← Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning with Sasha Stone
Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning with Sasha Stone
The "Resistance" or the Drama Club?
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Sacha Stone
Hi, everybody. My name is Sacha Stone, and this is Freethinking through the Fourth Turning. The resistance or the drama Club. The Democrats are ready for their close up. The worst thing that's ever happened to the Democrats is democracy. It must be quite an existential crisis that after all that the rest of the country rejected their opinion of Donald Trump, that the guy they said was a rapist, a racist, a fascist, a dictator, a Nazi, a bigot, a transphobe, misogynist, a Russian asset, a criminal, a felon, a fraudster, a fake, a traitor, an election denier, an insurrectionist, an extremist, a terrorist, a white supremacist, a phony that they impeached twice and indicted four times that became the first presidential candidate with a mugshot and to be convicted of a felony still won the popular vote. But they just have to jump. Steve Kornacki. I just have to jump in. And you've been predicting this. We've been waiting for it. And we do have some breaking news from the Decision desk. NBC News can now project that Donald Trump has won the state of Wisconsin, which means he is the winner of this race and will return to the White House as this country's 47th president. And for so many of you watching right now, that news is, to say the least, a lot to digest. I understand that personally. After he lost four years ago, he refused to accept the outcome and incited a violent insurrection on our nation's capital. He's campaigned while facing criminal indictments related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 results, and he's run as a convicted felon during this campaign. He has also promised to essentially be an authoritarian leader, to use power like no American president ever has before, and whee that power to go after his political enemies. This is a man who's also bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade and stripping away women's bodily autonomy. He's promised to conduct mass deportations, to crack down on the rights of millions of Americans. Donald Trump is an anti democratic force, but he's just been elected democratically in our country. And here's what might be the hardest part to hear. But we have to talk about and we have to say, and it is a hard part to digest for all of us, but we have to be honest about what we saw in this election. Donald Trump was elected by expanding his support over a number of key groups. That has got to really burn. But it isn't the Trump side that is now in a perpetual state of shock because they existed inside a utopian bubble, cutting themselves off from the rest of America. It isn't the Trump side that cosplayed World War II for so long. They lost touch with reality about either our world now or what really happened in World War II. It isn't the Trump side that was the empire. Their war torn resistance fighters were so disgusted that none of the Democrats had done enough to stop Hitler, Trump and his Nazi leader, Elon Musk, that their approval numbers were at historic lows. Do something. Their supporters cried. So Cory Booker took to the Senate floor to remind them of what they still stand for and to rally the troops. He prepared in advance for the performance of his life. He denied himself food and water to go the distance. It was for him, a chance to audition for the part of charismatic leader the Democrats so desperately need. Booker found a way. It's not left or right, but right or wrong. What our country needs is not for Dems to win, but for America to win. Exactly. And we have got to begin to call people to get it right about what America stands for and expose these people for what they are. They are folks who have authoritarian tendencies that want to tear down our democracy and replace it with strongman government, tear away our fundamental rights. The rights of the press, the rights of free speech, the rights of free assembly. These are the things that Donald Trump attacked in his last term. And now he's coming after your basic freedoms, from the ability to control your body to your ability to say what you want to and still know that they can't fire you indiscriminately for holding political views different than theirs. That's a far cry from Obama's. Not red states or blue states, but the United States. The Democrats no longer believe that they went from don't normalize Trump and his supporters to it's more than justified to demonize, dehumanize, even terrorize them. They're bad people. They're no longer welcome, not in our culture. Restaurants, movie theaters, family gatherings, and most of all, our democracy. Here is a tiktoker. If you voted for this, I don't forgive you. I won't forgive you in 20 years when you finally figure out the truth. And. And I won't forgive you now either. And we're certainly not gonna let you forget that you voted for this either. At what point is never again really gonna mean never again? Their anger stems from their class privilege of having everything they need, yet they can't accept losing something they want. Here is Bhatia Unger Sargon. For the last 60 years, our economy has been an upward transfer of wealth from the American working class, the hardest working Americans, into the pockets of the global elites. This was policy put in place by people elected on both sides of the aisle and then justified and pushed on by people in the media, by economists, by all of these people who simply abandoned the working class. Rachel, this country has gotten unbelievably wealthy over that same time period. But the thing that your viewers have to understand, which they probably already know, is that the hardest working Americans were left out of all of that prosperity. The top 10% in this country controls over 60% of the wealth. And you would think that the Democrats would be bothered by this, but they have actually contributed to it because that top 10% is their base now. And meanwhile, it was Donald Trump who realized what was happening and was willing to take on let's just for a second pause and really acknowledge what happened on behalf of the destroyed working class communities of the Rust Belt in this country, the forgotten working men and women of this country. Donald Trump took on the entire international global world order. Do you know what that means to people living in destroyed communities who have seen friends, many friends, die of overdoses, of suicides because they know that they have been left out of the immense prosperity that this country has generated for its elites? That's the whole story right there. Either the Democrats really are caught up in a mass delusion about who Trump is and why he won, or else they're the drama club. And none of it was ever real. Splendor in the grass for podcast listeners, a tweet from Walter Kern. Just watch Dem politicians go from scalding critics of wealth and oligarchy to champions of Wall street in a matter of two weeks. Actors I wasn't just in the drama club in high school. I was the undisputed queen. Just ask anyone who went to high school with me. I was a terrible student. I barely graduated. My nickname was no Show Stone. But the one thing I showed up for was the drama club. That's me as Elizabeth Proctor in the high school production of the Crucible. For podcast listeners, a picture of me in high school and then another picture from the program. Sasha Stone, a junior at Nordoff, has been in drama for four years. She plans to continue in this field. Sasha is also interested in writing and directing. As she so dramatically put it, I'm an addict. I love the theater. In case you've never seen or read the Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor was John Proctor's pregnant wife who was accused of witchcraft, but who was spared because of the presumed innocence of her baby. Her husband, John Proctor, would be hanged. I could never have known that all of these decades later, we'd all be living in a Salem of our own making. And I'd once again be an accused and condemned witch. Inside the drama club, I had a magic mirror, a small group of people who thought I hung the moon. My drama teacher thought that, too. I was his favorite, at least for a time. I didn't know the word grooming back then, but looking back on it, I see that's probably what he was doing. A pinch here, a grope there. On the last day of my junior year, he French kissed me just before I went away for summer break. That summer, he drove up to my house and dropped off a copy of the play Splendor in the Grass. I took that to mean I would be cast as the lead, the part Natalie Wood played in the movie as the queen of the drama club. I got all the leading roles. Of course. I would play Dini. But when it came time to cast the play, the part went to someone who wasn't even in the drama club. She was the prettiest girl in school. The head cheerleader, the homecoming queen. Our teacher had broken the silent code of the drama club. Nobody from the outside is allowed in, because if they do, our fantasy world is shattered. That's all we had. We weren't the popular kids, the cheerleaders, the jocks, the science nerds. We were people who didn't belong anywhere else. But we also liked escaping into a fantasy world of being another person other than ourselves. During the MeToo movement, my friends would always bring up our drama teacher. But honestly, I was more angry that he'd given my part away to a prettier girl. In reality, the homecoming queen was the right person to play Deenie, even if our teacher probably just had the hots for her. She was good, too. Better than I would have been because she was popular. Everyone in the school came to see the play. Here is Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass. Beanie, honey, do you think you still love him? Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass Glory in the flower we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind. We were all big fish in a small pond, which gave us power we weren't willing to relinquish. But having the whole school CR play meant reality was here, whether we liked it or not. I often think about the drama club now when I watch Christopher Guest's hilarious Waiting for Guffman. Which is about a self important director of a small town theater group and their delusions of grandeur. Here are some scenes from waiting for Guffman. The exercises all mean something. Even if you don't know what, Dr. Pearl will. He'll come around and he'll learn like Ron and Sheila and I have learned that Corky has a vision. But with him, he got up. I'm walking on air. You know, this is a sensation, which is. Forget it. When I became a dentist, I thought I was happy, but this is making me nervous now because I could have wasted a lot of years. I must say I was very shocked to see that Dr. Pearl had actually been cast. Then I thought, well, we're in a glamour profession being travel agents and he isn't in such a glamorous, you know, one thing, one project. We have to loosen him up. I have a feeling he's a little tight. He's. Particularly when he's around us, probably. I don't think he'll mind jokes. You're intimidating Ron because you have so much experience. I know Ron is going to help everyone act because I know Ron gives me. Well, in all the productions we've been in and when we do scene studies at home together, Ron will have extensive, you know, hour, two hour sessions of notes for me. And it's so helpful lately. There's notes for both of us that you get most of them. He's trying to help me to change my instincts or at least ignore them. I hear that French girls are very pretty, that they wear the finest of clothes. I also hear that they are experts in the ways of love. Ema, I'm going to fight for my country. To fight and yes, perhaps die so that young men from here to timbuktu can feel the wind of freedom blowing through their hair. Oh, Mani, I didn't mean to doubt you. It's just sometimes I feel as if I don't really know you. And that's also what I see when I look at the democrats and all the performative protesters and activists on the left. From Eric Swalwell to AOC to Jasmine Crockett to Chuck Schumer to Cory Booker to all of these delusional people who believe Musk did the Nazi salute and Trump is Hitler. They are waiting for Guffman. They are the drama club. Liberals are known for being the party of love and kindness. But I set off to find out how loving they are to a MAGA supporter. By the. By the way, I'll probably never do this again. Troy, you're taking away choice, you're taking away rights. I'm just trying to help you. This is a Native American culture. I don't want that. If I could say one thing to Trump, what would I say? You will not win. There are too many people who value their freedom, who value the freedom of the people around them, who will stick up for the people around them. You're not going to have a legacy. We're erasing you after this. So whatever you're trying to do, it's not going to make it. You're gonna fail and we won't remember you. I would say back the up and stop destroying people's lives and their livelihood and their rights. I would just tell him to look around and pay attention to what's happening instead of only thinking about himself. It's not necessarily fair for you to take your insecurity out on others. It's just clear that you're only hateful because it's competitive towards you. Go away. I would say leave our democracy alone. You're not a king and you can't do whatever you want without any repercussions. If I could say one thing, it would be to have empathy and to show compassion for all human beings. We all deserve to be treated fairly. We all deserve human rights. I don't know. I just tell him to go himself. I would tell him that he's completely destroyed all of America. It's a cosplay fantasy, a dystopian renaissance fare. None of it is real. The American people have been watching this performative outrage for almost a decade. They wanted to turn the channel so badly, they voted for Donald Trump a second time. And now here they all are once again, caterwauling about the very democracy that just took them out of power. They still believe that doing the exact same thing for this long will get them a different result. The very definition of insanity here is a scene from Dumb and Dumber. What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me ending up together? Well, Lloyd, that's difficult to say and we really don't. Hit me with it. Just give it to me straight. I came a long way just to see you, Mary. Just. Least you can do is level with me. What are my chances? Not good. You mean not good, like one out of a hundred? I'd say more like one out of a million. So you're telling me there's a chance? Yeah, but there's a darkness, too. A rising violence. What they all mean when they say hands off. It's not just hands off our government, but hands off everything else too. Along with keying Teslas and violent outbursts against Trump supporters, there's a hashtag making the rounds on TikTok called When It Happens where users fantasize about Trump's death. Oh, no, no, no. Dumpy Don is too early. Because Liberation Day will be the day when it happens. Because when it finally happens, we will be fully liberated from this maga hatred, bigotry and tyranny. So save this video, come back and stitch it the day it happens. And we can declare. Are you ready? Yeah. Happy Liberation Day. It finally happened. Let's fucking go, Donald Trump. We all know what's happening. Listen, I'm afraid to be left out of the when it happens trend. Have you heard of the when it happens trend? Yes. It that exactly what you're thinking of Now, I've seen so many videos where people are sharing that they're going to throw a party, they're going to run out into the street screaming, they're going to cry tears of joy or relief. There are playlists being made. And I say yes, yes to all of that. But if I may, could I add another suggestion? Bring another idea to the table. I am picturing a retreat. Maybe regional retreats would be best, because we can't have, like, one gigantic one with millions and millions of people, you know? So a retreat now, everybody, and I mean everybody is invited, except for white men. Now, listen, nothing against all white men for sure, right? Like, I'm married to one. He's amazing. My dad happens to be. I know. Shocking. But the thing is, is that we just, like, we just need a fucking break from you, okay? We just need to be together without you for a little bit and just bond and heal and start, like, creating a new world for us, okay? So that's my idea. Identity first versus America first. During the last Civil War, the two conflicting realities were that a country founded on freedom could not own human beings. Versus the false reality that slaves could not survive as free human beings and that there would be chaos and collapse if things changed. Now we find ourselves once again at a crossroads with two factions believing in two completely separate realities. This time, it's not about westward expansion, but rather our migration onto the new frontier of the Internet, AI and the upcoming robot revolution. What will this country be going forward? What will be our values? What will define male and female? What will decide power? You can see each of our potential futures laid out before us. Whole generations have come of age in virtual reality where they can choose their own avatars and have their own audiences for their own show. It's all performative, but to be included you must follow the rules. If you don't, out you go. Those generations made order out of chaos with their WOKE hierarchy that categorized people by identity, ranked by their skin color, gender preference, marginalized status for podcast listeners, a tweet by J.K. rowling Happy International Fake Oppression Day to everyone who wants complete strangers to know they don't fancy a shag. And then a picture of International Asexual Day, April 6. Asexuality is where a person experiences little to no sexual attraction. Asexual people can form deep emotional connections and relationships, but don't experience sexual attraction in the same way as others. The denial of reality once again drives our current civil war. For example, the Democrats have doubled down on something most Americans agree that biological men should not compete against biological females, yet they must continue to fight for it. On the left, they have no choice. They wouldn't even allow it to be brought to a vote in California because they know how the people would decide. All the institutions the left controls must also go along with it. So do Hollywood and most of our corporations. Their ESG rating depends on it. Podcast listeners, A headline Forced off her track team, a trans high schooler in Virginia joined the boys instead. But in the other America, we're fighting for a baseline reality that remembers girls need to be protected because of their biological disadvantage to their male counterparts. Our votes, our democracy, are our most powerful tool to fight for them. Podcast listeners, A tweet from Jennifer say Check out the Thompson Valley High School varsity girls soccer team Players wearing the XXXY athletics Real girls rock tea. These young women spoke at a school board meeting in defense of women's sports. A movement is underway. It might be a sign to the Democrats now that they've become as embarrassing and cringe as waiting for Guffman. Several young protesters complained that Gen Z wasn't showing up. It was mostly lumpy aging hippies and retirees banging the tambourine and screaming about Hitler. I'm at the protest right now in New York City. Anti Trump, anti fascist protests. And I have one question. Where the is Gen Z? These people are cheering. They're talking like it's just the 60s. It's just like the 60s and they're having conversations and walking slowly. There's no fight here. There's no youth here. It's all 30 somethings on their children and then seniors and God bless everybody who showed up today. But I'm really disappointed in the youth turnout? Where is the youth turnout? This is your future that is going to be impacted by the actions of the Trump administration. And it's really this easy to show up in numbers and show your government that they're outnumbered. That is a that is the point of a protest to show that your government that they are outnumbered. If their only option is for everyone else to go along with their doomsday fantasy about Trump, then they will continue to be the crazier side. The Cory Booker filibuster and their hands off protests. Recall the quote from Shakespeare's life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Let it go, Democrats. It's time. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast. You can find more@sashastone.substack.com there. You can subscribe to my newsletter and you will get your podcast in your inbox for free. You can also find it on itunes and other podcasting apps. And please leave a review if you like my work and and remember to thine own self be true My famous last words around and whatever I try but I love and that's all that really matters if this is goodbye if this is goodbye Bright shining sun will light up the way before me you are the one made me feel like it fly and I love you Whatever is waiting for me Business is goodbye this is goodbye who knows how long we knows if there's a plan There is our love I know there is a love on a famous last words could never tell a story sp in the dark But I love you and this is our Business is goodbye Business is goodbye Business is goodbye this is goodbye.