I have resisted writing about the recent election for one excellent reason. I find the outright denial of reality an exceptionally soothing response to an event too painful and astonishing to fully accept. It didn’t happen. It could not have happened. But, of course, it did.

Just about half of all Americans who bothered to vote actually cast their ballots for a known degenerate of questionable mental stability who is clearly limited by transparent cognitive shortcomings. Never mind the sycophants who rush to his defense, and whose devotion might be explained by self-serving motives, those who worked closely with him during his first go around (at least those who had some competence and were not part of the Trump cult) universally disdained this man. They saw the incompetence and overweening narcissism up close and personal. Many of them spent their days not governing America but simply keeping a childlike tyrant from doing irreparable harm.

Now, he will soon be back in power. And this time, as we have already seen, he will not surround himself with anyone who has demonstrated prior competence, or who follows abiding principles, or who is committed to the best interests of this nation. No, Trump has already surrounded himself with toadies dedicated to the whims of an authoritarian figurehead utterly incapable of empathic feelings or appreciating anything beyond his own narrow self-interests. Of course, it is not clear whether Trump has any clear agenda beyond making money and staying out of prison. But those pulling his strings do, from self-serving billionaires like Elon Musk to nationalist-totalitarian types like Stephen Miller and Steven Bannon. They have dark visions remarkably similar to those well-known despotic figures who plunged the world into darkness back when I was born.

What is the best we might hope for over these next few years? If lucky, America will survive. However, the nation will be wracked by hard right earthquakes like massive deportations, the widespread persecution of political opponents, the abandonment of law and due-process, the abandonment of democratic principles, and the wholesale destruction of systems and programs dedicated to the public good. The massive redistribution of resources and power up the pyramid to those at the top will accelerate exponentially, perhaps to the point where restoring any sense of full democratic participation could well be lost. And that merely covers the domestic harm. Internationally, the alliance that has preserved Western values will be dismantled, at least partially, while global threats such as climate change may pass over the irrevocable point of no return.

At worst, what we consider the American experiment in democracy and the rule of law will be threatened, perhaps mortally. I would not dismiss Trump’s earlier assertion to his evangelical supporters that, if elected once more, this would be the last time voters would need to trudge to the polls for our quadrennial exercise in self-governance. Power, once more in the hands of the MAGA cabal, will not willingly be surrendered a second time. They will be better prepared at subverting the will of the people in the future, learning from their abortive, though extra-legal and even violent attempts, to retain power in 2020.

I’m not sure what is in Trump’s head, other than making money off of his return to power and striking back at his legions of so-called enemies. However, I’m pretty sure I can intuit the intentions of those who will be pulling his strings … since the gentlest version of the ominous MAGA agenda has been laid out in Project 2025. Their private aspirations likely involve an extreme version of totalitarian control, including an overt oppression of all whom they consider enemies. Trump has already made noises about going after those in Congress who dared investigate his attempts to subvert the constitutional exercise underlying the peaceful transfer of power in 2020.

It is hard to imagine how low the American electorate has sunk. My friends and associates from abroad are appalled and quite anxious about the future. The most common reaction I get is ‘whats wrong with you people.’ This election took place during my recent river trip on the Danube. I assumed I was surrounded by a typical cross-section of affluent fellow citizens and, in the days running up to the final voting, wondered might be gleaned from my travel associates.

I decided to wear the cap pictured above, or a similar one that said Make Lying Wrong Again. I looked forward to seeing what kind of reactions I might get, presuming my fellow travelers got my obvious declaration of personal political leanings. Many did, and the response from those was universally positive. At least a half dozen wanted to take snaps of my headgear. Many others expressed support and a desperate hope that their countrymen and women had not completely lost touch with reality. We also had a number of dinner conversations with like-minded folk on our river tour. We all looked upon the election with hope coupled with a nagging sense of dread. This election, unlike many others where emotions were hyped up, just might be a watershed moment in our history. This time around, the fears might be based in reality.

The belated lesson for me, I suspect, was that small and skewed samples tell us nothing. In fact, they can be misleading. I even discounted all the earlier polls suggesting a close election. I could not accept that, in the light of day, some 77 million adults would select the most patently incompetent and dangerous human being possible to lead the country. I mean, really, they could not possibly be that dense and short-sighted. Not since Aaron Burr had a top American political figure carried out such overt treasonous acts … never mind his depraved lifestyle and questionable ability to comprehend basic facts, connect the simplest dots, and feel the most basic form of empathy for others.

I’ve read all the excuses and facile explanations. Biden waited too long to bow out. White America in rural areas felt threatened or at least disenfranchised. The pace of change was unnerving. Males, young and old, feared losing their inherent privileges. And the economy was bad or, even more laughable, that eggs cost too much.

There you go. Some 550,000 Americans died in two World Wars (plus tens of thousands of others in other 20th century conflicts) ostensibly to preserve the essential character of the American experiment. But let’s vote it all away because eggs cost too much. The narrowness of perspective beggars belief, especially when one considers that inflation had been elevated, in part at least, because the economy was robust and growing so fast. From abroad, the post-pandemic American economy was the envy of the world. When I was involved in policy issues, we would have wet our pants to enjoy such levels of job creation and wage growth, especially at the bottom.

But let’s forget that and vote for the guy who is confused about who actually pays for the tarriffs he sought to impose on imports (likely spawning a ruinous trade war). Let’s go with the incompetent who ran several businesses into the ground, including a casino, which is considered a virtual license to steal … a genius who defrauded customers, cheated on taxes, and exhausted all domestic sources of loans. Let’s put in the White House a wanna-be totalitarian who functions as an indebted asset to our international enemies while insulting our long-term allies.

Of course, people get the governance they want and deserve. I doubt Trump’s election had much to do with inflation. After all, the annualized rate had fallen to about 2.5 percent in recent times. Some studies demonstrate that income growth had largely offset price increases. In any case, consumer spending remains robust with little evidence of belt-tightening that we’ve seen in other times when economic hardship was a real thing. Even if the economic doomsayers were correct, why in God’s name would you vote for a man who has run most of his businesses into the ground, stiffed many of his vendors, cheated his customers, and never done anything for the common man except mock them. There is little doubt that Trump and his wealthy minions will drain our nation’s wealth for personal gain. This is their most basic instinct.

If there is one constant about the Trump personality, it is that he sees all in a transactional manner where his personal gain is all that matters. In the end, this election was about the most basic human fears and emotions. Half of all Americans were driven by their deepest anxieties about gender, race, nationality, privilege, and cultural familiarity. They were driven mostly by misogyny, racism, and a crass tribalism. Reason and empathy became victims to their innermost irrational fears.

There are many proffered explanations for the Trump phenomenon, which I cannot go into here. But the breakup of our information sources into a kaleidoscope of news venues that cater to one’s priors must rank at the top. Low information voters get virtually no input that counters their priors, mainstream outlets being replaced by slanted versions that keep a captive audience engaged through increasingly distorted but highly charged emotional content. The rise of talk radio and agenda-driven outlets guarantees that non-discerning folk can be exposed to a unending stream of personalized propoganda. Goebbels, Hitler’s propoganda guru, would salivate at the power wielded today by the purveyors of skewed right-wing news. Many Democrats hang on to the old shibbeloth that voters will respond to rational arguments and evidence. Sadly, this not true, even if it once had been in the past. Americans want someone to tell them why they feel uneasy or anxious while providing them with easy, palliative solutions. You fear those who don’t look like you. I will round them up and get rid of them. Sound familiar. It worked like a charm in 1930’s Germany.

I cannot say I care much anymore. I am old and, fortunately, will pass from this scene sooner rather than later. However, I do feel quite bad for the generations behind me. They will bear the consequences of today’s folly. For me, any emotional attachment to this country has been severed. How can anyone retain any sense of allegiance to a people so bereft of common sense and any minimal level of decency. As I’ve often said, my one regret in life is that I had not emigrated to a civilized society when I was younger.

I would not be surprised if Lady Liberty did not hike back to France one of these days.