Division doesn’t start by inventing something new.
It starts by finding an old crack and hammering in a wedge.
That’s the play.
The most powerful tools in the political machine aren't ideas.
They’re differences.
Cultural. Racial. Religious. Regional.
When conflict is the goal, human difference becomes a golden opportunity.
Wedges Work Best When They’re Familiar
Human difference is not a flaw.
It’s a fact.
But difference becomes danger when a system is designed to manipulate it for power.
The most effective division campaigns don’t invent new enemies.
They resurrect old tensions.
They pour salt into old wounds.
And the tactic is simple, relying on participation:
Identify a historical fault line.
Stoke it with emotion.
Assign blame to a group that looks, prays, or lives differently.
Reframe systemic failure as cultural conflict.
In this narrative, economic pain is blamed not on policy, but on people.
Not on corruption, but on culture.
And when the real causes of suffering are invisible, the nearest neighbor becomes the scapegoat.
A Wyoming Fault Line: Rural vs. Urban
One of the oldest cracks in American life, one that gets exploited even here, is the tension between rural and urban life.
Out here in Wyoming, there's pride in self-reliance and open space. There’s often suspicion that urban America doesn’t understand our way of life. That Washington doesn’t listen. That coastal cities set rules for places they've never been.
That’s a real feeling, born from real experience.
And that’s what makes it such a perfect tool for a political operator.
The machine takes legitimate frustration, points it at the wrong enemy, and uses the anger to fuel its own agenda.
Why is this division so valuable to that machine?
Because while we're arguing about whether Cheyenne is “real Wyoming,” a D.C. lobbyist is rewriting a land-use rule.
While we're debating “coastal elites,” an out-of-state corporation is buying up our water rights.
The wedge isn't the point. The wedge is the distraction that makes the theft possible.
Race, Religion, and Region: The Eternal Wedges
History shows the playbook.
Racial fear has been used to sever coalitions of working people for generations.
Religious difference has been twisted into a test of belonging.
Even regional identity becomes a weapon:
“The South will rise again.”
“The East Coast elites.”
“California values.”
Same strategy, new slogans.
Find a seam.
Hammer a wedge.
Act surprised when everything breaks.
This isn’t accidental.
This is engineered.
A divided public is a distracted public.
And when neighbors are busy hating each other, the machinery of the Big Sell-Off faces no resistance.
Wedges in the Mind: Repression and Dissociation
Not all divisions are visible.
Some wedge deepest into the mind, and stay hidden for years.
This is where psychology meets politics.
Sometimes, a division goes unnoticed because the mind represses what’s too painful to face.
Repression is an unconscious defense mechanism. The mind buries distressing truths, not out of denial, but for survival.
Other times, the separation is more extreme. In moments of trauma, the mind can completely check out.
This is dissociation, a survival instinct inherited from more dangerous times.
In both cases, the mind forgets what the heart cannot bear to hold.
✦ Reflection 1: A Missed Moment, A Silent Wedge
I once missed the truth entirely.
Not because I didn’t care, but because I couldn’t see.
It was during college. I was overwhelmed, planning my next semester, when my ex-girlfriend Dawn showed up. I didn’t listen with my heart. I barely listened at all. My own internal noise, school, stress, the future, drowned her out.
She tried to tell me she was pregnant.
I didn’t hear it.
Or maybe I didn’t want to hear. I wasn’t ready to understand.
That’s what repression does. The mind protects itself by choosing silence.
She grew frustrated and said, “Were you born yesterday?” then walked out of my life.
In anger, I slammed the door and said, “I guess so.”
That was the end. For nearly 40 years.
The truth came back this year. My second son Garrett, curious and kind, found a half-sibling through genetics. He called and asked for answers.
To my credit, I gave him the story immediately.
But no answer can undo the wedge that was driven, not just between Dawn and me, but in myself.
I didn’t hear the truth because I was busy surviving my own reality.
But the truth always outlives silence.
And wedges buried in time still grow roots.
✦ Reflection 2: Family Divided by Assumption
Another wedge came between my oldest son Justin and me.
We argued over money, hurt, frustration, pride.
Instead of bridging it with honesty, I let assumption lead.
Judgment followed.
Time we could have spent fishing, talking, laughing, was instead lost in silence.
Not because love was gone, but because ego took the wheel.
In families, wedges are easier to see.
The hurt is personal. The silence is louder.
But the stakes are no lower in society.
We all make mistakes.
We all say things that cut.
But we only have the time left to fix it, or let it grow.
I’ve suggested: “Forgive yourself before asking others to forgive you.”
But to truly forgive ourselves, we have to own our truth first.
Social currency will never outweigh a burdened soul.
What Happens When We Buy into the Wedge?
Wedge politics turns personal.
A college-educated cousin becomes “out of touch.”
A neighbor’s religion becomes “a threat.”
A foreign-born family becomes “the problem.”
What begins as tension becomes resentment.
Resentment becomes dehumanization.
The cost of division isn’t just policy paralysis.
The cost is human.
When Division Flares Up, Ask the Right Question:
Who benefits from this fracture?
Who gains power when conversation stops?
Who gets richer while we get louder?
Because no matter the wedge, the math is always the same:
Division makes us weaker.
Unity makes us dangerous, to any system that profits from chaos.
The Way Through: Find Common Cause
Cracks in society can’t be ignored, but they don’t have to be exploited.
Yes, differences exist. But so do shared concerns:
Raising children in safety
Working with dignity
Caring for aging parents
Preserving land, water, and freedom
These are not divisive issues.
These are us issues.
We all own a portion of where we currently find ourselves.
The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can make the correction.
The wedge says, “Pick a side.”
Real leadership says, “Let’s find our common ground.”
That’s what this campaign is about.
Coming Next: Episode 5 – The Outrage Trap
“Once the wedge is driven and the echo chamber sealed, there’s only one step left: turn up the heat. Keep the outrage coming and make it impossible to think clearly.”
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