Cascadia Lecture Hall, January, 2518

Morning folks. Sorry about the temporary hiatus. Unfortunately Family issues became extremely important, and as everybody knows, if your own house isn't in order, you really can't do anything out and about in the world. Now that things have calmed down a bit, we can get back to the subject which everybody's been waiting for quite patiently.

So, today we'll discuss Trump The Mad.

It's not often you get to talk about a mythical monster. Everybody always enjoys talking about the crazy ones. Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon, Cromwell, you can guarantee a packed house and eyeballs when you want to talk about the greatest of evils. There's a fascination with those that completely reject the most basic of civilized norms in favor of pure self interest. The funny thing is that none of these monsters would have had even the slightest amount of power had not they tapped into that most basic of human impulses.

After all the hierarchy of needs is only an individual thing. As long as all factors are met, morally a human feels justified in taking whatever steps are necessary to maintain their position on top of the pyramid. As we've seen from previous lectures, pyramids were the most basic building block of the American System. Those at the top were constantly adjusting their weight and grip to maintain the lock on the body politic.

(To a student's question) Yes, there are some major similarities to American Style Fighting.

For those who don't know, about five hundred years ago the Americans developed a style of fighting that was incredibly brutal and emphasized holding an opponent down after a clear fall and engaging in punches and strikes until the opponent was disabled. They referred to this as "MMA". Essentially it was legalized foul play in combat, and the American mindset of winning at all costs was on full display.

So, yes, that was how the system worked. Every piece of American infrastructure had been set up prior to the reign of Trump the Mad to hold down the American people in favor of the great cults and their corporate servants. Cameras, mandatory reporting of wrong think, and general feeling of oppression and watching. Into this maelstrom of monitoring came Trump the Mad.

Like any other Con-artist, Trump the Mad used a little bit of truth to make his lies far stronger. His success caused his cult opponents to feel that the only way to defeat him was to match his lies, creating their own false story mixed with a bit of truth. Lie after lie magnified until it became a case where no one was able to believe anything that came out of the screens day after day. The screens had become erratic and inconsistent.

Many people who depended on the screens to tell them how to think became devout followers of anything that gave out a consistent message. When one is told how to think a hundred different ways every day, choosing a consistent message was the only way one could stay sane. People began to choose identities, based not off how they were raised or how they felt, but rather based off how much cult power adopting such an identity would bring them. And THAT is how Trump the Mad gained much of his power. In a world where it was unsure who was and wasn't a liar, a KNOWN liar was considered far more honest.

In essence, while Trump the Mad was a symbol of the time, he was just as mad as the rest of the society. He had no morals or scruples other than "Look out for Number One" which was the exact same mentality as the Americans of the time.

Take a look at the current American President, for example, over in Empire State. He issues proclamations about rations, fortifications, and foreign affairs. To this day there are still scholars that work for him which scour the holy logs for proof of heresy among members of the political class. They continue on as if nothing has changed. Some still believe that they're only one fuel delivery from returning to their "District" where they will be greeted with all of the amenities they are used to.

I'll tell you this, if a Senator ever does show up, they will expect free food, free board, servants to deal with the rabble, constant attention from the local writers, and respect for all of the sacrifices they have made in public service. Although I must admit, I doubt that any of the Palahniak sisters would be lining up to write paeons to our supposed duly elected leaders.

But on to the philosophy of Trump the Mad, which he referred to as "The Art of the Deal". He even wrote a book on it, detailing everything that he was going to do, as all madmen are wont to do. The problem is that many of his critics didn't read it. While we may dislike Patton the Bloody, he did have a good point which was that to understand an enemy, one must read their book.

In his book, Trump detailed his intention to make the rest of the cults kneel before him through the very simple trick of telling them what they wanted to hear. The Democrat cult wanted a villian to scream and rail against. He gave them exactly what they wanted. The Republican Cult wanted a martyr to be crucified like their supposed savior. Trump gave them the impression of that, by knowing that the corporate media would do everything they could to destroy him. All he had to do was push back a tiny bit on any portion of their agenda. He could claim moral vindication, and his followers would feel they were being attacked.

Well, I see we've still got some time, so I'll happily answer any questions with regards to Trump the Mad. Keep in mind that the myths surrounding this period are much like the myths of the Sengoku period of Japan. We have the records, but they've been immortalized and propagandized in myth for so long that it's important to try to keep fiction and fantasy separate, lest we fall into the Graves Trap.

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