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This time, the nation was alert. Back in 2016, those of us who supported Donald Trump at least had the excuse of not knowing what sociopathy could look like, and at least we had the presumption to believe that the presidency was not just a man, but an institution larger than man. , with legal and traditional mechanisms to ensure it never goes off the rails.

In 2020, after the chaos, disruption, and incompetence, we knew much better. And most other Americans did too, voting to impeach him that fall. And when his criminal attempt to steal the election culminated in the violence of January 6, his trial was justified.

So this year there was no excuse. We knew everything we needed to know, even without the mendacious rage about Ohioans eating pets, the fantasies about shooting journalists and arresting political opponents as “enemies of the people,” even apart from the evidence presented in court and the convictions in one that demonstrated their abject criminality.

We knew it and have known it for years. Every American knew it, or should have known it. The man elected president last night is a depraved and brazen pathological liar, a brazen fraudster, a sociopathic criminal, a man who has no moral or social conscience, empathy or remorse. He has no respect for the Constitution or the laws he swears to uphold, and he also exhibits emotional and cognitive deficiencies that seem to be intensifying, and that will only worsen his vileness. He represents everything we should aspire to not be and everything we should teach our children not to emulate. The only hope is that he is completely incompetent, and even that is a double-edged sword, because his incompetence can often do as much damage as his malevolence. Your government will be full of corrupt crooks, spiteful maniacs, and morally bankrupt sycophants, who will follow your lead and carry out your directives, because that’s who they are and want to be.

Tyler Austin Harper: Blame Biden

I say all this not with anger, but with deep, profound sadness. For centuries, the United States has been a model of democracy and reasoned self-government, in part because the framers understood the dangers of demagogues and saw fit to build a system with safeguards to prevent such men from undermining it, and because our people and their leaders, Out of respect for the common good and the people of this country, they adhered to its rules and regulations. The system was never perfect, but it inched toward its own improvement, albeit in fits and starts. But in the end, the system the framers established (and, indeed, all constitutional regimes, no matter how well designed) cannot protect a free people from themselves.

My own hopes and beliefs about what would happen last night were sadly and deeply mistaken; Like many, I have the emotional and intellectual defect, if any, of assuming that people are wiser and more decent than they actually turn out to be. . I feel chastened and distressed by my seemingly naive view of human nature.

I dare not predict the future again, particularly when it comes to elections and other forms of mass behavior. But I dare say that I fear we will see a profound degradation in this nation’s ability to govern itself rationally and fairly, with political freedom and equality under the rule of law. Because that’s not actually a prediction. It is a logical deduction based on the words and deeds of the president-elect, his enablers and his supporters, and a long and often lamentable record of human history. Let’s get ready.