I think that most Americans today are afraid. Trump marketed his campaign on what the late Hunter Thompson called "fear & loathing." Alas, most people cope with fear using denial. Trump always builds on that denial by offering a string of bogus fantasies to reassure them that even though THEY do not know how to cope - HE DOES. Once we deport all the migrants, and shut down foreign competition, America will be great again. We'll all be rich! Vote to make America great again! Most voters did just that.
Of course, those of us whose brains still have functioning gaslight detectors have seen ample evidence that Trump is a clueless jerk who lies, cheats, and steals to con people into thinking he is a brilliant business tycoon rather than the felonious business buffoon he really is. Sadly, by voters boarding the MAGA train to nowhere, they have increased the odds that their worst fears and loathings will come to pass.
All of my economist friends see recession on the horizon once Trump starts tinkering with tariffs and removing federal guardrails on banks, monopolies, taxation, the Federal Reserve, and finance. Sadly, when that starts happening, fear will likely not trigger action. MAGA voters will pull the proverbial covers over their heads in denial so they do not have to look at the quality of their lives trickling up to the new oligarchs in charge like the DOGE Boys. But that cannot last for long before household financial reality kicks in and they can no longer afford to ignore their mistake last November. But that mistake was engineered by both parties.
It is difficult to overlook that just like in 2020, 2024 voters really had no significant alternative other than, the lesser of two mediocre candidates: Trump vs the un-Trump - Biden then Harris. That situation was co-engineered by the Democratic Party. We now know that the Dems knew Biden was in mental decline almost from inauguration Day in 2021. They refused to Article 25 him to hold on to power and hid the fact from the American people (Gee, like the GOP did with Reagan?). That was probably because the DNC had no plan for what-next. However, when the TV debate unmasked Biden's dementia, the coverup was blown and Dems had to offer voters an alternative - VP Harris - more of the same. Alas, by next New Years Day 2026, everybody will likely realize that more of the same was their better option.
This will all boil down to one inevitable conclusion. Both political parties are corrupt as heck. So also is our court system and our incompetent do-nothing Congress that is the direct result of Citizens United. That all needs to be fixed. It might help if people return to their churches for a moral compass tune-up, and reject the greedy oligarchy that has overwhelmed our Democracy. Hopeful New Year!
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