With the advent of social media, the concept of the “current thing’ has become evident to more people as they realize that what was formerly called “the 24-hour news cycle” has been condensed to 5 minutes. However, there are certain “current things” that the regime in charge wants us to focus on for months or, in some cases, years (Ukraine, COVID). It’s a given that the mockingbird media will go into full blitz mode when it comes to the regime’s “current thing,” but what the phenomenon of social media has revealed is that a set portion of the population will quickly become sycophants for the regime as well. And those who advocate for the powers-that-be have a trump card at the ready for any argument you make that counters the narrative they’ve bought into.

In my last Substack I wrote about the concept of being a partisan; that’s not who these sycophants are. The partisan is steadfast and doesn’t latch onto the “current thing.” For the partisan, the whole spirit of the Age needs to be changed. Even if he or she talks about a certain subject often (i.e., trans kids), they understand that the only way to fully solve that issue is by upending the spirit of the Age. They do everything to protect their own children and the children of their allies, but they recognize that being able to help children 2,000 miles away without a table flip is not their immediate concern.

When it comes to the sycophants I mentioned above, their activism is always accompanied by a “trump card”: morality. If you do not walk lockstep with them on the “current thing,” they consider you to be immoral. This is an especially heinous device for many reasons, but I’ll mention two: 1. By our nature, none of us wants to be called immoral. Until you get to the point where people can call you any number of slurs and you remain unfazed, your emotions when it comes to the accusation of immorality are a weakness. 2. What these sycophants are advocating for, and attacking you for not supporting is what the regime in charge wants. No matter how well-intentioned these people may be, they are demanding you agree with those enforcing the spirit of this Age. I was recently criticized on Twitter for not supporting—and frankly, believing—the regime’s narrative regarding the alleged genocide of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province of China. All of the research I’ve done, and that includes investigating the sources of the information being presented about the Uyghurs, leads me to believe that the evidence for a genocide of the Uyghurs is regime propaganda. The accusations that I am immoral and advocate for genocide because I don’t believe what those enforcing the spirit of the Age are reporting mean nothing to me. I would rather be wrong than blindly follow those whose job it is to deceive. And unlike those promoting falsehoods, I am fully capable of admitting when I’m wrong.

Some may push back and mention that they get their information from “reliable” sources. What makes those sources reliable on the “current thing?” Because you may agree with them on a few or maybe even many issues? That doesn’t cut it for me. Consider the fact that when it comes to family members and people you love, you know a lot of the information they’re spewing is total horseshit. Maybe it would be a good idea to see how those “experts” you like talk about people who don’t agree with them. Do they bring up morality?

We are suffering an epidemic of people who have personalized the “current thing,” even if it’s happening 6,000 miles away from them and has no impact on their lives. Everyone opposing their side of the “current thing” is immoral, Hitler, choose your pejorative du jour. Again, their goal is to have you march lockstep with them, which means that if you do, you have bent the knee to the spirit of the Age. While there are events currently happening in the world that are hurting people, much of the time the powers-that-be are the ones causing the suffering. Do you understand how vile it is for those causing people pain and distress to demand you walk lockstep with them or else be branded their enemy? I understand that propaganda is all around you, and it’s hard to know what’s real and what isn’t, but maybe a good rule of thumb is to assume everything is a lie if it’s coming from the regime in charge. For those who “seek liberty,” I can testify that this way of thinking can be truly liberating.

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