By attacking the distributive and analytical mechanisms of public information it is possible to alter and control its effect and impact in order to bring about specific goals. But it doesn’t prevent the actual existence of that information, and sooner or later it will surface. Tyrants go after the low hanging fruit first by killing stories and deliberately propagating lies and confusion. This will obscure the truth, promote lies and make it difficult to tell the difference between the two.

But dispersing falsehood and diluting truth is not enough. Sooner or later you have to go after truth itself. It is not enough to alter the perception of reality, reality itself must be shaped and edited. This was Winston Smith’s old job at the Ministry of Truth, remember? That is what we have to look forward to in Donald Trump’s second term. It is the price the Trump Republican Party has decided it is willing to pay in order to promote the policies that will favor their own interests.

This is not a Left or Right thing, or a Conservative or Liberal thing, or even a Fascist or Communist thing. It is the manipulation of history for private financial and power interests. Big Brother did it, Hitler and Stalin did it, and now Trump is doing it. Sooner or later, even the most effective and most well-founded democracy will, when under stress, inevitably produce a Trump, one of either the Left or Right. It is simply the nature of men and governments to occasionally err.

For me, my major disappointment is how many of my own countrymen have willingly cooperated to bring this about. We should have known better. And yes, it can happen here. It is unfolding right before our eyes.