Image by GloriaAgostina from Pixabay
I have quoted from and posted any number of times an article by Ben Shapiro from before the 2016 election which compares uncritical Trump supporters to people in abusive relationships: “You Can’t Pretend Trump’s Flaws Away.” I have said, and still say, that it’s the best piece written at that time to explain the mindset that led normally sensible people to vote with enthusiasm for the man who now occupies the White House. Shapiro starts the article with a description of a friend who was dating a jerk. No one could convince her, however, that he was a jerk because she wasn’t in love with that real problematic person. She was in love with her fantasy version of him, and as long as that illusion persisted she simply could not be budged from her devotion. Then the great line:
It’s bizarre to realize that for large swaths of the Republican party, Donald Trump has become that abusive boyfriend.
This morning at around 2:00 as I lay awake in bed (I was having one of my insomniac nights), I realized that my appetite for continuing to post on this page has dried up. In particular I was thinking about the next episode of my political podcast in which I was planning to give a brief overview of the stretch of time from June 2015 to the 2016 conventions, tracing how Donald Trump became the nominee. But the thought that struck me was, ‘What’s the point?’ I’ve been posting my own and others’ articles for well over a year and half, spending hours that could have been allocated better, and to what avail? I know there are people who have really appreciated my efforts and have been introduced to writers and publications they wouldn’t otherwise have known about, and that’s a good thing. But have I changed any hearts and minds? I would say that, sadly, the answer is almost certainly no.
The thought has occurred to me that I should probably explain what I am hoping will happen as a result of the disastrous 2016 election. I’ve posted article after article lambasting the Trump presidency, but to what end? What’s the point?