We're Living Through the End of Something (And We Can't Stop It) 🏛️😔

*A FriedReads Reflection on the American Empire, the Coming Transition, and the Feeling That Something Is Ending

October 2026

I have eyes. And I can see what's happening.

Something is ending. I don't know exactly what. I don't know exactly when. But I can feel it. It's in the air. It's in the news. It's in the conversations I have with friends. It's in the way people talk about the future. It's in the way people talk about the present.

We're living through the end of something. And we can't stop it.

This is a reflection. Not a prediction. Not a prophecy. Just a feeling. A feeling that the world I grew up in is disappearing. A feeling that the world my parents grew up in is already gone. A feeling that the world my children will grow up in is going to be something entirely different.

And I don't know if it's going to be better. I don't know if it's going to be worse. I just know it's going to be different.

The Peak of the Empire

Let me start with a history lesson. A brief one. Not the kind you get in school. The kind you get when you're sitting on your couch at 2 AM, scrolling through Wikipedia, and wondering how we got here.

The American empire was at its peak during World War II and the Cold War.

Think about it. World War II. America enters the war. America helps defeat the Nazis. America helps defeat the Japanese. America drops two nuclear bombs on Japan. Two. In three days. Killing hundreds of thousands of people. And the world didn't just accept it. The world was grateful. The world saw it as a necessary evil. The world saw America as the savior.

Then came the Cold War. America vs. the Soviet Union. Two superpowers. Two ideologies. Two visions of the future. And America won. Not through war. Through economics. Through culture. Through the sheer force of its existence.

The Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union collapsed. The Cold War ended. And America stood alone. The sole superpower. The unipolar moment. The end of history.

Francis Fukuyama wrote a book called The End of History. He said that liberal democracy had won. That there were no more ideological battles to fight. That the world had reached its final form. That the future was liberal. That the future was American.

He was wrong.

But for a moment, it seemed true. For a moment, America was the undisputed champion of the world. For a moment, the American empire was at its peak.

And then it wasn't.

The Moon Landing and the Fall

I wasn't alive when America landed on the moon.

I wasn't alive when the Berlin Wall fell. I wasn't alive when the Soviet Union collapsed. I wasn't alive for the moments that defined the American century.

But I've seen the footage. I've seen the images. I've seen the way people talk about those moments. The pride. The awe. The sense that anything was possible. The sense that America could do anything. The sense that America was the greatest country on Earth.

Now? Now America is one of the most hated countries in the world.

I'm not exaggerating. I'm not being dramatic. I'm not being hyperbolic. I'm stating a fact. Global favor for America has plummeted. Not just among enemies. Among allies. Among everyone.

The war in Iran. The endless wars in the Middle East. The drone strikes. The surveillance state. The support for Israel. The support for Saudi Arabia. The support for the UAE. The list goes on and on and on.

And the world is watching. The world is taking notes. The world is deciding who their friends are. And they're deciding that America isn't one of them.

If there was another rising power, most countries would go to them with open arms.

Not because they love that power. Not because they believe in that power. But because they hate America. Because they're tired of American dominance. Because they're tired of American hypocrisy. Because they're tired of American empire.

The empire is ending. Not with a bang. Not with a war. Not with a revolution. With a whimper. With a slow, gradual decline. With a series of small betrayals and small defeats and small humiliations.

And we're living through it.

The Midterms and the Illusion of Change

The midterms are coming.

This is the event that everyone is talking about. The election that is supposed to change everything. The blue wave that is supposed to save us. The moment when the American people rise up and say, "Enough is enough."

I have a prediction. It's not a happy one.

The Democrats will win. Maybe. Maybe there will be a blue wave. Maybe there won't. Maybe the Republicans will pull off a shock. Maybe they'll win more than anyone expects. The polls are unreliable. The predictions are meaningless. The future is uncertain.

But here's the thing.

It doesn't matter.

Because both parties are controlled by Zionists. Both parties have the same goal. Both parties serve the same master. The preservation of the American empire.

You think the Democrats are going to end the war? You think the blue wave is going to bring peace? You think the new Congress is going to hold the war criminals accountable? You think the new president is going to dismantle the surveillance state? You think anything is going to change?

It's not.

The war in Iran will continue. The surveillance state will expand. The empire will keep doing what empires do. Because Iran is a threat to the empire. Iran refuses to submit. Iran refuses to be a client state like Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Iran refuses to accept the American order.

So the war will continue. Because the empire can't afford to lose. Because the empire can't afford to look weak. Because the empire can't afford to let a small country defy it.

The midterms won't change that. The blue wave won't change that. The elections won't change that.

Nothing will.

The Excuse and the Lie

When the war started, the excuse was simple.

"We have to free the people of Iran!"

That was the narrative. That was the story. That was the justification. The Iranian people are oppressed. The Iranian government is a dictatorship. The Iranian regime is a threat to its own people and the world.

We have to save them. We have to liberate them. We have to bring them democracy and freedom and human rights.

Okay. I have a question.

Where was this energy for Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia is a dictatorship. Saudi Arabia oppresses its own people. Saudi Arabia murders journalists. Saudi Arabia starves Yemen. Saudi Arabia runs on modern-day slavery. Saudi Arabia treats migrant workers like disposable tools.

Where was the "we have to free the people of Saudi Arabia" energy?

Where was the "we have to liberate them" energy?

Where was the "we have to bring them democracy" energy?

It wasn't there.

Because it was never about freeing the people. It was never about human rights. It was never about democracy.

It was about control.

Iran is a threat to the American empire. Iran refuses to submit. Iran refuses to be a client state. Iran refuses to accept the American order.

So we have to get rid of them.

That's the real reason. That's the real justification. That's the real story.

And everything else is just noise.

The Allies We're Not Supposed to Question

Let me talk about our allies.

Saudi Arabia is a strong ally of America. Why? Because they give us money. Because they allow us to have a strong presence in the Middle East. Because they buy our weapons. Because they sell us oil.

They also starve Yemen. They murder journalists. They run on slavery. They oppress their own people. They behead people in public squares.

But we don't talk about that. We don't care about that. We don't question that.

Because they're our allies. Because they're useful. Because they help us maintain the empire.

The UAE is another ally. Another country that runs on slavery. Another country that builds its dystopia on the backs of workers. Another country that funds genocide in Sudan. Another country that does terrible things and gets away with it.

And we don't talk about that either. We don't care. We don't question.

Because they're our allies. Because they're useful. Because they help us maintain the empire.

The empire doesn't care about human rights. It cares about control. It cares about power. It cares about maintaining the order that keeps us on top.

And if that means allying with dictatorships and slavers and murderers, then that's what it means.

That's the empire. That's how it works. That's how it's always worked.

And we're living through the end of it.

The Israel Elections and the Other Nightmare

There's another election coming.

Not in America. In Israel.

Netanyahu is the prime minister. He's evil. He's a war criminal. He's a man who has overseen genocide and apartheid and occupation. He's a man who has bombed hospitals and schools and refugee camps. He's a man who has starved a population and called it self-defense.

But here's the thing.

The other parties? They're worse.

I'm not exaggerating. I'm not being dramatic. I'm not being hyperbolic. The other parties in Israel are more militant. More extreme. More committed to the genocide and the occupation and the apartheid.

They make Netanyahu seem like a moderate. They make him seem like a calm, reasonable voice in the room. They make him seem like the best option available.

Which is insane. Which is terrifying. Which is the world we live in.

If Netanyahu loses power, Israel will become more militant. They'll push the genocide even harder. They'll expand the settlements. They'll annex more land. They'll kill more people.

And the world will watch. The world will do nothing. The world will move on.

Because the empire is ending. And when empires end, they don't care about the people they've hurt. They don't care about the people they've sacrificed. They don't care about the people they've abandoned.

They just care about themselves.

France and the NATO Collapse

The world is struggling.

Not just America. Not just Israel. Not just the Middle East.

France is struggling. NATO is struggling. Europe is struggling. The whole world is struggling.

There are protests in France. There are riots in France. There are strikes in France. There are people in the streets demanding change and getting nothing.

There are divisions in NATO. There are disagreements. There are threats to leave. There are threats to abandon. There are threats to go to war.

The world I grew up in is disappearing. The alliances that held it together are crumbling. The institutions that gave it stability are failing. The norms that kept it from falling apart are collapsing.

And we're watching it happen. We're watching it in real time. We're watching it on our screens and scrolling past it because we can't handle it anymore.

Something is going to break. Something is going to change. Something is going to happen.

And we don't know what. We don't know when. We don't know how.

We just know it's coming.

The Feeling of the End

I've been thinking about this a lot.

The feeling that something is ending. The feeling that the world is changing. The feeling that we're in a transition.

It's not a new feeling. People have felt this before. People felt it during the fall of Rome. People felt it during the fall of the British Empire. People felt it during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It's the feeling that the old order is dying. The feeling that the new order is not yet born. The feeling that we're in between. In the gap. In the liminal space.

And it's terrifying. Because we don't know what's on the other side. We don't know if the new order will be better or worse. We don't know if we'll survive the transition.

We just know it's happening.

The American empire is ending. Not with a bang. With a whimper.

The midterms won't save us. The elections won't save us. The politicians won't save us. The system is rotten. The rot is everywhere. And no election is going to fix it.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe things will get better. Maybe the empire will recover. Maybe the world will stabilize. Maybe the future will be bright.

But I don't think so.

I think the empire is ending. I think the transition is coming. I think the future is uncertain. I think we're all going to feel it.

So I'm writing this. Not because it will change anything. Not because it will save anyone. Not because it will make a difference.

But because I want to. And to just get it off my chest.

The Final Line

The American empire is ending.

The midterms won't save us. The elections won't save us. The politicians won't save us.

The system is rotten. The rot is everywhere. And no election is going to fix it.

Maybe things will get better. Maybe the future will be bright. Maybe I'm wrong.

But I don't think so.

I think we're living through the end of something. And we can't stop it.

🏛️😔

Allen

FriedReads.com | Still watching. Still living. Still existing.

October 2026