The Scariest Election in History

Today is the last day of the scariest, most dreadful election in American history. From here on forward, there is no looking back. What has been consistent during this decade, dare I say it, is that almost all of the vitriol is coming from one side: Donald Trump and his MAGAs. I did not say Republicans because (1) there may not be a Republican party after this election, and (2) no self-respecting Republican will be voting for Trump in this election cycle.

This era of hate started almost a decade ago in 2015, when Trump went down his golden escalator to the delight of the news media owners everywhere. From all I’ve read and learned over the years, I firmly believe that Kamala Harris will win. And, while — after this election — Trump will look down into the valley of life and prison, the MAGAs will remain.

A Slight MAGA Profile

I live in one of the most conservative counties in the deeply Southern state of Florida and have a special vantage point, studying the MAGAs in my neighborhood. The extreme MAGA enthusiasm from years ago is no longer present in my community. Now there are just a couple of flag-wavers announcing stupid shit like, “We the people are pissed off.”

I don’t hate MAGAs and neither do most Democrats, but, boy, do we have a concern about their place in this world and in history. Try as one may to talk to a MAGA about anything related to reality and you get met with hate, vindictiveness, and worse.

One thing I have discovered. While many MAGAs are uneducated (or undereducated), all are uncompromising, living in a black and white world where morality disintegrates and empathy takes on the form of a ghost, in the perfect image of their god, Donald Trump. “Trump voters are resolute in their determination to minimize his ghastly antics, or even to scrub them from their minds.” (The Atlantic, 11/2/24.)

MAGAs believe they love this country more than others and that theirs is the only correct love (god), so they believe that love, their brand of love, must be imposed on others. They fail to recognize that love and hate are on opposites side of a single spectrum. Just like the language found in a George Orwell novel and just like the victims of spousal abuse, they take hate as love. That message is repeatedly indoctrinated into MAGAs heads by language “weaves” (nonsensical language) present at MAGA rallies.

By their very support of a man without character, MAGAs demonstrate that they lack a core set of beliefs that includes morality. By their support of the most racist American in modern history, MAGAs tell the world that they are racist too. They don’t believe in diversity but they do believe that true ‘patriots’ may have to resort to violence to save the country.

While most MAGAs present themselves in public settings as normal Americans, inside themselves, MAGAs seethe, as they see others who don’t agree with them as the enemy, which is an awful lot of people when one thinks about the number of no-MAGAs in this country. Trump’s vindictiveness resonates with them because they too are vindictive.

What’s Next?

After the election, we, the lovers of democracy, need to keep our umbrellas open, forgiving but not forgetting what has transpired over the last decade. We should forgive the traitorous MAGAs for putting our country at such tremendous risk for the past decade but we should not forget who they are. MAGAs will not go away but, maybe, this week, they will feel the consequence of their hate, the loss of power.