The Real War Isn’t Left vs. Right — It’s Mega-Wealthy vs. The Rest of Us, and it’s a war that’s already underway. How would you feel about being signed up for and enlisted in a war you didn’t want?
Well, here’s the news: that’s what’s happened. That war, like most wars, is manufactured, and you and I are cannon fodder.
There’s a saying that “the greatest con job ever pulled wasn’t convincing you the devil didn’t exist.”
But the truth is that the greatest con job ever pulled was convincing you your neighbor was the enemy while the “devil” quietly bought your house, your health, and your future right out from under you.
Systemic Rot and the Hijacking of Identity
TL;DR: When identity is hijacked, emotional loyalty is rerouted. Division preys on unprocessed wounds and weaponizes disillusionment.
My friend (who shall remain nameless) is one of the sharpest liberals I know, cast his vote for Trump in 2024—not because he’d changed his values, but because the truth is that he could no longer recognize the party he’d been a lifelong supporter of.
The most effective manufactured narrative constructs division by taking a small truth and massively magnifying it. Many liberals were seduced into believing that the real enemy wore blue.
My friend didn’t vote for Trump—he voted for a version of himself he hoped was still seen and heard. That’s what happens when your Emotional Source Code™, your deeply ingrained emotional responses and beliefs, is hijacked: you mistake emotional betrayal for clarity.
According to a declassified report from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Russian influence operations aimed at supporting Donald Trump and undermining Joe Biden were authorized by Russia. Iran, China, and India have also been identified as hubs of propaganda flooding American and Canadian voters.
We’re indoctrinated with an illusion of conflict while the real puppeteers strategize in boardrooms, bunkers, and data centers, and it’s our lives and futures they’re playing with.
Meanwhile, the real issue—the wealth gap—is turning into a chasm so vast that even your grandkids won’t be able to leap it.
The Narcissist’s Favorite Trick: Playing the Victim While Holding the Whip
This’ us vs. them’ narrative, a classic tactic of manipulation, is nothing new. It’s Narcissism 101: Hurt someone, then cry victim.
- MAGA crying censorship while dominating headlines
- Immigrants are blamed while supporting the economy
- Men punished for emotional expression
When someone yells “fire,” we forget to ask who lit the match—or who profits from the blaze.
This isn’t just social narcissism—it’s systemic manipulation.
DOGE and the Weaponization of Chaos
TL;DR: Government cuts aren’t just fiscal—they’re psychological warfare. What’s dismantled is not just infrastructure but generational emotional scaffolding.
Let’s discuss the most egregious recent example of this manipulation: DOGE.
Under the heavy hand of the world’s wealthiest man, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led to over 275,000 layoffs.
These aren’t numbers. They’re:
- Missed rent
- Skipped meals
- Medications rationed
It wasn’t just economic—it was psychological dismemberment—the erosion of societal trust disguised as efficiency.
Entire public health agencies and even nuclear security personnel were let go.
But this isn’t about trimming fat. It’s about starving the system of emotional and structural scaffolding.
Outrage as Anesthesia
In chaos, the brain flips from higher-order thought to survival mode. We binge, scroll, and lash out.
Outrage becomes anesthesia. Division becomes false medicine.
And while we argue over flags and pronouns, the real culprits can consolidate wealth and power.
Panem et Circenses: The Ancient Blueprint
The Romans knew this trick: “panem et circenses,” “Bread and circuses.”
Keep people fed just enough, entertained more than enough—and they’ll never revolt.
Now the circus is:
- 24/7 news outrage
- Rage-bait headlines
- Dopamine-drenched algorithms
We’re not just consuming content—we’re being consumed by it.
The Algorithmic Engine of Division
Social media doesn’t care about the truth. It cares about engagement. And what engages?
Rage!
The limbic system gets hijacked. The algorithm doesn’t reward accuracy—it rewards virality.
Your outrage is the product. And it’s monetized.
The Myth of Meritocracy and the Trauma Loop
TL;DR: Meritocracy is a myth. Hustle culture exploits inherited emotional wounds, making it worth the conditional exhaustion.
“If you work hard enough, you can make it.”
That’s the sales pitch. But the playing field is tilted from birth.
And the hustle? It’s not just ambition. It’s an unprocessed emotional inheritance.
The bootstrap myth is not just a lie. It’s a trauma loop—tied to the unspoken belief that unless you suffer for your worth, you don’t deserve to exist in the tribe.
That’s not a meritocracy. That’s monarchy wrapped in a hoodie.
Why This Won’t Get Better Soon (But Why It Must)
We’re not winning this round. The economy is in freefall for the majority.
But now, even the upper-middle class is feeling it.
Change happens when pain is shared.
We need to:
- Win the ideological war through curiosity, compassion, and communication
- Build Humancentric Technical Solutions
- Create structural change
- Demand Accountability
This Is Global
This pattern isn’t isolated to America.
- Brazil: Bolsonaro
- UK: Brexit
- India: Religious division
This isn’t conspiracy. It’s pattern recognition.
The playbook is international. And the goal is always the same: Keep the people divided while the rules get rewritten.
What You Can Actually Do
TL;DR: You don’t need to change the world overnight. You and I need to reclaim your attention, question the narrative, and stop blaming yourself for a system designed to fail you.
If you’re in physical, mental, emotional, or financial survival mode, hear this: you’re not weak.
You’re operating in a system designed to break you—and then blame you for being broken.
But if you’ve got any capacity left:
- Be gentle with yourself
- Question fear narratives
- Share truth, not noise
- Support uncomfortable truths
- Stop worshipping those who wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire
And most of all, stop beating yourself up! Book A Strategy Call.
We Don’t Need a Savior. We Need an Army of Truth-Tellers.
Donald Trump isn’t the problem—he’s a symptom of the problem he feeds: disconnection.
How bad did Democrats have to fumble their emotional connection with working Americans to create the perfect vacuum for a nepo-baby with no real job history to step in?
In another glaring irony, President Trump tells the American people to ‘hang tough’ as markets crash, warning that the trade war ‘won’t be easy.’
Meanwhile, he played golf 23 times out of his first 92 days in office during his second term. The most reliable estimate, based on GAO and media analyses, is that each time Trump plays golf as president, it costs American taxpayers at least $3.4 million per outing (and likely more in 2025 dollars).
That’s President Donald J. Trump with his hand in the pocket of the American Taxpayer to the tune of 312.8 million US$. Meanwhile, those who voted for him are told to tough it out for a while, even though many of them can’t afford groceries.
This is not about a single man. This is about each of us awakening from a matrix where we are both the consumed and the consumer.
The next revolution won’t be televised. It will be:
- Whispered in therapy rooms
- Shouted in backrooms
- Carried in the marrow of brave leaders
The Real Enemy Was Never Each Other
It was the illusion of separation.
So the next time someone tells you who to hate, ask who taught them that.
And then go find the mirror.
We are not enemies. We reflect the freedom that is still possible—if we choose to wake up.
Final Call to Leaders
If you want to do more than survive this chaos, you must begin with your Emotional Source Code™.
Division only works when it speaks to an unresolved part of you—a wound that seeks power through blame.
The real revolution is internal. It’s the radical act of reclaiming sovereignty over your attention, empathy, and identity.
Your Emotional Source Code™ isn’t just a map of your past. It’s the GPS for how you lead—or get led.
This moment is calling for leaders who:
- Aren’t seduced by blame
- Aren’t shackled to performative tribalism
- Aren’t afraid to lead with emotional truth
Because here’s the thing…
If the war is psychological, the most dangerous thing you can do is stay unconscious.
Your Move
You didn’t choose this war.
But you’ve been drafted all the same.
Signed up by systems that profit from your outrage.
Played by algorithms that farm your attention.
Fed a steady drip of division disguised as identity.
And the most brutal part?
You were told it was your idea.
That you were fighting the good fight, when really… You were fighting your reflection.
So now it’s your move—
Not to rise higher on a broken ladder,
But to step off it completely.
▶️ Pause:
Where has your loyalty been rerouted without your consent?
What version of “truth” have you defended… that doesn’t defend you?
▶️ Reveal:
What fear-based narrative have you swallowed, just because it gave you a sense of belonging?
Betrayal hurts.
Even more so when the betrayal is internal.
▶️ Reset:
Your Emotional Source Code™ holds the key.
It’s not just your programming—it’s the portal.
To sovereignty. To clarity. To leadership that can’t be bought.
This isn’t about being woke.
It’s about waking up.
And if this cracked something open, don’t patch it up.
Share it.
With the ones who still whisper in therapy rooms.
With the ones who quietly carry truth while others carry slogans.
With the ones who know something is deeply off—and won’t numb out anymore.
We don’t need more saviors.
We need more mirrors.
Reach out. Speak raw. Lead consciously.
Because the revolution isn’t coming. It’s you.
With gratitude, respect, and curiosity,
Dov…
About Dov Baron
Dov Baron Guides Organizations, Leaders, and Teams to Create Fiercely Loyal Cultures of Belonging and Facilitate Authentic Communication to Generate Spectacular Innovation.
He is the leading authority on Emotional Source Code© and the Anatomy of Meaning©. Named 5x to the Top 30 Global Leadership Gurus and twice by Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers, Dov helps leaders, icons, and teams harness their Emotional Source Code to build cultures that drive innovation, authentic connection, and fierce loyalty.
🔍 Learn more at https://DovBaron.com
🎙️ The Dov Baron Show airs Sundays and Wednesdays.
Not your typical leadership podcast—it’s an unfiltered deep dive into the minds of those redefining power and meaning.
https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-dov-baron-show/id272512829
