Do you remember that scene in The Matrix, when Keanu Reeves has to choose between the red pill and the blue pill?

Of course you do. That’s because this meme gets referenced constantly. It feels like it crystallizes so much of what’s happening right now.

There’s good reason for that. Binary oppositions drive everything in society. Even if you try to avoid them, you can’t. You get dragged into a world where you must pick sides. You must decide between the two teams—which one will you join?

You never get more than two options. Have you noticed that?

Maybe it has always been that way. We see binary conflicts defining society going back to the dawn of recorded history—you can read about them in Herodotus and Thucydides.

But this tendency for fault lines to split into two is even older than the history books. Just consider the case of those two contentious siblings, Cain and Abel. Even back then, there were just two sides to the conflict.

That has never changed. Even World Wars and Cold Wars are just binary oppositions. And, of course, politics.

Just consider the crazy divide between blue and green in ancient Rome. From our perspective, this battle—which started as a conflict between two chariot racing teams with different colors—makes no sense. It obviously caused more harm than good, but continued for a thousand years.

Here’s a link if you want to learn more. The similarity with our own situation is uncanny and disturbing.

We look back at this and laugh at the opponents—who fought each other instead of pushing back against authoritarian leaders. But are we any smarter in our own polarized encampments?

But today I want to focus on the new divergence. And it’s not the one you’re thinking about.

This is a new binary opposition, but currently in its early stages. Yet it may turn out to be the most significant dividing line for the next generation.

For better or worse, this will be the new red-pill-versus-blue-pill choice. You can’t avoid it, and (as always) there are just two options. For your own protection, you need to start noticing this right now.

You already belong to one of the two teams. And you can figure out which side you’re on by answering these eight questions.