The Elephant Is Teetering: How an Avoidable Crisis Is Being Engineered in Plain Sight
- Karen Brittingham-Edmond
- 6 hours ago
- 4 min read
24 February 2026
ECHO News TV LLC: Political Review Desk
Washington DC - In a world fueled by "high-supply" gaslighting and the intoxicating fumes of power, North America finds itself at a spiritual and political crossroads. For the Black American community—the historical conscience of this nation—the current trajectory feels less like a series of unfortunate events and more like a calculated descent into a familiar darkness.
Strategic communicator Danielle Moodie and political analyst Jared Yates Sexton recently peeled back the layers of our current "ascended fascism." Their dialogue isn't just a political recap; it’s an urgent urban-academic dispatch for a people who have seen this movie before. We are witnessing a reordering of world powers, but more dangerously, a domestic reordering that prioritizes cruelty over conscience.
The Mirage of the "Moderate" and the Reality of the Reich
Sexton argues a chilling truth: the United States didn't simply defeat the Nazis; we absorbed their blueprints. From the systemic dehumanization at the border to the "drug-bender" energy of a ruling class detached from reality, the parallels are undeniable. When we see American children—specifically those in detention centers—treated as political fodder by those clinging to white supremacist fantasies, we are seeing the "nothing" from the NeverEnding Story come to life. It is a system that consumes everything until it eventually consumes itself.
Getting "High on Your Own Supply"
The modern political landscape operates on an addiction to escalation. The "cruelty is the point" mantra isn't just a slogan; it's a physiological need for a base that has built a tolerance to standard rhetoric and now demands harder "drugs" of authoritarianism and open nationalism. While the elite play "political theater" with State of the Union addresses and managed narratives, the "ants" (the average citizens) are left scurrying beneath the feet of teetering elephants. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2026/02/24/trump-war-iran-history-00793474
The Call to Action: Beyond the Ballot
What can the average citizen do when both parties seem comfortable gaslighting the public into believing this "new normal" is acceptable?
Acknowledge the Exhaustion: Moodie emphasizes that the fatigue felt by the community is a rational response to an irrational environment. Give yourself grace, but don't fall into the trap of dissociation.
Reject Manufactured Consent: Stop waiting for the corporate news to validate your reality. The "ascended fascism" we live under thrives on the silence of the disillusioned.
Coordinate the "Ants": An army of ants can move an elephant. We must move beyond the "political theater" of voting every four years and engage in a "grinding halt" of systems that profit from dehumanization.
Stay Grounded in History: Recognize that white supremacy is inherently self-destructive. It is a cycle of violence that eventually runs out of targets and turns inward.
The energy of this moment—aligned with historical cycles of revolution—suggests that a window is opening. The question for Black America and all concerned citizens is whether we will be standing in the right place to push when the giant finally topples, or if we will let it fall on us while we "silently watch in disappointment."
The core of the "exhaustion" many Black Americans feel today is not merely a result of a busy news cycle, but a spiritual tax paid for living under a system that is actively consuming itself. Moodie’s reference to the "Firehorse" and historical revolutions reminds us that periods of intense social friction are often the birth pains of a new era. However, this transition is hindered by a ruling class that is "high on its own supply"—a metaphor for an elite so insulated by power and perhaps literal dissociation that they no longer feel the need to manufacture consent or even present a coherent lie. They are moving forward with a raw, unadulterated pursuit of world domination that ignores the very human cost of their "reordering."
Furthermore, the "ants" in this scenario—the everyday citizens—must realize that the perceived stability of the state is an illusion maintained by political theater. When Sexton mentions that history books "flatten out" the experience of living through a crisis, he is warning us not to be lulled into a false sense of security by the mundane nature of daily life. The "ascended fascism" we are witnessing doesn't always arrive with a bang; it often settles in through the normalization of cruelty, such as the detention of infants or the raiding of dormitories. To survive this, the community must cultivate a "collective awakening" that transcends the silos of social media and refocuses on the tangible protection of our most vulnerable members.
Finally, we must address the "twin evils" of apathy and gaslighting that suggest the current state of affairs is normal. Both major political parties have, at times, participated in a form of management that seeks to keep the public "silently disappointed" rather than actively resistant. The urban-journalist perspective demands that we call out this feckless leadership. True power lies in the coordination of the many against the depravity of the few. As the "beast" of white supremacy begins to stumble under the weight of its own self-destruction, our primary objective is to ensure we are organized enough to move out of the way of the fall—and prepared to build something more humane in the ruins.
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