The Bathroom Mirror Doctrine
Why Nobody Thinks They're the Villain—Even When They Call for Civil War
Cold Open
Nobody ever sees a villain in their bathroom mirror.
Not the man with the Molotov, not the drone operator in Nevada, not the senator calling for war against his own citizens, and definitely not you—good, reasonable, liberal you—clicking “like” on the post declaring someone an enemy combatant.
Because we never are the fascists. We just act like them when it's “necessary.”
I. The Mirror Is Political
Every regime has its monsters. But monsters are rarely self-aware. They don’t wear nametags that say Authoritarian. They wear mission patches. They wave flags. They speak in slogans. And they all, without exception, believe they are on the side of justice.
The guy planting an IED outside the Green Zone thinks he's resisting imperialism.
The guy piloting the Reaper drone thinks he’s protecting democracy.
And the guy posting about “domestic extremists” on social media thinks he’s preserving the republic.
They all looked in the mirror this morning and saw the hero.
II. One Man’s Terrorist
This isn’t new. The line between “freedom fighter” and “terrorist” is older than the republic. George Washington led a guerrilla insurgency against the British Empire. Nelson Mandela was on a terrorist watchlist until 2008. The CIA funded mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan who later became... well, you know.
Mujahideen = Freedom Fighters (1980s)
Taliban = Terrorists (2000s)
ISIS = Terrorists (2010s), but when they hold territory and counter Assad, suddenly “rebels” or "anti-authoritarian forces" (in select narratives)
We manufacture these binaries to feel good about war. To make our bombs moral and our prisons righteous.
But the truth is simpler: it's not the action that defines the label; it's who’s writing the headline.
III. The Enemy Combatant Frame
Calling someone an “enemy combatant” isn’t analysis—it’s spellcasting.
“Enemy combatant” is not a neutral phrase. It’s a permission slip: for surveillance, silencing, banishment, drone strikes, political imprisonment, and moral cleansing.
You don’t debate an enemy combatant. You neutralize them.
You don’t argue with a terrorist. You drone them.
You don’t share a nation with a traitor. You purge them.
It’s not political discourse. It’s war cosplay with the moral stakes turned up to eleven.
And now? Some on the Left are openly calling Trump a "domestic enemy combatant."
That phrase doesn’t land softly. It invites state-level war language into a civilian political environment. So ask yourself:
Does the U.S. military see Trump as a terrorist or a threat to the republic?
Does the DOJ? The FBI? The sheriff down the road?
How about the average gun owner among the 500 million legally and illegally held firearms?
Who do they see when they look in the mirror?
It is not a given that the institutional state will accept the "enemy combatant" frame. It is not clear that the armed populace would back that play. In fact, calling Trump a terrorist in a country where tens of millions see him as a liberator may be the kind of fantasy that dies screaming when it meets reality.
You and whose army? becomes more than a rhetorical question. It becomes a logistics problem.
If only 20% of the country believes Trump is a terrorist, can they command, control, and suppress the 80% who don’t? And what happens when 80% start believing that you are the threat?
Be very careful which mirror you shatter. You may need it to see who’s behind you.
IV. Remediation: From Sun Tzu to Machiavelli to Modern Chaos
Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, warns that you must know your enemy and yourself. But relativism makes both unknowable. When everyone is a potential fascist or hero depending on the lens, you can’t build stable doctrine.
Machiavelli urges rulers to be feared when necessary and loved when possible. But in our age, fear and love are performed rather than earned, and social media becomes a court of theatrical statecraft.
Clausewitz said war is politics by other means. Today, politics is war by every means. Narrative control is air superiority. Memes are artillery.
What happens when relativism dominates?
You destroy the ability to distinguish friend from foe.
You collapse the chain of command. Who gives orders when truth itself is on trial?
You make "othering" impossible—not ethically, but functionally. And without a coherent "other," no movement, no cause, no nation can define itself.
Relativism feels humane until it paralyzes. Then it invites chaos.
V. Narrative Supremacy
Control the story, and you control the legitimacy. When people say “He’s a convicted felon,” they’re not just stating a fact. They’re saying, “This mark is real. This stain is moral. This confirms what I already believe.”
It doesn’t matter how he got there.
It doesn’t matter if the process was fair.
It only matters that now they can say, “See? We were right.”
They confuse the marking with the meaning. They confuse justice with spectacle.
And they hate when you ask: “Would you be saying the same thing if the roles were reversed?”
VI. The Fool with a Mirror
"He's both the freedom fighter and the terrorist in the same way that you're a terrorist to him and a freedom fighter in the bathroom mirror."
That line strips away sanctimony. It reminds people their opponent also believes they are the good guy. And in doing so, it collapses the fantasy that our team wears white hats by nature, and theirs by malice.
They want the mirror to reflect only virtue.
You showed them ambiguity.
VII. War by Other Memes
When a side can no longer imagine the humanity of its enemies, it starts fantasizing about their removal. Not just politically. Existentially.
First you mock them.
Then you deplatform them.
Then you jail them.
Then, if the word “insurrection” sticks, you call them enemies of the state.
And if you resist this progression—if you say, “Hey, maybe that mirror works both ways”—you’re branded as “confused,” “embarrassing,” or “on something.”
No, I’m just awake.
Closing: The Real Villain
If you want to see the villain, don’t look for the guy holding the sign. Look for the one who can’t imagine being wrong. That’s where the real danger lives.
Because villains don’t think they’re evil. They think they’re saving something.
And the mirror? It never lies.
But we do.
FAQ
Q: Are you saying there’s no such thing as a terrorist?
A: No. I'm saying the label is often political. Acts of violence against civilians for political goals are terrorism. But who gets that label is often based on allegiance, not behavior.
Q: Doesn’t relativism protect extremists?
A: It can, yes. That’s the danger. Relativism is useful for empathy but disastrous for clarity. You need structure to respond decisively.
Q: Isn’t this just bothsidesism?
A: No. It’s frame awareness. I’m not saying both sides are equally right. I’m saying both believe they are.
Q: What does this have to do with command and control?
A: If labels are fluid and truth is subjective, then leadership becomes impossible. Orders mean nothing in a fog of postmodern war.
Glossary
Enemy Combatant: A designation that removes the individual from civilian legal protections, often used to justify extraordinary measures.
Freedom Fighter: A term used to frame rebels or insurgents in a positive moral light, often depending on geopolitical alignment.
Relativism: The idea that truth and morality are not absolute, but instead dependent on context, perspective, or culture.
Othering: The process of defining a group as fundamentally different and often threatening; central to building political unity.
Narrative Sovereignty: Control over the dominant story or interpretation of events, crucial to legitimacy and power.
Remediation: Revisiting or reframing older texts (like Sun Tzu or Machiavelli) in the context of modern issues.
Command and Control: Military or organizational term for the ability to issue directives and expect them to be followed.