‘We’re all slaves’: Denzel Washington drops his two cents on the ongoing political turmoil in America and it’s a million-dollar wisdom

The U.S. presidential elections left our hopes for a more progressive America flickering like a dying candle. However, Denzel Washington‘s wisdom might just be the balm we need to ease the political burn.

America will be led by a convicted criminal AKA President Trump for the next four years. And his first order of business? Making America “great” again by gutting the Department of Education. How progressive. But as bad as it sounds, Denzel Washington reminded us that the grass might only be looking greener on the other side. While we would still choose Kamala Harris as our President over Trump’s fascist regime any day, Washington says that “it’s all politics. All promises unkept.”

Now no shade at Harris or the Democrats, but the Gladiator 2 star dropped a harsh and cold truth bomb that’s hard to ignore. In the wake of all the Trump-induced heartbreak, Washington reminded us that, at the end of the day, the general public, at all times, is “being manipulated by both sides.” In an interview with The Sunday Times, editor Jonathan Dean got Washington to drop his two cents on American politics: it’s all a game, and we’re the pawns.

“You know, it’s so easy to stand outside America and say this and that. Turn around, you know? Pick a country. Any one. It’s all politics. All promises unkept. And now with the information age the way it is — if anything — left, right, whatever had better learn how to use those tools to manipulate the people.”

What the actor tried to get across to people is the understanding that politics everywhere is so rigged that the general public can only hope to have any real power. All parties, be it America’s Red and Blue, the U.K.’s Conservative and Labour, India’s BJP and INC, every last political party live off the manipulation of its country’s people. Sure we have a right to vote and elect a leader, but in Washington’s words, “Power to the people? Yeah, they had it once — it was called the Stone Age.”

Now if we channel our inner Aristotle and meditate on Washington’s words, we might just stumble upon a gem about the powerlessness of the common man. The only time man had true authority over its governance was when there was no governing system at all. Fast forward to the modern era, “We’re all slaves to information now.” As Washington wisely puts it, “Whatever you feel about the leaders like this guy’s crazy or the other one is sane, you’d better realize you’re being manipulated by both sides.”

And think about it—If you know there was an “assassination attempt” on Trump, it’s because of the media. And if you believe the Biden-Harris cabinet miraculously slashed inflation, it’s because the media reported such flashing numbers and reports that none of us can really verify. And who controls this media? The same Democrats and the Republicans. So in all reality, politics is just a battle for who has more hold over the media to manipulate people and gain power.

But how do we handle all this truth bomb and continue being sane? Washington might have an idea—”Go to the movies.”