This week’s episode of Lore by Aaron Mahnke (listen here) sent a shiver down my spine — not because it was spooky (though it was), but because of how eerily relevant it felt.
In it, Aaron retells an old folktale — one with more teeth than most people remember. A clever fox, lured by the reflection of the moon in a well, jumps in hoping it’s a wheel of cheese. Realizing too late that he’s trapped, he hatches a plan. When a hungry wolf comes along, the fox spins a tale: “Look down there! A whole wheel of cheese, just waiting to be eaten!” The wolf, wide-eyed and gullible, climbs into the second bucket to fetch it. As the wolf descends, the fox rises — lifted out of the well by the counterbalance — and runs off, laughing. The wolf, now stuck at the bottom, is left to drown in his own foolishness.
The tale is simple but sharp: sometimes the one selling the lie already knows it’s a lie. And the real cost is paid by the one who believes it.
And I couldn’t help but think of MAGA.
Cultural Origins of the Parable
This fable of the fox and the wolf has roots in European folklore, with one of its oldest versions appearing in 15th-century Scottish poetry — specifically Robert Henryson’s The Fox, the Wolf and the Husbandman. The fox, clever and manipulative, repeatedly escapes punishment through wit, often at the expense of the trusting but foolish wolf. Similar motifs appear in Jewish, Slavic, and Arabic storytelling traditions, usually highlighting the dangers of uncritical belief and misplaced trust.
There’s a fitting irony in how timeless this lesson is — and how little we seem to learn from it.
MAGA and the Moon in the Well
There’s something haunting about a mass movement built on illusion. Something tragic about millions of people convinced they see the moon — when it’s really just the same old water, swirling with lies.
MAGA didn’t rise on facts. It rose on feelings, on stories spun from fear, nostalgia, and grievance. It offered a shiny reflection: of a stronger past, a better version of “us,” and a man who promised to fix everything. But what it delivered — and continues to deliver — is confusion, division, and a dangerous refusal to reckon with truth.
It’s the moon in the well, all over again.
But worse — because in this version, Trump is the fox. He saw the reflection first. He jumped in with ambition, ego, and nothing to lose. And when he realized he was in trouble — legally, politically, or morally — he pointed to the water and convinced millions of people that salvation was down there. That if they just climbed into the bucket, everything would be theirs.
And they believed him.
The Cost of Believing
The wolf’s mistake wasn’t just trusting the fox. It was wanting the moon so badly, he didn’t stop to question how it got into a well.
That’s the kind of belief MAGA feeds on — hungry, desperate, and uncritical. The kind that clings to slogans, chants, and fantasies instead of facts. The kind that jumps before looking.
And while Trump rises — lifted out of trouble by followers who pay his legal bills and echo his lies — many of them are stuck. Drowning in debt, isolation, disillusionment. Left behind in the very America they were promised would be “great again.”
It’s not the first time in history that blind loyalty led people to ruin. In 1978, over 900 followers of cult leader Jim Jones died in the Jonestown massacre — not because they were evil, but because they trusted the wrong person with absolute devotion. Jones preyed on fear, isolation, and a yearning for utopia. He manipulated, gaslit, and isolated his followers until, in their eyes, his word became gospel.
They didn’t just drink poisoned Kool-Aid — they swallowed a narrative.
The comparison may seem stark, but the psychology is chillingly similar. When a leader builds a myth around himself and convinces his followers that only he can save them — even from imaginary threats — the outcome is never liberation. It’s control. And sometimes, it’s fatal.
Clarity, Not Cheese
This blog isn’t for the ones still in the well. It’s for the ones starting to question the moon’s shape. The ones hearing the splash and wondering if they’ve been tricked.
Because the truth is: Trump never believed the cheese was real. He just needed someone else to believe it long enough to pull him out.
We need to stop jumping. Start questioning. Start noticing the buckets, the levers, the games.
Be the One Who Doesn’t Fall
In a world of trickster foxes and echoing wells, the bravest thing we can do is pause — and think.
The moon is still in the sky. Real. Distant. Honest.
But what Trump offers isn’t the moon. It’s a trap.
And we’ve been fooled long enough.
References & Resources
- Lore by Aaron Mahnke: “The Moon in the Well”
- The Washington Post Fact Checker – Trump’s false or misleading claims
- PolitiFact – Donald Trump False Statements
- The Guardian – Cascade of Lies, January 2025
- ABC News – Remembering the Jonestown Tragedy
Tommy Karr 