In the USA, despite their many brawls the Right’s messengers are united like an ocean, while the Left are like little independent puddles which tend to evaporate.
Losing even when it looks like you’re winning
This will be a hard pill to swallow to anybody on the left, or whomever is a fan of the Harris-Walz campaign. I wrote an article a few days ago titled Democrats, you ain’t winning - yet! That remains true despite the high bipartisan traction Democrats have been able to galvanize in favor of Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States. Love the enthusiasm, but that is not enough to win.
Remember, Hillary Clinton was on the lead and despite winning the popular vote by a few millions, she lost the presidential election. There are a lot more factors than a great coalition in order to win. And winning does not mean simply getting more votes. Winning means ensuring the other side UNDERSTANDS WHY there are more legitimate votes for Kamala. Otherwise, we could brace for a J6 on steroids by a handful of MAGA-folks who are already prepped to defend what they claim it will be a stolen election. Complacency is often one of the Left’s worst enemies.
The Left’s worst enemy are themselves when they get stuck in their own feedback loop. I’ll reiterate that I don’t lean left nor right on the political spectrum. I’m on the center where I hold either side accountable based on their merits. I’ve written plenty about the Right-wing echo-chambers, and I’ve also mentioned that the Left-wing has its own echo-chamber. True that more and more Republicans and Independents are endorsing Kamala for president as Americans. Yes, choosing country before party. That is still not enough.
That means that the Blue-ballots cannot take any vote for granted, to include their own. I’ve been very vocal about this for a while, there is indeed a leaning towards authoritarian rhetoric on the Right-wing for the USA – even if they themselves don’t understand it how. In fact, not affording their supporters proper understanding is a key part of the authoritarian strategy.
In other countries the target audience for authoritarians are Left leaning. Why? Because everybody can potentially fall for authoritarian narratives despite their political leanings. It depends on many factors, for the USA happens to be the Right, other countries happen to be the Left. I reiterate this for a reason.
The end game is division. The divide creates an “us against them” culture where little by little whomever is on the other side gets dehumanized, feared, and ridiculed – all at the same time. Who wins when that happens? Whomever is the puppet master controlling the show. In my last article Big platforms responsibility to their audiences, I give you an example of how this happens. Let me quickly reiterate.
Authoritarian propagandists control the narrative. They pin two teams against each other. They pretend to like one of those teams, but they care nothing for either. The one they pretend to like is the one that has a proclivity to buy their bullshit and give away their lives to put these authoritarians in power. Once the authoritarian gains power, even the most loyal acolyte becomes disposable. By that time, they have already lost power, and once a tyrannical regime gets in power it is very hard to get rid of them. And yes, that has happened around the world, to include Western countries.
In case it was not clear enough, there are many red flags that will show if an authoritarian is exploiting wedge issues to gain support. Once they have that support to galvanize their power, the usefulness of their base expires, and even the most obedient of them become disposable.
Authoritarian Propagandists Talking Points
Authoritarian Propaganda is a sinister art form. It is like advertising but with a very different end goal. Instead of only selling you something and create brand loyalty (which they will indeed get tons of your money out of your wallet, and for sure make you feel elated to do so), they are after something a lot more valuable, your freedom of choice and movement. And choice is a very loaded word.
The way authoritarian propagandists get into your head is through talking points. This is how they control the narrative, and there are many ways on how they can drill these ideas into your head and actions. The following are a few (but not all) the tactics on how talking points become part of your very essence. You might recognize a few of these on your own life, or the life of someone you know.
Talking points are “they”:
- They are easy to remember, and would fit well on a chant, meme, or even a bumper sticker.
- They tend to be catchy and even clever.
- They are a “sick burn” against whomever is it that you’re “supposed” to be mad at from now on.
- They are divisive, there is an “us correct, they wrong” – no middle ground.
- They appropriate patriotic symbols such as flags, militarized insignia, or anything that would get you horny for chanting the praises of your land, or group.
- If you have a religious bias, they will exploit the crap out of that, no matter if you worship a volcano or any divine deity.
- If you are already angry or frustrated about something, the scape goat will just so happen to be the adversary for this authoritarian – even if you never disliked before that group that you’re now supposed to be angry at.
- If you didn’t like the “dear leader” before they started getting him/her into your head, they will find ways to make him/her more palatable. And of course, chase any disgusting thing you are swallowing that makes you cringe with something that makes you feel like you’re a good person for swallowing that pill. And eventually that sh*t soup starts tasting good.
- They will not agree among their “chosen team” and there will be scuffles, but it is ok, because those who are not as extreme will be ostracized and accused to be collaborating opposition (aka traitors). Only the most obedient people will be praised. This is one of many incentives for obedience among the group.
- They will identify any deficiency on the other side, no matter how small, and teach you to grade them on a curve. That means that if the guy or gal you’re supposed to like and support from now on is doing the same thing or worse, then it is ok… but it is totally unacceptable if it is the opposition. This one is particularly very effective, because it exacerbates cognitive dissidence.
- They will get you angry, but not quite enraged… just make you simmer in anger, so you feel like you’re the grown up in the room. This is so they can ask you to do something from them at a time and place of their choosing. It will start by giving them attention, then money (donations, merch, etc.), then unlimited time, then ask you to go on the attack. Start by antagonizing others through social media, then extend to total strangers, family, friends, and more strangers – especially on social media (yes again).
- They create brand loyalty, and you will have plenty of options to wear your “uniformed” individuality. At some point this merch will turn vulgar against anybody who dares not liking what you’ve been enamored with. If you wear the vulgar type, they already know you’re a good obedient useful fool that they can probably ask more from you. And you’ll be happy to do what they ask you to… and even pay them for doing their bidding.
- They will give a myriad of topics for you to go out and challenge anybody who dares say something against the “dear leader.” You will feel empowered to go on to their social media uninvited and “own the other side” – with your clever remarks. And if those who you “checked” – check you back and hand you your own a*s, then spew as many other talking points in rapid succession… if that does not work, insult them, and pretend you’ve won the fight you just started, and go back to your echo-chamber to brag and be consoled.
I can go on, but hope you see there is plenty of that going on in today’s socio-political climate. Not sure how much of that applies to you personally, my readers tend to be very openminded. In the USA the Right-MAGA folks are the ones currently being instructed to go out as the knight in shiny armor and “own the libs” who dare commenting or posting in social media criticizing MAGA’s wedge issues. Some lefties take the bait and start interchanging insults and call the MAGA folks an epithet that rimes with “boron,” and the MAGA folks will use insults something like “libtard,” or if whomever they are fighting with is Right-wing, they will be accused of being a “RINO.” Often using an “F” word as seasoning or punctuation.
Again, in the USA is the Right who is more vulnerable to this type of propaganda, but the Left is not impervious to fall for the same trap. In fact, that is EXACTLY what the authoritarian propagandists wants. They want you angry and have the Left and the Right fight as mortal enemies so they can rule over whomever remains. That is how you create softer targets in a society. Useful fools tend to operate in automatic mode if they bite the bait on the talking points I mentioned above.
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So, what’s the problem with the Left?
For this case the Left is not only Democrats, but it also includes Independents and Republicans who are willing to vote Blue down-ballot for this election. We have to realize that the way in the USA Democrats see the world is from a very different perspective on certain key issues than their counterparts. This is despite the fact we are more similar than different. And no, I am not saying that being a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent is intrinsically better for either group. All can be great or terrible based on many factors. I say factors because they are multipliers.
We need diversity of opinion and doctrines. Nobody is 100% correct about everything, we all have blind spots. A debate is supposed to help each other find the blind spots and come with better solutions. The “winner” should be everyone by virtue of the information you are able to understand that before you were perhaps not quite considering. Sadly, debates nowadays are not about facts but opinions. That is wonderful news to authoritarian propagandists.
And yes, in the USA the Right falls for a lot of conspiracy theories, misinformation, half-truths, and all that jazz. But guess what? I often also hear even well-intentioned Left-aligned folks talking themselves into a corner from time to time or falling for some of the same logical fallacies they accuse the Right-wing folks from pursuing. But I do have to be objective and emphasize that in the USA the Left happens to be a lot better informed about what is actually going on.
Why is that? Well, it is because the Left happens to be on the diametrically opposed side than MAGA, that is why. MAGA hijacked the Republican party, hence there is a mass exodus of Republican voters voting Blue on this election. And somebody even more insidious highjacked MAGA. Hence, MAGA turned the GOP into a nepotistic arena where loyalty towards Trump is more important than finding the reason why he is in so much legal trouble. And yes, many Republicans do understand this, hence they cannot in good conscience vote for him.
But the problem is that MAGA does have a huge clout, and the clout is not only limited to the USA. MAGA is a far-to-extreme-Right ideology that has been getting more and more to the Right than ever… especially as the election comes near. The progression for this has been telegraphed for years, what Trump says today that is extremely concerning does not even register as newsworthy anymore… just a few years before this would have been a worldwide scandal. But people on the Left and the Right have grown numb to it, because the bizarre has been normalized for so long that even the most authoritarian-like narratives have become background noise.
And if you’re MAGA and think that Trump is in charge, let me pop you out of that bubble, because Trump just so happens to be another useful fool for regimes who want to push the USA away from the number one spot in the world, so they can set the new status quo. The USA is far from perfect, but we are not an authoritarian nation – yet. If you think you are, then you have no idea what an actual authoritarian nation looks like. Hint is the one that if you have said “F*ck Brandon” in social media, the federal government would have already put a bullet in your skull and everyone you love.
The Left in the USA understands a lot of this, but they are also not fully informed on the facts, there is a lot of “I think” or “I believe” being said by pundits, podcasters, newscasters, personalities, etc.… Let me tell you right now, ERASE “I think, or I believe” from your vocabulary, because they are opinions, and opinions are not subject to actual data. It is best if you do an assessment, because now you are speaking after the factual evidence has been closely scrutinized.
The other thing that grinds my gears with many Left-aligned entities is that they only listen to their own little group of buddies. If you’re a person with little to no clout they don’t want to hear from you – unless you pay them for their time. Not a f*king conversation will be granted, unless somebody is on their face to insult them and challenge them. It boggles my mind, and as a result I hear a lot of pundits, podcasters, youtubers, content creators, newscasters and other personalities recycle the very same talking points, spinning around like a washing machine, and then acting surprised when the Right does something many of us saw telegraphed months in advance.
The Left is reactive, they are on the defensive all the time. Remember the aggressor only needs to be lucky once, the defense needs to be lucky all the time. There are plenty of eyes and sentinels looking at what is going on, but they have no clout, or are in no search for a clout, and they are therefore ignored by the majority of those Left-leaning outlets who take their commitment and attention for granted – even if they haven’t realized it. The wisdom exists and is desperately trying to reach them. I know that firsthand.
I have reached personally to (I’ve lost count) many left-leaning podcasters, influencers, news stations, etc., and crickets by most of them. I even follow them on my social media and comment on their stuff. I do have a growing audience of my own for my books and articles, but I won’t be able to reach enough people fast enough as these other folks could. Then fast forward a few weeks and they are reacting to something I already predicted was going to happen and trying to tell them… but got ignored. The biggest problem with the left is that they ignore their own best interests – while accusing the other side of doing the same and give plenty of airtime to the craziness that we already know is happening on the Right.
What I don’t see them doing much (with a few exceptions) is providing solutions to be ahead of the authoritarian propaganda. Well, I tried to reach to many of them, and I’ve given up on several of them. So, I am writing this series. Each day I’ll be posting a new article or two. Even if only a few thousand people read it, at least I know that I’m doing my part to sound the alarm. And if the USA falls into an authoritarian state, when we are all trapped in the same gulag-type confinement, I will tell them “I’ve been trying to tell you this because YOU had a platform you wasted by only repeating the same sh*t we were already tracking.
On each article I’ll keep describing the authoritarian playbook, I’ve written a couple of books about that, but they do no good if people are only re-watching the same recycled points. Yes, anybody on the Left knows that Trump is dangerous, HOW DO WE STOP IT? That is the question, and the answer is to turn the rhetoric upside down and inform his base. Why? Because they are being lied to, and they only hear their own outlets, and when they chat with Left-leaning folks, they both are falling for the trap to end up in a fight between a Lefty and some MAGA person.
It is ok to challenge a person if they are incorrect, that is what you’re supposed to do. Help a person who has a blind spot realize that blind spot exists and expand their field of view. That field of view exists on the Left, but those with a large platform do not use this vast resource and keep those blind spots in the dark. I will be griping more about this topic in a subsequent article. But hope that for now, if you’re an influencer you are more apt to listen to people who are desperately trying to help you.
And to the Presidential campaign, stop asking me for money, I won’t give you a dime until an air-breathing human answer my questions. What I am offering you is a lot more valuable than a donation. If people are ready to vote against Trump they will do so, and if Kamala wins, they will likely conduct a J6 on steroids. THAT is what we need to prevent (yes, I repeat it for a reason). That is what I’m trying to teach you, but there are a few tactics that are not for public consumption, hence this forum is not the correct venue for that. In other words, you don’t telegraph tactics, but I’ll do what I can to educate from the platforms I control.
The Right is disjointed, but they are like an ocean – it has different ecosystem on each shore, some are deep, others very shallow, some are very different from one shore to the next and might never see the same “world” – but they prop each other out. Many even tend to swarm on defense of each other on social media. The Left is very different, they are individuals for the most part. That is why I said, the Right’s messaging is like an ocean, while the Left is a lot like scattered puddles.
Some of these puddles might be deeper than others, might cross streams from time to time, but they are just that… little puddles, disjointed. This frustrates even those who want to help, because they feel alone, they feel that their efforts don’t matter because their comments, content, or any other struggle gets very low engagement on actual new and viable ideas. And those with the large platforms are more focused in pushing content that is often repetitive and click-bait-like than using that platform to learn how to defeat the propaganda affecting the Right.
Reporting on it is not enough, reacting is not enough. I’ve been trying to tell many of them what I’m telling you here and a lot more I can’t put in this forum because it would give the game away to the adversaries – who are always watching and paying attention. To my readers, thank you for reading my words. HLC