if the percentage that discards the Russia obsession is only 5%-10% of the total, this might still equate to millions of people and that’s enough to result in a meaningful change to political dialogue. Of course, I can’t predict the future and you could easily make the exact opposite argument. I get that, but my overall optimistic vision is based on a lot more than the belief a few card-carrying “resistance” groupies will come to their senses. On a much more global level, I believe the unprecedented connectivity provided to the world via the internet will eventually lead to a much more conscious and healthy environment for human beings on this majestic planet. People are still grossly underestimating the impact of the internet on human affairs on earth.We remain in inning 1, maybe 2. — Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) https://twitter.com/LibertyBlitz/status/933009650139537408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); This will be the main topic of conversation in tomorrow’s piece. * * * If you liked this article and enjoy my work, consider becoming a monthly Patron, or visit our Support Page to show your appreciation for independent content creators.