Audio From A Collapsing State | Jared Yates Sexton

This is a free episode of Audio From A Collapsing State commenting on developing events. As our corporate media does not support critics of capitalism, I rely on your support to continue this project. Please become a subscriber if you value this work.

Today, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, claiming lawmakers seeking impeachment for his corruption necessitated a cessation of rights and liberties. Quickly, the people of South Korea took to the streets and challenged the regime and the military. The Democratic Party was able to enter the Parliament and stand against Yoon.

It’s still too early to tell how this situation will play out, but we should take a moment to appreciate what we’re seeing. The people refused an authoritarian power grab. This audio discusses the context of what we’re seeing in the United States, South Korea, and other countries as authoritarian rises, the American Order declines, and what the moment will require from us as individuals.

I reference a previous audio “The Oligarchical Order,” which includes an explainer in how neoliberal capitalism has brought us here and some insight into what we should expect as it continues on.

But let’s take a moment in all of this to both appreciate the bravery exhibited by the South Korean people and also steel ourselves as we look toward our own future and trials.

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We’re not just experiencing a democratic or political crisis. This is also a crisis of meaning and purpose. Neoliberal capitalism has changed us, isolated us, and systematically co-opted nearly everything that means something real and sustains us. As a result, we’ve been reduced to earning and consumption machines, our culture reduced to a dog-eat-dog f…

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Despite what you’re told, seeing reality for what it is isn’t easy. We are so awash in delusional fantasies and magical thinking that clarity is one of the rarest of gifts. We have a choice. This moment could be rock bottom or it could get much, much worse. The choice is yours.

In this episode, we continue the work of preparing to organize and engage in …

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We aren’t taught how to create movements or how to organize against power. In fact, so much of our education and the narratives we’re fed in our culture are grounded in the belief that all of it is rather unnecessary. The Founding myth of the Revolution, when coupled with our fictionalized Civil War and watered-down tellings of the Civil Rights Movement…

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This is a special edition of Audio From A Collapsing State. The intent is to get people up to speed on some basic facts that have been regrettably, but understandably, absent from conventional and mainstream political coverage. If we are to create a movement to defeat this threat, and we must, this is base-level knowledge.

Though we see the world through the lens of Red v. Blue / Republican v. Democratic politics, the truth is that our politics and culture are influenced by capitalistic influences that lie underneath the surface. It is time to shake off childish notions of how our politics work, discard these tired and obsolete stereotypes, and grapple with the real nature of power. This is the story of how we arrived at this moment, how a group of oligarchs and corporations superseded national interests, conspired with dictators and authoritarians, and are now poised to wreck what’s left of our economy, lower our standard of living, and free capitalism from American control, all to line their pockets, expand their power, and realize a world in which democracy is no longer a thorn in their side.

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I hope this helps to clarify our present circumstances and, if it does, please share it with friends, family members, and coworkers who might find this analysis helpful in finally overcoming these ideas and stories that have held them back and kept them in cycles of exploitation and suffering. This weekend I will release the regular Audio From A Collapsing State episode that will detail what to expect as this plan is coming out and outline things that you can do as an individual to prepare yourself for what’s coming and prepare yourself to organize and fight against it.

In the meantime, here are a list of past posts and videos that will hopefully serve as resources.

* 226/312: An Excercise in Self-Destruction: An in-depth response to Democratic Party excuses from the 2024 Presidential loss that deals with a self-defeating mentality that threatens to keep us in this cycle

* Where We Are And Where We Must Go: Audio From A Collapsing State: A podcast reacting to the election loss that expresses how we must approach the next few weeks mentally as we prepare ourselves to fight back and create an actual movement and an actual resistance that isn’t just hashtag activism and a total liberal grift

* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series Episode 1: The Great Chain of Being: The first episode of the YouTube series that explains how wealth and power, beginning with the Fall of Rome and the allegience between the wealth class and Christianity, protected and expanded itself as feudalism gave birth to capitalism and liberal democracy

* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series Episode 2: Capitalist Apocalypse: The story of how liberal democracy turned to authoritarian control as the economic order melts down and spurs World War I, a capitalist slaughter over resources and power

* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series Episode 3: Changing of the Guard: As mentioned in this episode, the Great Depression leads to a rise of Fascism and Nazism, which catches on in Europe but also the United States, creating the perfect scenario for the oligarchs of the 20th century to once again attack liberal democracy. At the end of World War II, capitalism as a parasite jumps from Great Britain to America, which quickly begins using the remnants of fascism to cement control

* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture Series Episode 4: A New Empire: The new American Empire shapes world politics and preps the world for globalism through military force and conspiracy theories capitalizing on inherent prejudices and evangelical programming

* The Midnight Kingdom Lecture series Episode 5: The Crisis: A reckoning with our modern political environment, including the leadup to the 2024 Presidential Election and the circumstances we now face, including the push by oligarchs to coopt the country and cement control

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The United States of America has grown more Right Wing, more reactionary, and more dangerous. We must grow up, get serious, see the situation for what it is, and begin taking steps to fight back.

In this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I discuss the Democratic Party’s failures, the pitfalls of simulated activism online and in the #resistance, a…

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This is a frightening time. The rise of authoritarianism is real and democracy is under attack. Tuesday’s election rightfully feels fraught with bristling anxiety. But, as we approach this date with destiny, it is important that we take a breath, process where we are as individuals, and what we must do going forward.

In this episode of Audio From A Colla…

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Not long after publishing my own article detailing how Elon Musk is attempting to buy the American presidency, The Wall Street Journal dropped their own investigation into how Musk had been in discussions with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. I wasn’t terribly surprised by these revelations, but seeing it laid out in black and white is surely something.

…

Dispatches From A Collapsing State is an independent media venture and depends on your support. As I discuss on this episode of Audio From A Collapsing State, I’ll be releasing regular episodes of this podcast that go deep into present circumstances but also into what we can do as individuals and as a collective to make things better. This is going to be a new project addressing what I see as a worsening environment. To gain access to those episodes, as well as exclusive videos and interviews, become a subscriber today.

This is an exclusive conversation with Sarah Kendzior (author of The Last American Road Trip and her essential newsletter) about the state of American politics as we approach the 2024 Presidential Election. Sarah and I are on the same page about how things feel right now and where they are heading. It is a frustrating, frightening, and enraging time. The litany of horrors and abuses are growing by the day and I think it’s necessary to talk about this, name it, and understand it if anything is going to get better. I sincerely hope this discussion helps with understanding the dread many of you are probably feeling.

As well, as I mentioned above and in the podcast opening, I’m going to be focusing on making more regular Audio From A Collapsing State podcasts going forward. This terrible circumstance we find ourselves in is leading us in a direction that many of us feared, and I think it’s time for a new strategy. I will still be publishing articles breaking down headlines and the like, but I also want to go more in-depth about the forces at play while also providing ideas and strategies that we can, as individuals, use to help ourselves and help others, as well as change the direction of things. We will be entering a new chapter in this crisis very, very soon, and so I think this is unfortunately what the moment is calling for.

I hope you’ll join me.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe

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Labor Day Weekend is a strange thing. What should serve as a time to relax and reflect has been turned into a corporatized consumer extravaganza. Same garbage for the same 40% off. This year, facing a crucial election, gaining authoritarianism, and frightening glimpses of what the world is becoming, we need to take a breath and rededicate ourselves to the fight. And remember what this is all about: building the kind of future we deserve.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jaredyatessexton.substack.com/subscribe