Congratulations, humanity. We’ve managed to survive—or at least persist—through twelve months of what the breathless stenographers of the prestige press are calling a ‘far-right revolution.’ It’s a charmingly dramatic term for what is effectively a slow-motion car crash involving a gold-plated hearse and the entire concept of Western liberal democracy. Donald Trump’s second year has been less of a governed presidency and more of a performance art piece designed to prove that the 'checks and balances' we were all forced to memorize in middle school civics were actually just polite suggestions written by men in powdered wigs who didn't foresee the invention of the smartphone or the utter spinelessness of the modern politician.

The 'hollowing out' of US institutions is the current catchphrase of the panicked intelligentsia. They speak of it as if a sacred temple is being desecrated, conveniently forgetting that the temple was already infested with grifters, lobbyists, and career bureaucrats whose primary skill was navigating the cafeteria line. The institutions weren’t 'hollowed out' by a single man; they were revealed as the empty vessels they’ve been for decades. Trump didn't break the system; he just pointed out that the doors were unlocked and the security guards were asleep. The horror isn't that he’s changing things; it’s that it was so incredibly easy for him to do so. It turns out the 'Deep State' wasn't a shadowy cabal of geniuses, but a collection of terrified HR representatives who didn't know how to react to a leader who views the Constitution as a series of inconvenient 'terms and conditions' you scroll past to get to the app. The meritocracy, such as it was, has been replaced by a loyalty-based kakistocracy where the only qualification for high office is the ability to maintain eye contact while reciting transparent lies.

Internationally, the 'shockwaves' through NATO and the UN have been equally entertaining for anyone with a taste for the macabre. For seventy years, we pretended that the 'rules-based international order' was something more than a gentleman’s agreement backed by the threat of American violence. Now, with a president who treats NATO like a failing timeshare and the UN like a bothersome homeowners association, the rest of the world is realizing that their safety was built on the whims of an electorate that thinks 'foreign policy' is something that happens at an airport. The Europeans are in a frantic state of self-reflection, which is their default mode when they realize they might actually have to pay for their own defense instead of relying on the American taxpayer to fund their social safety nets. It’s a hilarious spectacle: a continent of former empires clutching their pearls because the new emperor doesn't care about their 'shared values' or their historical grievances.

The Right, of course, is in a state of lobotomized ecstasy. They view this chaos as 'winning,' as if dismantling the very structures that keep the world from spiraling into tribal warfare is a victory for the common man. They worship a billionaire who wouldn't let them sit on his furniture, believing he is their champion against an elite that they are, paradoxically, helping him replace with an even more incompetent set of sycophants. They cheer for the destruction of the administrative state while ignoring the fact that the administrative state is the only thing keeping their water drinkable and their medication from being replaced with sawdust. It is the ultimate victory of aesthetics over utility, a triumph of the red hat over the gray matter.

On the other side, the Left has retreated into a lucrative industry of performative despair. They’ve turned 'resistance' into a lifestyle brand, complete with podcasts, newsletters, and fundraising emails that treat every impulsive tweet as a harbinger of the literal apocalypse. Neither side actually wants a functioning government; they want a tribal mascot to validate their grievances and a villain to blame for their own inadequacies. The Left laments the death of democracy as if they hadn't spent the last thirty years eroding the very norms they now claim to cherish. Their outrage is as empty as the policies they failed to implement when they had the chance.

Ultimately, this 'revolution' is just the latest chapter in the decline of an empire that has run out of ideas and steam. The shockwaves aren't a sign of dynamic change; they’re the sound of a system finally admitting it’s exhausted. We are watching the end of an era not with a bang or a whimper, but with a series of ALL-CAPS social media posts and the frantic scurrying of career politicians trying to figure out which way the wind is blowing. It’s a masterpiece of futility, a monument to the stupidity of the species. We have traded the rule of law for the rule of the loudest voice in the room, and the room is currently on fire. Enjoy the show; it’s the only thing on every channel, and there’s no way to turn it off.