Chapter 14: The Age of Derangement

The Kingdom of Palm Beachonia - the final chapter

Trump Derangement syndrome, trump dressed as a god

This is the final chapter of The Kingdom of Palm Beachonia. I hope you have enjoyed it.

The Age of Derangement

Historians of the future—assuming there will still be such a profession and not simply a division of the Department of Vibes—will struggle to explain the phenomenon known as Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Not the version whispered by loyalists, muttered over greasy diner counters and Reddit threads—
that mythical virus said to infect anyone who criticized their leader.
No, the real Trump Derangement Syndrome.
The one that began inside the movement itself.

It was not an illness of disagreement, or even of politics.

It was the slow, sticky unraveling of reality itself—
an epidemic not of the body, but of the mind,
where up became down, wrong became right,
and fantasy swallowed fact like a python swallowing a child’s birthday balloon.

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Symptoms and Onset

The first symptoms were easy to miss.

It started innocently enough:
a bumper sticker here, a slogan there, a murmured phrase repeated with a slight, uncertain pause:

"Do your own research."

At first it seemed harmless, even sensible.
In the Information Age, surely people should think for themselves.

But soon it became clear that "do your own research" meant something else entirely:

• It meant reading only Facebook memes written in comic sans.

• It meant watching homemade YouTube videos featuring a man in his garage screaming about secret tribunals.

• It meant declaring Wikipedia a tool of the Deep State, but accepting grainy screenshots of tweets as unassailable truth.

Actual research—books, studies, verified sources—was viewed with suspicion, even contempt.
To read a book was to admit defeat.
To quote an expert was to reveal oneself as a pawn of the Machine.

Thus, "doing your own research" meant simply:

"Find something that agrees with you and stop immediately."

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The Emotional Environment

Inside this alternate atmosphere, facts had no weight.

Truth was not something discovered.
Truth was something felt.

If it felt true, it was true.
If it felt wrong—even for a second—it was Fake News.

Under this new physics of feeling:

• A thousand dead from a hurricane could be waved away with a shrug.

• A single confused protester could be magnified into proof of national collapse.

• A taped confession could be called a deepfake; an obvious lie could be called "straight talk."

In Derangement, emotion was the only compass.
And the needle spun wildly, pointing not north, but wherever the loudest voice screamed from.

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The Backward Glasses

Over time, it became harder and harder for the afflicted to see the world as it was.
It was as if they had been fitted—willingly—with special glasses.

Through these lenses:

• Compassion looked like weakness.

• Cruelty looked like strength.

• Confusion looked like wisdom.

• Failure looked like winning.

A policy that bankrupted farmers?
“Historic support for American agriculture!”

An economic collapse?
“Best numbers the fake media won't show you!”

An insurrection?
“Peaceful sightseeing tour!”

Every loss was a secret victory.
Every shame was a badge of honor.
Every obvious flaw was evidence of being "so smart that the fake elites just couldn’t understand."

Upside down.
Backward.
Inside out.

And all proclaimed with the confidence of a child drawing crayon blueprints for a rocket ship powered by candy canes and "good feelings."

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trump as a superman reflected multiple times in a hall of mirrors

The Great Hall of Mirrors

The final stage of Trump Derangement Syndrome was the most tragic.

Having abandoned facts and foresworn research, the afflicted were left trapped inside a vast, echoing hall of mirrors.

Every reflection showed them stronger, smarter, better than before.
Every distorted image reassured them that they were the winners, even as the walls crumbled.

If poverty increased, it was because "freedom was working."
If sickness spread, it was because "real patriots refused to be weak."
If the world laughed, it was because "they're just jealous."

Reality tried, timidly, to tap at the glass.
To offer statistics, or photographs, or tearful first-hand accounts.

But inside the hall, everything was reflection.

Everything was them,
shining,
smiling,
undefeated.

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A New Motto

And so a new motto emerged to replace E Pluribus Unum:

"Do your own research."

It was whispered at backyard barbecues, shouted at school board meetings, embroidered onto trucker hats and weaponized Facebook posts.

It was both shield and sword:

• Shield against the discomfort of doubt.

• Sword against the threat of thought.

And though no research was actually done—
though the same tired slogans were passed around like a game of broken telephone—
still they said it, proudly, defiantly.

"I’m doing my own research."

And they lived there,
in the half-light,
in the world turned inside out,
believing with all their battered hearts
that they had found the only truth left worth believing:

The truth that made them feel good,
no matter what it cost.

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Appendix A: From Social Pathologies of the 21st Century, 2087 Edition

Excerpt: Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) — Internalized Reality Displacement (IRD)

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Definition:
Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), contrary to early popular misinterpretation, refers not to the exaggerated opposition to Donald J. Trump, but to the psychological and sociological phenomenon by which his followers experienced a profound and collective reality displacement between 2015 and approximately 2030.

During this period, participants underwent a complete reversal of traditional cognitive norms, wherein emotional certainty replaced empirical verification as the primary method of truth-determination.

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Symptoms and Behavioral Markers:

• Emotive Epistemology:
  Feelings were elevated above facts; an idea's validity was determined solely by the intensity of the emotional reaction it provoked.

• Radical Contrarianism:
  Any position held by "outsiders" (media, academia, international organizations) was automatically false, regardless of evidence to the contrary.

• Illusory Self-Scholarship ("Research Syndrome"):
  The phrase "Do your own research" became a ritual incantation used to defend beliefs, despite a near-total absence of actual investigative behavior or critical thinking.
  Preferred research methods included:

  • Watching poorly edited videos with ominous background music.

  • Reading Facebook posts written in all caps.

  • Trusting memes over peer-reviewed studies.

• Inversion of Moral Valence:
  Cruelty was reframed as patriotism; ignorance as wisdom; cowardice as strength.
  "Owning the libs" became an ethical goal in itself.

• Mirror World Syndrome:
  Participants created a self-contained epistemic environment—a "hall of mirrors"—where all contrary information was rejected as fake, and every reflection glorified their perceived victories.

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Cultural Artifacts of the Period:

• Loyalty Cards:
  Citizens received status badges based on ideological purity rather than any civic or intellectual accomplishment.

• Freedom Products:
  Everyday objects (canned cheese, paper towels, pickup trucks) were rebranded as expressions of moral virtue, creating a commercial ecosystem wherein purchasing habits served as political tests.

• Digital Products:
  Digital trading cards and NFTs of Trump - the dear leader - as various superheroes.

• Patriot Echo Networks:
  Alternative media closed ecosystems were established, wherein satire, news, rumor, and fabricated conspiracies circulated indiscriminately, creating an emotional feedback loop resistant to external intervention.

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The Societal Impact:

The Trump Derangement period led to significant phenomena including:

• The creation of multiple failed "microstates" (e.g., Palm Beachonia).

• Widespread public health crises driven by refusal to accept scientific consensus.

• The eventual mass disillusionment and slow reabsorption of participants into broader society, often accompanied by amnesia or strategic rebranding of prior beliefs.

Historians generally classify Trump Derangement Syndrome alongside:

• The Tulip Mania of 1637,

• The Great Emu War of 1932,

• And the Beanie Baby Bubble of 1995,
  as one of history’s greatest collective exercises in misplaced faith.

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Summary Statement:

"TDS illustrated a fundamental human truth:
That when reality grows too difficult or overwhelming or incomprehensible in relation to limited, exclusive belief systems, a significant portion of any population will gladly trade it for smoke and mirrors,
if only the smoke hides reality and the mirrors flatter them enough."

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Glossary Entry: New Oxford Interstellar Dictionary, 2093 Edition

Trump Derangement Syndrome (n.)

Definition:
A collective psychological condition (c. 2015–2030 CE) characterized by the voluntary replacement of observable reality with emotionally comforting fantasies, typically involving:

• Inversion of truth and falsehood.

• Justification of the unjustifiable.

• Uncritical repetition of slogans ("Do your own research") without corresponding action.

• Hostility toward expertise, science, and verifiable evidence.

Symptoms included:

• Belief in self-sourced "truth" regardless of contradiction.

• Ritual consumption of outrage media.

• Adherence to tribal identity markers (e.g., flags, hats, loyalty cards) in lieu of civic engagement.

Historical Impact:
Led to numerous sociopolitical breakdowns, regional fragmentations, and mass disillusionments, ultimately cited as a case study in the vulnerabilities of digitally networked populations.

See also:
"Emotional Sovereignty," "Epistemic Collapse," "The Great Hall of Mirrors," "Cognitive Secession."

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ADDENDUM

A related post from nearly a year ago on August 27 of 2024 before the election: