In the summer of 2015, America caught a glimpse of how its future could unfold. The US military conducted a routine exercise in the south that triggered a cascade of conspiracy theories, particularly in Texas. Some believed the manoeuvre was the precursor to a Chinese invasion; others thought it would coincide with a massive asteroid strike. The exercise, called Jade Helm 15, stood for “homeland eradication of local militants”, according to one of the right’s dark fantasy sites. Greg Abbot, Texas’s Republican governor, took these ravings seriously. He ensured that the 1,200 federal troops were closely monitored by the armed Texas National Guard. In that bizarre episode, which took place a year before Donald Trump became the Republican nominee for president, we see the germs of an American break-up.
在2015年，美国得以一窥它的未来可能如何发展。美军在南方进行了一次常规演习，引发了各种阴谋论，特别是在得克萨斯州。一些阴谋论相信，这次演习是manbetx3.0 发动侵略的预兆；另一些阴谋论认为，演习将与一次严重的行星撞地球正好同时发生。据一个右翼阴谋论网站说，这次名为“翡翠头盔15”(Jade Helm 15)的演习，代表了“国家根除地方武装”（homeland eradication of local militants，首字母缩写为“helm”——译者注）。都是胡说八道，得州的共和党州长格雷格•阿博特(Greg Abbot)却认真了。他保证，配备武装的得州国民警卫队会密切监控参与演习的1200人联邦部队。这件怪事发生在唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)被提名为共和党总统候选人的一年以前，我们从中看见了美国分裂的萌芽。