Indeed darker days are coming. I think the late George Carlin in one of his ominous stand-up performances said that we live under the illusion we live in a democracy since our representatives have been bought by conservative and liberal corporate interests and we are slaves to them. That’s the largest part of the bad news going on now for many years since the late 1970s.

Part Two: Trump belongs to a cult of personality. His rhetoric is childlike with matching intellect. He is like a commoner with an over-stuffed ego. The people that identify with him see a path to The American Dream Myth because they believe in the strong individualist akin to “John Wayne”. Trump and the “strong individualist men of the 1950s” are seen as saviors from a fiendishly complex world of the rich controlling the world and the existential climate crisis, etc. So whether they are the MAGA common folk or the aspiring rich and greedy they favor Trump-like characters.

The good news is the progressive wave amongst young people that have not yet been bought by money, greed and power are slowly taking office. The bad news is that this will take a long time to fulfill and we don’t have much time because the effects of the climate crisis are upon us.

Still, I have faith that eventually “we will overcome”.