The Impossible

The Fate of Every God Emperor in the Modern Age

“Poor man wanna be rich. Rich Man wanna be King. And a King ain’t satisfied ‘til he rules everything.” – Badlands

No one since 1789 has succeeded both in making war against the world and their own citizens.

Yet that’s what the current Administration is doing, and a lot of Substackers believe they’ll succeed.

It makes no sense. Especially when its military is losing a war. Especially when its Gestapo is out of Hogan’s Heroes. They may own most of the information space, but they don’t control information. Everyone can see their own bills rising and their jobs becoming conditional.

The biggest flaw in this plan is a refusal to adapt. When things go wrong, you don’t double down on failure. Even Vladimir Putin adapts faster than these bozos. And they’re all bozos on this bus.

If the events weren’t making me cry so hard, I would have to laugh. Hey, dude. Springtime for Hitler wasn’t a documentary.

I get how they think they’ll save themselves. Keep the AI stock mania going, so Oligarchs stay loyal. Attack other religions, so the Christianists stay loyal. Keep raising the cost of betrayal rising so your own people stay loyal.

But what about the price of loyalty?

The opposition needs to make clear that there is a personal cost for violating the Constitution and your oath of office, which demands fealty to the law and not the dictator. There’s a jail cell with your name on it, a call from the Hague waiting to be placed. Think about it, little Mario. “I was only following orders” didn’t work at Nuremberg. And when this age is over there will be Nuremberg.

The Cost of Biden’s Failure

The reason we’re in this mess it that everyone associated with this Administration is betting that their personal impunity outlasts it.

This is true from the cabinet to the ICE agents on the street.

It’s true because the previous Administration, under President Joe Biuden and AG Merrick Garland, refused to charge, prosecute, and convict on the crimes in front of them. The attempted coup was allowed to stand, and so the coup succeeded.

This must change.

The danger, of course, is that stating the fact will lead those who have impunity to hang onto power tighter. They will become convinced that only their loyalty protects them and go on to commit even more ghastly crimes.

This is already happening. It’s why I don’t rate the previous Administration as highly as others. This could have been prevented by a Department of Justice that understood how the January 6 rioters, and those who led them, were in deadly earnest and committing acts of treason.

The rule of law is upheld only by prosecutors, and judges, who will administer it without fear or favor, who will commit those guilty to jail regardless of their station, and who will err on the side of justice over mercy when moved to by events.

Of course, we’re then left with the fact that a corrupted judiciary, like the one we have now, might use that need to put all the Administration’s critics in prison, or the ground. Strange because we already imprison more of our own than any other nation, even China.

How It Ends

No one knows how this era will end because there is no precedent for it.

Before the 20^th century, empires could safely exist within their own spheres of influence. It was possible, even in the 20^th century, for a dictator to control their people with police and propaganda.

Neither is true anymore. Imperialism has become a zero-sum game for everyone. The Internet fights propaganda, cameras police the police, and drones stand ready for revolution if the time comes.

The question right now is whether the time will come. The Administration can rig a close election. It can’t rig a landslide and expect no resistance. Today’s technology gives big advantages to those who resist, whether they are nations or just opponents of a government.

The fall of Trumpism is inevitable. Whether it comes the way of Hungary, an Administration going willingly into exile, Iran, an Administration going into exile at the point of a gun, or Libya, an Administration being pulled bodily from a sewer pipe while the nation descends into chaos, has yet to be seen.