What Is Going On?

11-27-24
   What is wrong with people? I mean, what the hell? Despite how obviously unqualified, dangerous, narcissistic, and authoritarian Donald Trump is, millions of Americans voted him into office yet again. When you look at the whole situation objectively, Kamala Harris should have won this election by a landslide, but instead, well, we know what happened.
   So I ask again: what is wrong with people?
   Everyone in this country and around the world has seen for years how outrageous and dangerous Donald Trump is. His behavior is often extremely narcissistic, and he lies to an absolutely extreme degree. Truthfully, his lying is so severe that many people would consider it pathological. He makes repeated prejudiced statements about entire communities, encouraging hate and xenophobia and also promotes undemocratic authoritarian ideas.
   Want some examples? Here you go. He still spreads ridiculous lies about the 2020 election trying to claim that he won it somehow when the overwhelming evidence proves that he clearly and legitimately lost. It’s gotten so bad that a significant percentage of the Republican Party automatically believes that if their candidate does not win an election, the election must have been rigged, even when they don’t have any legitimate evidence to back up their claims. This is extremely undemocratic and is a technique which has been used by dictators in the past to gain and solidify their power. He made those outrageous, racist, xenophobic, hurtful comments about Haitian immigrants in Ohio claiming that they were eating dogs when there’s absolutely no evidence that ever occurred. He referred to undocumented immigrants as “poisoning the blood of our country,” language that is commonly used by racist white supremacists. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
   Yet despite all this, millions of Americans voted him back into office. A great many of those who did this are blind followers who believe everything he says while there are others who go along with him despite knowing that what he is saying and doing are wrong. Both trends are deeply disturbing.
   And now with Trump regaining the White House and Republicans establishing control over both Chambers of Congress, millions of Americans are deeply concerned and worried about the future. Female reproductive rights and the rights of LGBTQ Americans are seriously at risk now. People are scared, and with good reason. Same gender couples are afraid Republicans may ban same gender marriage, and many existing same gender couples are terrified that Republicans may even dissolve their marriages, The Transgender Community is especially worried because we’ve seen how Republicans have been viciously attacking them in red states around the country and how Trump and other Republicans maliciously assailed them in the 2024 election campaigns. LGBTQ minors are also at especially high risk since we’ve seen how Republicans in red states have been attacking the rights of LGBTQ minors in schools, despite the fact that such attacks worsen Queer students’ quality of life as well as increase their suicide rate.
   Where will things go during the next 4 years? Time will tell. And for those of us who realize the threat to our rights and democratic values that Trump and many other Republicans pose, we need to speak up making our voices heard, educate others, and make certain to vote in huge numbers in future elections.