Tree: “How long do you think it will take for people to see Bill Gates as a dictator?”

Rock: “Well, I think, like everything, it depends on the environment. Truthfully, I just don’t think there is any energy in it.”

Tree: “Energy?”

Rock: “In my mind there are two factors that are needed to create a fascist society with a dictator; first, there must be a huge amount of frustration energy, and second, a very insecure, but highly charismatic leader.

“As we have seen with Trump. He certainly has the insecurity and charisma, but no matter how much the media tries to sell it, people are not frustrated or miserable enough. You have to remember, the Bolshevik and Maoist revolutions rose from centuries of miserable oppression, and the Nazis rose from a decade of miserable conditions following a humiliating defeat in a brutal war. Two years of quasi-pandemic and crazy social-media antics are not quite the same.”

Tree: “Some of those MAGA people sure do seem intent.”

Rock: “Yeah, but in truth they all have homes, eat food regularly, and have televisions. To me their frustration is more a display of vanity, driven by marketing, than it is real energy. The only people who would actually act out are either mentally unstable or just looking for attention. The release of energy with a real culture changing revolution is primal,.. Where the people literally have no other idea of what to do.”

Tree: “Why does a dictator need to be insecure?”

Rock: “It is the unspoken, symbiotic relationship between leader and follower. The insecure leader seeks the approval of the people with their personality and charisma. What frustrated people want is permission to release their anger and act out their fantasies. This is why dictators are always seen as saviors at first.

“And after the energy dissipates, people are confronted with their own actions, guilt,.. and embarrassment. That is when the savior must turn into a dictator… in order to survive.”

Tree: “That is why people are just as happy at the fall of a dictator as they were during the rise of the dictator. Just like we are just as happy to be sober again as we were in getting drunk in the first place.”

Rock: “That is exactly right! And blaming that one friend, the one that is always the life of the party, for making us drink too much. During the party, not only did we eagerly follow, but we egged them on as well… Passively guiding them on how to lead us.”

Tree: “So, I guess the answer to my question is that people will see Bill Gates as a dictator right after the energy dissipates.”

Rock: “That would be true if the energy were there,.. or he had the charisma. None of our billionaires have much in the form of charisma. They are simply not ‘of the people’.”

Tree: “So, no dictator then?”

Rock: “I’m sure they will try. We will have to wait and see. Everything evolves. Even how dictators come into power. Perhaps he is only a front man. Part of a larger group.”

Tree: “A group of dictators working together. Isn’t that oligarchy? I wonder how many focus groups and marketing profiles were done to find the exact personality type a dictator should have for each nation and region?”

Rock: “Australia and New Zealand get Bill Gates, and North America gets Elon Musk?”

Tree: “What are Elon Musk’s tunnels under Vegas really doing?”

Rock: “I could only guess. Probably siphoning off water from Lake Mead into a private aquifer.”

Tree: “How do we survive?”

Rock: “Stay focused and be aware of the process, I would guess. Do not let anyone control our behavior,.. by edict or by permission.”