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，美國得以一窺它的未來可能如何發展。美軍在南方進行了一次常規演習，引發了各種陰謀論，特別是在得克薩斯州。一些陰謀論相信，這次演習是中國發動侵略的預兆；另一些陰謀論認為，演習將與一次嚴重的行星撞地球正好同時發生。據一個右翼陰謀論網站說，這次名為“翡翠頭盔15”(Jade Helm 15)的演習，代表了“國家根除地方武裝”（homeland eradication of local militants，首字母縮寫為“helm”——譯者注）。都是胡說八道，得州的共和黨州長格雷格?阿博特(Greg Abbot)卻認真了。他保證，配備武裝的得州國民警衛隊會密切監控參與演習的1200人聯邦部隊。這件怪事發生在唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)被提名為共和黨總統候選人的一年以前，我們從中看見了美國分裂的萌芽。