We’re Not Falling Apart by Accident
This week in Get Todd: Dive and Conquer, New Cartoons, Videos on 90/10, and a Right Mind Show episode featuring a media guy and a football coach!
It’s long been my observation that if you wish to confuse a person, you may present him with a difficult problem. But if you wish to divide a nation, you need only present it with a simple one and then make sure everyone is furious about it before they’ve even had their coffee.
We Americans have always been a spirited group. We argue with enthusiasm, vote with conviction, and consider disagreement something of a national pastime. That part isn’t new. What is new is the intensity, the speed, and the strange feeling that every disagreement now comes pre-packaged, pre-heated, and ready to explode on contact. What we are seeing today doesn’t feel organic. It feels… managed.
And I’m just going to say it plainly. I believe globalist billionaires and powerful outside interests are actively working through mainstream media and social media to divide the United States. Not in some cartoonish, secret-lair way. No giant red button labeled “Destroy America.” Nothing that dramatic. Something much more effective: money, messaging, and repetition.
Take George Soros, one of the most well-known and debated figures in this space. Through organizations like the Open Society Foundations, billions of dollars have been directed toward criminal justice reform, voting initiatives, political campaigns, and media efforts. Supporters say it’s about expanding rights and participation. Critics look at it and say, “That’s an awful lot of influence being poured into shaping how this country thinks, votes, and argues.” And here’s where I land: regardless of intent, the result seems to be the same, more division, more tension, and more people convinced the other side isn’t just wrong, but dangerous.
Now, I’m not against people supporting causes they believe in. That’s America. But when that level of money meets a media system that thrives on outrage, and a social media system that rewards anger like it’s a full-time job, you don’t get unity. You get what we have now, a country constantly at each other’s throats.
The mainstream media, which used to at least pretend to deliver the news straight, now often feels like it’s producing episodes of “America: The Meltdown.” Every story is breaking, every issue is urgent, and every disagreement is framed like the fate of civilization hangs in the balance! Social media, meanwhile, has figured out something incredibly important: anger spreads faster than truth. You post something thoughtful, maybe a few likes. You post something outrageous, and suddenly you’re viral, trending, and arguing with 3,000 people named “FreedomDad77.”
And we jump right in. We wake up, grab our phones, and immediately start reacting to headlines we didn’t read, clips we didn’t watch, and opinions we didn’t think through. We argue with strangers, question friends, and start to see neighbors not as neighbors, but as opponents. All of it is being fueled, amplified, and, yes, in many cases, funded.
It’s actually a brilliant system! You don’t need to defeat a country from the outside if you can convince the people inside to tear each other apart. You just keep nudging, keep funding, keep amplifying the loudest and angriest voices, and then you let the country do the rest.
Historically, there’s a name for this: divide and conquer. It’s not new. It’s not subtle. But it works incredibly well, especially when the people being divided are convinced they’re the good guys in every argument, which at the moment is all of us. We’ve turned disagreements into identity, conversations into fights, and “I see it differently” into “you’re everything that’s wrong with this country.” And the uncomfortable truth is… it’s working.
Now, here’s the part nobody wants to hear, but it matters. This only works if we keep playing along. That’s the whole engine. It runs on our outrage, our assumptions, and our willingness to react before we think. Which means we also have the ability to disrupt it.
Imagine pausing before reacting. Imagine asking, “Is this the full story?” Imagine talking to someone you disagree with and not assuming they’re evil. I know, it sounds crazy in today’s environment. Possibly even irresponsible. But it might also be exactly what breaks the cycle.
Look, I’m not stupid. There are powerful interests at play. There is money shaping narratives. There are people who benefit from a divided America. That much seems obvious. What’s less obvious but far more important is this: we don’t have to make it this easy.
Because if the United States is ever defeated from within, it won’t be because someone forced us. It will be because we were too busy arguing to notice. The good news is, we still have a say in how this plays out. The bad news is, we’re going to have to stop yelling long enough to use it.
Welcome to Get Todd.
If you enjoy independent satire, sharp debate, and cartoons that make people yell on the internet, consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Independent voices only survive when readers decide they’re worth supporting.
Early supporters of Get Todd will always be recognized as Founding Members.
Video Episode 7 - The 90/10 Principle!
According to my theory, only 10% of people actually have a thinking brain… and after spending five minutes online, that number might be dropping fast!
Weekly Cartoons!
Share these cartoons with someone who still has common sense!
The Right Mind Show
This week’s guests on The Right Mind Show!
• Mark Zinn— Missouri State Capitol Bureau Chief and BIG weather fan!
• Coach Tom — Football Coach and a wealth of information on other stuff!
Listen to the LIVE show Saturday at 5:00 PM Central.
Listen to the Replays.
This Mother’s Day, Surprise Mom With Some Offensive Merch. From The Get Todd Store!
Shirts, mugs, books, and other dangerous materials are available here:
If you’d like a deeper dive into the cartoons and the story behind them, a couple of my books are available as well.
“The Biden Years” is a collection of political cartoons chronicling the most bizarre presidency in history.
“I’m Offended!” is my memoir about cartooning, comedy, and surviving in a culture that increasingly prefers outrage to humor.
Before They Put Me Behind the Paywall…
Thanks for reading Get Todd. In a world where everyone is yelling, arguing, and forwarding articles they didn’t read, the fact that you made it all the way down here means more than you know!
Quick heads up: the free preview ends in May. After that, the full column, cartoons, and videos move to subscribers.
So if you’re enjoying this, and I assume you are, since you’re still here and haven’t thrown your phone across the room, now’s the time to subscribe early.
Think of it as getting in before the crowd!
Appreciate you being here. More to come.
Todd
©Todd Schowalter Productions • 2026
