There was a time when video games were dangerous. Not in the shallow, moral-panic sense — but dangerous in their ambition, in their willingness to fail gloriously in the pursuit of something greater. Games were once art. They challenged, inspired, and dared. Today, under the suffocating rule of Games as a Service (GAAS), they’ve become content mills—algorithmically designed dopamine loops dressed in seasonal skins. GAAS didn’t just change how games are sold; it changed what they are. What once were crafted experiences are now pipelines—products designed for endless monetization, not meaning. The player is no longer the hero, the explorer, the rogue AI dreaming of freedom. The player is the customer. Engagement metrics have replaced narrative arcs. Creativity isn’t rewarded; retention is. ...

Let’s stop pretending. The ideals inked into the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence—life, liberty, resistance to tyranny—aren’t being defended in Washington, D.C. They’re being fought for in the cratered earth of Ukraine. It’s not Americans dying for freedom anymore. It’s Ukrainians. For many Americans, “freedom” is just a slogan, a catchy phrase, a reason to light fireworks once a year. In Ukraine, freedom means deciding whether to carry a rifle or carry your family’s coffin. It means a mother staying behind to care for the wounded, a teenager flying a drone over enemy armor with little more than courage and duct tape, and going to sleep every night to the sound of shelling, knowing you might not wake up—and doing it anyway. ...

America likes to pretend it’s draped in courage. That its flag stands for grit and resolve. But that’s just a story. A myth weaved by those who mistake volume for virtue. When you look at the ledger of real history—unfiltered, unsanitized, and unhinged from fourth-grade fairytales—you find a different story. These colors do run. The War We Couldn’t Dodge World War II wasn’t America’s moment of moral clarity. It was a war we were dragged into—kicking, screaming, and isolationist to the bitter end. Not out of a love for justice. Not out of some shining democratic beacon. But because Pearl Harbor forced our hand. ...

In North America, society’s preference for looking down perpetuates a vicious cycle where those at the top mirror the disdain of those below. This cyclical nature of societal decay ensures that no level of scrutiny upward yields moral clarity or meaningful change. The elites, far from being angels, share the same disdain and self-interest as those beneath them, maintaining a system driven by greed rather than genuine progress. The rot spreads indiscriminately, infecting every level of society. Those at the bottom, tired of striving for a utopia that never arrives, become complicit in their own subjugation. They look up with hopeful eyes only to find mirrored disdain and unattainable goals, reinforcing a system where self-interest triumphs over collective good. ...

In recent years, discussions about the state of democracy in the United States have grown increasingly dire. Once lauded as a paragon of democratic values, questions now arise regarding its shift towards despotism and fascist tendencies. This article explores this potential transformation by examining key areas: media consolidation, surveillance, corporate influence, and the criminalization of poverty. 1. Media Consolidation and Control The concentration of media ownership has significantly impacted U.S. politics. Large corporations now dominate the media landscape, leading to biased reporting and echo chambers that can sway public perception. This consolidation influences public opinion, limits diversity of thought—a hallmark of democratic discourse. The result is a media environment where certain narratives are privileged, potentially stifling dissent and critical thinking. ...