As a wise man once observed, “The world today seems absolutely crackers.”  And though there’s not a single, semi-rational soul on the planet who would dare dispute that diagnosis, you will find little in the way of a consensus as to the root cause of this pandemic of lunacy, which itself is one of the classic symptoms of the terminal condition.

In recent years, those capable of even a few slivers of rational perception have been able to identify a predictable pattern of how fundamental ideological variations across the population have been wildly skewered to facilitate an endless Culture War of Terror, one that has manifest a deeply factionalized society with an ever-widening, seemingly unbridgeable impasse between polarized, partisan divisions.

Broadly speaking, there’s two opposing forces at play in this eternal conflict: first, we have a conservative, reactionary disposition, one that desperately clings to traditional values and is highly resistant to anything remotely resembling change. I affectionately call this group the Nipple Dippers (the precise etymology is purely arbitrary and irrelevant to the discussion). In the more extreme cases, these tendencies are underscored by a deep-seated fear of losing cultural primacy that, historically, has given us some of humanity’s most distressing moments.

On the other side of the cultural chasm, we find a progressive, radical sensibility that’s instinctively suspicious of tradition and historically, has been able to identify areas where inequalities and injustices linger; however, in its more deranged manifestations, this impulse gives rise to a frightening intensity of zealotry that demands vigorous allegiance to whatever ideological purities are deemed appropriate by a Borg-like consensus of sanctimonious Group Thinkers, one that frequently veers into utter lunacy. I refer to them as the Gibbleheads (again, the etymology is unimportant although in this instance, the term is rather self explanatory).

At their core, these perpetual divisions are perfectly organic and emerge as a natural function of human socio-political evolution. It’s always been the responsibility of older generations to fiercely guard the traditions of the past, but it inevitably falls upon the younger ones to scrutinize and re-evaluate those established orthodoxies, always in pursuit of more truth, justice, freedom and every other aspirational quality that presumably makes life worth suffering.

Spoiler Alert! There is nothing inherent in the present state of western culture that’s even remotely engineered to realize these fantasies although the fulfillment of such dreams is dangled before us like a juicy carrot of false promise—an illusory morsel of Hope and Change™ designed to mesmerize and distract us from an ever-intensifying corporate enslavement.

If we lived in a sane society (and it’s highly possible that human beings will never achieve such a thing—there’s a gazillion life experiments in the universe and surely many are doomed to fail by design. It only stands to reason that we may very well be one of them), there would exist a rational discourse between these archetypal social divisions, a perpetually constructive debate where sensible compromises are invariably achieved, thus establishing newly revised orthodoxies that themselves would be subject to rigorous dissections by subsequent generations. And on and on this would go until the eternal cosmic winds saw fit to swallow up the solar system and vaporize us into the transcendent realm. Or something.

Of course, for such an ideal scenario to realistically manifest, the mutually antagonistic Nipple Dippers and Gibbleheads would have to fundamentally respect the form and function of one another, and demonstrate a willingness to thoughtfully consider a range of views and beliefs that deviate from their own understanding of the universe.
In an attempt to illustrate the principle, and in defiance of my usual instincts, allow me to generously highlight the underlying virtues of these polarized factions. To start with, there’s a profoundly important reason why we have traditions. Not all of them are regressive although without question, many certainly are, especially when left unchallenged for generations. And though we rely upon the youthful exuberance of modernists to identify such areas and to advocate vigorously for their reform, this segment of the population lacks many of the fundamental wisdoms that come as a natural consequence of advanced age.

While there’s all sorts of horrifying elements associated with the aging process, one of the most  under-appreciated gifts is the ability to detect patterns you couldn’t possibly have identified when you were young, simply because you hadn’t had enough repetitions around the sun to bear witness to them. If one is willing to stay open-minded, and not heavily invested in thought-terminating, reflexive narratives, these slow-cooked observations may inspire you to adopt radically different perspectives on ideas and values you previously believed, in all the drunken enthusiasm of glamorous youth, were absolutely sacrosanct.

Conversely, young people, by virtue of having spent less time rooted in a specific ideology, often notice things that completely eluded previous generations who neglected to look beyond the boundaries of a particular narrative framework. But as these new-fangled perspectives emerge, it lies with the seasoned traditionalists to best consider how to embrace them without completely disrupting the space-time continuum. Genuine progress can only happen when both factions mutually agree upon on a functional compromise.

I realize what I’m describing is a sort of Star Trek like, utopian vision of cultural harmony and one that’s unlikely to materialize anytime soon given the current state of human evolution. Our present reality is radically different from the idyllic scene I’m painting here and lies at the extreme, opposite end of whatever this spectrum may be. Instead of moving towards a culture of rational discussion and tolerance for opposing views, the aforementioned, natural conflicts within the generational divides have been weaponized to create perpetual, irreconcilable disagreements designed to keep us endlessly fighting amongst ourselves and thus, more easily controlled by the Ruling Degenerates.

Nipple Dippers and Gibbleheads alike have been deeply conditioned to view one another as bitter, eternal rivals, as barely human in fact, with both sides increasingly entrenched within their respective encampments. As the culture war exponentially intensifies, these clashing tribes are pushed further and further to opposing extremes. It’s from these polarized vantage points where both factions can clearly observe how insane the other is although each is completely oblivious to their own state of Partisan Psychosis.

Every subject the corporate owned mass media offers up as a point of interest and/or distraction immediately becomes fodder for a flurry of vicious culture-driven battles. It doesn’t matter what the topic of concern is: Climate Change, Vaccines, Trans Swimmers, Electric Cars, Lockdowns, Abortions, Masks, Ukraine, CBDC’s, Anthony Fauci, Donald Trump…etc—each topic is partisan skewered along clearly defined, opposing battle grounds with no shortage of published academic papers and research designed to support each of the contrasting perspectives. We’ve arrived at a point in history where you can easily Google just about anything (at least to the untrained, media-illiterate eye) that presents itself as an authoritative perspective on whatever argument you’re hoping to validate.

But if you’ve made it to this point of my dizzy dissertation and are wondering if I dare offer any answers to this miserable predicament, allow me to disavow you of such false hopes immediately. Before we can devise a solution to the problem, we must first agree on what the problem is and then proceed to uncover the root cause.

With that in mind, on the next edition of Thought Crimes, I will endeavour to examine the origins of the Culture War of Terror and will detail the precise mathematical formula for how popular narratives become politically skewered (using real world examples) and then together, we will try to imagine what’s required to intellectually liberate ourselves from the enduring Partisan Derangement.

But finally, and most significantly, I will reveal to you the very thing that keeps the Ruling Degenerates up at night, tossing and turning in a state of incessant anxiety, tormented by dysphoria-drenched nightmares that would rattle them to the bottom of their very souls, that is, if they had any souls.

So come back next time and we will meet in the place where there is no darkness. Until then, viddy well my brothers and sisters.

Viddy Well,

— Stuart Feedback Andrews