Biden, Trump, & Musk - The World's Greatest Showmen
Entertainment with real world consequences
Before we dive into today’s topic, I’ve had a few people share with me that they wanted to create a Substack and start creating content in 2023. If that’s something you’re considering, join the Substack community through the button below, and it will connect our accounts/content.
I’d love to support those who support me and want to start writing here:
Now, let’s get to it…
There’s some debate as to whether professional sports are scripted:
The referees' calls are one-sided.
The effort/decisions of the players are questionable at times.
The drama is amplified or outright fabricated to garner attention.
Not everyone agrees on this theory, but all agree that the result is entertaining at the end of the day, and the “real world” consequences are found in the points on a scoreboard.
Yesterday, after agreeing that some shenanigans may be going on in the NFL, I thought, What “entertainment” leads to people suffering negative consequences, for real?
The events that have played out since 2020 are too numerous to list here; if I were to highlight the entertainment of the fallout, that too would be a piece of work that’d rival War & Peace in length. Instead, I’ll grab three men I’ve observed as an American and share with you how they’re as entertaining as professional sports. Still, the consequences of their decisions and the impact of watching them may lead to very “real world” consequences for you and those you surround yourself with.
Trump, the Yuge Distraction
When Trump was President, I loved it as the things he would do and say were crass, relatable, and on more than one occasion, had me thinking, “I can’t believe a President would fucking say/do that - it’s awesome”. I was all for someone flipping the table and taking politics head-on, a field that had operated in its own mode for too long. To see someone speaking of bringing corruption to the forefront of discussion was unprecedented.
It was also supposed to lead to accountability. The key words there, “supposed to” as one of the running promises of Trump’s campaign was to drain the swamp - how’d that work out?
The man failed to deliver, and that’s fine because the entire thing is a show, an act with characters and conflict, a rise and fall; it’s a big game to someone, while the rest believe it’s all real and that’s the problem, like the first time people watched ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and couldn't tell what was scripted and what wasn’t or if any of it was.
It was during Trump’s Presidency that, for the first time, I saw friends who I’d, until that moment, considered “grounded men”, lose themselves to Trump mania.
He became a God, and every word he said inspired these men I’d respected to change who they were. The entertainment became real life to them, and the decisions they made, the content they consumed, and the message they shared were all built upon a foundation that Donald Trump will save the day.
I was floored; how was this happening?
Remember, I was a Trump supporter, but he was still just some stranger with money and influence who was out trying to do something to make the country better. He was never more than a man, and everything he did was entertaining, not prophetic…
I made content, spread the message, and did my best to help people get themselves back on track. In the way sports teams take people’s identities over - so too did these political figures, and the problem now was the issues that resulted from the entertainment provided were no longer points on a scoreboard but money, relationships, and identities impacted in the real world.
Trump Isn’t the Only One, Biden is a Liability Too
Biden supporters will have cheered on the opening salvo here, but I’m not on either side; I’m on Team Zac and those I roll with, so here come some more divisive remarks for the other side of the table.
What happened to people with Trump has happened again with Biden, except with Biden, it’s even worse as people have to fabricate achievements and personality traits to relate to.
The man is not witty, has fumble-fucked every observable metric to his job, does not have an attitude one could enjoy, and on top of it all; the dude is a career politician.
Joe Biden is terrible, yet there are people out there losing their minds over anyone who challenges his decisions or calls his past into play. While the Left is championing their “Not Trump” hero, the right is spending so much time making fun of the guy that they’ve stopped working on creating solutions to the problems he’s created.
Making fun of an old man failing to do basic tasks does not make you. a productive individual, nor does the entertainment of him chewing on marbles during speeches help you position yourself for the fallout of his ineptitude. Our country is headed toward financial ruin, and people aren’t preparing; they’re laughing. The consequences of that failure to prepare because of this political destruction will be suffering preventably in the times ahead.
It isn’t just Politicians.
First, I hit the Right, then the Left; here’s the Upper-Cut to your “Real World Tony Stark” Elon Musk - he isn’t coming to save you either.
I told you I’m not here to save your sacred cows; I’m writing here to address the truth as I’ve observed it; I’m always open to changing my mind, but in this instance, I don’t think that can happen as this is an objectively true truth - Elon Musk is not going to save you from the world, only you have the power to do that.
My good friend Anthony Migliorino dropped a video today inside our Private Men’s community, the Fraternity of Excellence. In the video, he shared, “You cannot control the world, but you can control how you respond to it” that is very stoic of him, I know, but the message is sound. A variation of this life philosophy has been repeated for centuries because humans forget things and need to be reminded.
Here is your reminder:
The only way you will ever experience the best in life is by becoming your best self; this means you’ll have to address all aspects of your life ranging from relationships and physical strength to finances and mental health; you have to start working towards improving each of these components to who you are as an individual.
You must read what I emphasized there; you have to do this as you, not as someone trying to embody another or relying upon another to “make things alright”; nobody is coming to save you, and that’s the more liberating thing to accept.
You are your problem; you are also your solution.
It’s not Trump, Biden, or Musk who has the power here; they’re entertainers. You can switch them off and turn the light inside your heart and mind on. So go out and be the best, brightest, and most authentic version of yourself and watch how you light the dark world up around you in the process.
- Zachary Small
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Spot on! I have long said that whilst one has a duty to all they impact; one’s responsibility, thus influence, starts with theirselves before extending out:
Sort your self out, then your family, friends, communities, and outwards.
Anything else encourages externalising that falls into a passive, childish, and miserable mindset. This fawning allegiance to completely removed and disinterested characters exemplifies that point; naive at best, it’s negative entertainment.