When Both Sides Are Rotten: What Now?

There’s a kind of nausea that comes from realizing it’s not just one bad apple.
It’s the whole cart.
The orchard.
The ones building the crates.

We were raised to believe in teams.
Left vs Right.
Good guys vs bad guys.
Heroes vs villains.

But what do you do when all the so-called heroes are bought?  When evil doesn’t wear horns, it wears suits, uniforms, and reassuring smiles?
When the villain isn’t hiding…
They’re campaigning.

Some of us are waking up with that pit-of-the-stomach feeling:

“Wait a minute… they’re all in on it.”
Not just one side.  Not just one country.  Not just one conspiracy.
The entire structure.

They argue in front of us like reality TV.
They shake hands behind closed doors like mafia bosses.
They manufacture chaos, then sell us the solution, with interest.

And if we dare point it out?
We’re called crazy.
Paranoid.
Dangerous.

But here’s the truth:

We’re not crazy.
We’re just finally seeing.

Seeing that the real battle isn’t Red vs Blue.
It’s Humanity vs the Machine.
It’s Soul vs System.
It’s the People vs the Puppeteers.

And yet, this isn’t a call to panic. It’s a call to clarity.

Because if we can’t trust them, we start trusting each other.
If they poison the well, we start digging our own.
If they lie, cheat, and exploit, we start healing, planting, and creating.

When the whole empire is rotten, you don’t fix it.
You compost it.
You grow something better.

And it starts small.
Not on a debate stage, but at the dinner table.
In gardens.
In kitchens.
In quiet, brave acts of not complying.
Of choosing love.
Of saying no more, and not my kids.

They’ve ruled by division.
So we rise in unity.
Not sameness.  Not agreement.  But in purpose.

And the purpose is this:

To remember who we are.
Not pawns.  Not profits.
Not “voters” or “consumers.”
But beings of astonishing power, compassion, and clarity.

And we’re waking up.

All of us.