"And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come!' Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword."
Rev 6:3-4
The key identifying feature of the Second Seal in the Revelation to John is the removal of peace.
The global polarity and division we see today became far more pronounced after the “conquering effect” and lockdowns associated with the global "crown-virus" pandemic. It acted as an accelerant:
- It exacerbated distrust in institutions.
- It accelerated conspiracy culture.
- It deepened ideological fractures.
- It boosted populist and anti-establishment narratives.
This polarization has multiple drivers, including both left-wing radicalization and the more recent rise of the alt-right.
The alt-right is essentially nationalism that has become distorted and unhealthy. Instead of civic pride and shared democratic values, it turns nationalism into an identity-based, exclusionary ideology rooted in fear, cultural purity, and “us vs. them” thinking. It replaces unity with division, and relies on resentment, conspiracy narratives, and hostility toward pluralism. In short: it’s nationalism weaponized.
Some claim it was created in the United States, but the alt-right existed in the background long before MAGA. MAGA dramatically amplified it, normalized parts of it, and exported its style internationally—but it did not originate it.
Elements of this worldview now appear across many Western democracies: the U.S., Canada, Poland, Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia, Scandinavia, and even parts of Latin America such as Brazil and Argentina.
