Are We Being Controlled By a Deranged Leader?

Here’s Your Playbook for Crushing the Lunatic Fringe

Is it possible for a power hungry lunatic to dangle you like a lifeless ragdoll?

I find that to be the operative question lingering in the air these days, gnawing at our sense of agency as we watch the world convulse under the weight of power-hungry egos, propaganda, and systems that seem designed to extract rather than uplift.

When a single ruler, corporate elite, or media conglomerate dictates the narrative, it can feel like we are all marionettes, our strings pulled by forces beyond our grasp.

And yet, from a Taoist perspective, that premise itself is flawed. Control only exists when we surrender to it. A tyrant’s power is not absolute; it is borrowed from the compliance of the governed, from the fear, resentment, and resignation that infects the collective mind.

The real question is not whether a lunatic fringe can dictate the course of our lives—but why so many people believe they can.

For years, you may have wandered the social desert, clutching your own truths, quoting your own unique brand of wisdom to people who only responded with blank stares.

You saw the masses panic, rage, or resign themselves to their fate, believing they had no choice but to play along. But one day, you stumbled into a gathering where someone casually referenced Gödel’s incompleteness theorem while wearing a Starfleet uniform. Another was debating whether Zhuangzi’s butterfly dream was just an early multiverse theory.

You exhaled. Finally, your people.

Here, paradox is a pastime, contradictions are playthings, and knowing you know nothing makes you a sage, not a weirdo. And in this realization, a deeper truth emerged:

No external force can truly control you unless you let it.

Omnicidal Power and the Lunatic Fringe

We live in a time where leaders seem not just corrupt but omnicidal, blind to balance, harmony, or the natural flow of things. Governments hoard wealth while entire populations struggle to survive.

Media corporations shape belief systems, rationalizing inequities and fanning the flames of division. The power elite masterfully manipulate the collective mind, crafting a world where control feels inevitable.

But the Tao teaches that control is only effective if you accept its terms.

A Taoist sage, when faced with tyranny, does not meet it with fear, nor does he become consumed by resentment. He simply steps outside the game. He observes, adapts, and moves freely—like water slipping through the cracks of an unyielding system.

The Taoist Rebellion: Verse 20 of the Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu, in the 20th verse of the Tao Te Ching, describes this state of detachment:

“Stop thinking, and end your problems.

What difference between yes and no? Success and failure?”

He speaks of how the masses are caught up in the games of power, success, and external validation while he, alone, moves through life untouched by their illusions. He is called a fool, an outlier, a wanderer—but he alone is free.

This is the ultimate rebellion: to refuse to be caught in the hysteria, resentment, and resignation that fuels control. The sage does not buy into the grand narrative of oppression, nor does he waste energy fighting it. Instead, he walks another path—one of inner sovereignty.

You cannot control a man who does not fear you. You cannot manipulate someone who does not seek your approval. The power structure only exists because so many believe it does.

A World in Harmony vs. a World of Control

Imagine a world where people lived according to the Tao instead of submitting to the dictates of power. A world where people moved like water—fluid, adaptable, untethered.

There would be no need for power hoarding because people would understand that abundance flows naturally. There would be no need for control because people who trust themselves cannot be ruled. The entire infrastructure of tyranny—media manipulation, wealth inequality, fear mongering—would collapse if people simply refused to play the game.

How to Transcend the Control Mechanisms

So how do we, as seekers of the Tao, transcend the efforts of the power elite to control our beliefs, emotions, and lives?

Be like the fool in the Tao Te Ching verse 20 – Refuse to be trapped in the collective hysteria. While others panic, you remain still. While others rage, you laugh.

Question EVERYTHING! – Any truth loudly proclaimed by the powerful likely serves their interests, not yours. Observe reality directly, without intermediaries.

Embrace paradox – The world is not meant to be neat or logical. Trying to force it into binary narratives is a trap. The Tao contains contradictions; wisdom comes from accepting them.

Create your own meaning – Do not let governments or corporations dictate your values. Find joy in the small: poetry, nature, deep conversation. Wealth is not measured in money but in wisdom and connection.

Laugh often – The lunatic fringe wants you to take them seriously. Nothing deflates power like humor. Tyrants thrive on fear and reverence; mockery strips them of both.

Freedom Beyond the Puppet Strings

So, does a deranged leader truly control your life? Only if you let them.

The world may be ablaze with manufactured chaos, but you? You are untethered. A wanderer of the Way, you move freely, unbothered by the illusions of power. While others rage or despair, you walk lightly, a sage among the noise, smiling at the absurdity of it all.

And when the power-hungry demand your obedience, you will simply tip your hat, bow respectfully, and whisper:

“The Tao is not impressed with your illusions.”

Then, with the ease of a passing cloud, you will be gone—off to a gathering of nerds, where paradox is play, knowing nothing is wisdom, and the Tao flows strongest—effortless, boundless, and infinitely.

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Diamond- Michael Scott — aka The Chocolate Taoist

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