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xianshep's avatar

The only thing I hate more than all that is the unrelenting despair that comes from firmly believing that my fellow citizens will never be snapped out of their propaganda-induced comas.

Lisa Savage's avatar

Yes, it is exhausting. But empire watchers like Chris Hedges have been predicting this frantic phase of the U.S. imperial war machine for decades now. As students of history, we can appreciate that other recent empires (Ottoman, Japan) conducted their final years in this fashion: overspending on wars in a desperate attempt to retain power. I remember how shocked I was when friends in Tokyo told me that kamikaze aircraft were built with no landing gear due to economic distress i.e. "we were all starving."

This phase of imperial decline has found the perfect lunatic (Pepe Escobar has taken to calling 47 "neo-Caligula") to be its public face. I see he's posted a wikipedia entry-styled pic of himself as Acting President of Venezuela. Biography host describes the Roman Caligula thus: "Discover the chaotic reign of Caligula, Rome's notorious emperor, known for his lavish excess, military campaigns, and dramatic downfall."

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