{"id":626,"date":"2025-08-22T16:52:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/?p=626"},"modified":"2025-08-22T16:52:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:52:35","slug":"the-whole-world-loves-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/?p=626","title":{"rendered":"The Whole World Loves It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>&#8216;Cause the whole world loves it when you don&#8217;t get down<br>(Bah bah-da, bah bah, bah-da da)<br>And the whole world loves it when you make that sound<br>(Bah bah-da, bah bah, bah-da da)<br>And the whole world loves it when you&#8217;re in the news<br>(Bah bah-da, bah bah, bah-da da)<br>And the whole world loves it when you sang the blues<br>(Bah bah-da, bah bah, bah-da da)<br><em>\u2014 OutKast<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"537\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackmanwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Outkast2.png?resize=640%2C537&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackmanwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Outkast2.png?w=1282&amp;ssl=1 1282w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackmanwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Outkast2.png?resize=300%2C252&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackmanwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Outkast2.png?resize=1024%2C859&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blackmanwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Outkast2.png?resize=768%2C644&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m definitely not the first to say this, but until today I still believed democracy would win. Partly because, although fascism is the word of the day, I only loosely understood what it meant. Other than the basic dictionary definition, I hadn\u2019t dug deep. I didn\u2019t know the history until I read an article on Substack by Chris Armitage titled, <em>We Live in A Fascist Nation. What Now?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside was a chilling fact: <strong>fascism is undefeated.<\/strong> The scariest part? It has never been ousted through a democratic process. Once a fascist regime takes over, it has never been voted out. Why? Because the idea of \u201cfree &amp; fair\u201d elections becomes a fantasy when the regime controls all branches of government, the courts, law enforcement, and the no-longer-free press. At that point, elections are just theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Go down your own rabbit hole if you want to learn more about fascism. What I want to talk about is the rest of the world\u2014who\u2019s sitting on the sidelines laughing, popcorn in hand, rooting for America\u2019s demise. <em>\u201cAnd the whole world loves it when you don\u2019t get down\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about it. Everybody low-key wants to see the great upset. When the #1 seed stumbles, numbers 2 and 3 are already prepping as the new favorites. Do you honestly think Russia and China are hoping America pulls itself together from this impending self-destruction? If they extend a hand, it will be to push us over the edge, not pull us back from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And while America eats itself from the inside, the rest of the world is making moves. Quietly, strategically, and sometimes not so quietly. They\u2019re not just waiting for the empire to collapse; they\u2019re preparing for the vacuum that will follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>China<\/strong> is laying down its Belt and Road like railroad tracks across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East \u2014 securing ports, mines, highways, and loyalty. They\u2019re building a new Silk Road while America is stuck arguing over potholes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Russia<\/strong> is testing the limits of global patience, carving territory where it can, betting that America\u2019s fractured politics means no unified pushback.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The BRICS nations<\/strong> (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa \u2014 with new members joining) are building economic frameworks designed to weaken the U.S. dollar\u2019s chokehold on global trade. When the dollar falls, they want to be holding the new cards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Europe<\/strong>, even with its divisions, is hedging. Building defense coalitions, strengthening energy independence, and positioning for a world where NATO might not mean what it used to.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Global South<\/strong> is finding its voice, aligning with whichever power gives the best deal \u2014 often not America.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not that these countries want America\u2019s collapse out of malice (though some do), it\u2019s that they see inevitability. They see the cracks in the foundation, they see the house on fire and our neighbors north and south are so sick of Trump they may tell us their hoses don\u2019t work. Still our adversaries have the gas cans ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>History has already written the blueprint. Every empire thought it was different, thought it would last forever \u2014 until it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rome<\/strong> rotted from within long before the barbarians stormed the gates. Corruption, civil wars, and economic collapse weakened it until the \u201ceternal city\u201d became just another kingdom among many.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The British Empire<\/strong> stretched across the globe, but two world wars and the rise of independence movements stripped it down. The sun set on the empire, leaving behind broken colonies and lingering debts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Ottoman Empire<\/strong> lasted six centuries, but nationalism and industrial modernity broke it apart. By World War I, it was carved up like spoils.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Soviet Union<\/strong> fell in living memory, not from an outside invasion but from economic stagnation, political repression, and the sheer weight of maintaining its illusion of power. One day it was the \u201cother superpower,\u201d the next day it was gone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Every empire meets the same fate: overreach, corruption, or internal decay. The banners change, the accents change, the uniforms change \u2014 but the story never does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now America stands in that same shadow. Overstretched abroad, divided at home, drowning in debt, and flirting with fascism as if it were just another political flavor. The cracks are visible, the rot is spreading, and history doesn\u2019t play favorites. Rome, Britain, the Ottomans, the Soviets \u2014 all of them thought they\u2019d be the exception. America is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what happens when America finally implodes? When the fighting at home, the broken system, and the fascist grip reach their tipping point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first domino will be <strong>the dollar<\/strong>. Right now it\u2019s the backbone of global trade. Oil, shipping, even black-market deals are settled in dollars. But when confidence collapses, nations will race to cash out. The BRICS bloc will push its alternative currency. China will demand trade in yuan. The U.S. won\u2019t just lose prestige \u2014 it will lose the power to print money and control global markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second domino will be <strong>the military<\/strong>. America\u2019s armed forces are massive, but they\u2019re stretched thin and funded by the very currency that will be collapsing. Bases across the globe will either pull back home (some to train weapons on their fellow Americans) or be abandoned. Allies who depended on U.S. protection will scramble \u2014 some cutting their own deals with China or Russia, others rearming at breakneck speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third domino is <strong>the homeland<\/strong>. Everyday Americans are feeling the pain now. Next will come hyperinflation, shortages, blackouts, banks closing, jobs evaporating. What people thought only happened in \u201cother\u201d countries will happen in strip malls and suburbs. The divide between the haves and have-nots will become a chasm. The people in red hats will be shocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then comes <strong>the world\u2019s reaction<\/strong>. Some will celebrate openly. Enemies will test the waters \u2014 a cyberattack here, a land grab there. Others will move with caution, knowing that a wounded dog can still be dangerous. There will be sympathy from some quarters, but it will be tinged with relief, even satisfaction, that the \u201cindispensable nation\u201d is no longer indispensable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>America won\u2019t disappear \u2014 empires rarely vanish overnight. But like Rome, it will fade, contract, and fracture. And the whole world will watch, mostly cheering, some mourning, all recalculating their place in the new world order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>History reminds us: there has never been a successful fascist country that rose to become the most powerful nation in the world. Fascism burns hot, but it always burns out. It leaves rubble, not renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yet here we are, with Trump bragging that America is the \u201chottest\u201d thing in the world right now. He\u2019s only missing one word. <strong>The hottest mess.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The whole world sees it. The whole world loves it. And the whole world is waiting to see how loud America sings the blues on its way down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Bah bah-da, bah bah, bah-da da)<br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Cause the whole world loves it when you don&#8217;t get down(Bah bah-da, bah bah, bah-da da)And the whole world loves it when you make&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,14,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-rants-and-raves","category-society"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=626"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":628,"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626\/revisions\/628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blackmanwrites.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}