Fever

I suspect that much of America has Trumpism fatigue. One day this period will be looked back on as a country looking to cure a resilient cancer but for now the fight is too close to home to draw proper perspective.

Human beings don't advance and don't learn which is why history constantly repeats itself. The same flaws baked into our DNA have us commit the same crimes of short-sightedness and then we are surprised when everything falls apart.

I've more than confirmed in my mind that the appetite for autocracy exists in every nation without exception because a segment of the population is always scared, insecure and completely disinterested in any reality that destroys a personal narrative. It is the same set of qualities that get people sucked into cults and political movements that don't help the largest amount of people. It is always tied to a basic lack of empathy.

I could sit across the table from a Trump cultist and be completely gobsmacked but that surprise has worn off. It's much easier to understand them when you realize that the person has a filter you don't share. They may be more prone to hate some minority group, disinterested or incapable of probing beyond simple slogans and more susceptible to believing in lies.

It would be impractical to cut out people from our lives based on their ability to be duped. So we come to a resolution not to engage so much with that crazy relative at least until their fever has broken; the same one which held the throngs spellbound when listening to Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini.

It wears off and we begin anew until the next strain of fever arrives.