The morning after is coming.
Half of our countrymen [and women] have partaken in a bit too much of the T-rum-punch. I'm talking about that elixir of deliverance they believed would reorder nature and send us all in the way-back machine to a version of America more pure, more moral and definitely more white. The core of his supporters are the angry disenfranchised post-industrial fodder of our hollowed-out heartland. And Evangelicals. They've had honey poured in their ears and are just a little too happy to feed their babies to the beast.
Recently, I heard a reporter traveling through that same heartland asking Trump supporters what they think about the job the POTUS is doing. With few exceptions they intoned that he was doing what he promised and putting money in their pockets because "he alone" could do these things. They are punch drunk. Not the sappy I really love you man type of drunk but more the blood-eyed-frothing-at-the-mouth-crazy-enough-to-kill-you-if-you're-not-onboard-the-Trump-train-to-Hell kind of drunk. Who says evangelicals don't drink?
The hangover will be intense and there will be little relief save for clarity and aspirin. Some will reach for hair of the dog while others will swear off voting altogether. I'm hoping Phizer will come up with a version of Antabuse for stupidity. They should setup carts in front of polling stations and dispense it free of charge. Side effects may include but are in no way limited to improved hygiene, better posture, moving into the right lane when someone flashes their lights at you in rear-view mirror, clarity about your fiancee', finances and less carbs.
Even without such a panacea some will see themselves for the first time, own up to their mistake and be better for it. My fear is that too many will curse the light and double down. For them there will be no tonic nor elixir save for more disgust and disillusionment.
Mores the pity because they're good people who've simply bought into a lie from a professional liar because they need so desperately to believe in their convictions. And therein lies the essence of the problem, that of emotion over thoughtfulness. Beliefs over facts. It's what Hitler used to rally his nation. We know how that turned out.
Despots have always had that working in their favor--the ability to move their base in the direction of and sometimes beyond the firey gates. No one is safe. Just ask a Jew. Or a native American. Or a Bosnian. Or an Armenian. Or a Uyghur. I could keep going but... belief is more powerful than facts.
