I’ve recently diagnosed, much to the chagrin of Trump supporters, that Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) works both ways. It’s not just a mental malady afflicting liberals and Democrats, but one that also afflicts, unbeknownst them, conservatives and Republicans. In both cases, it strips those suffering from it of their objectivity and obscures reality, which opens them up to unprecedented end-time deception.
Do you remember when Barack Obama was being described as a living inkblot or Rorschach test? In other words, he was seen by each person as whatever he or she wanted him to be. Well, in spite of the fact that you might find this idea indignant, the same thing can be said of Donald Trump. It seems he is seen by each person as each one desperately wants to see him. For instance, those who oppose Trump tend to see him as a devil who should never be given any credit for any good thing he does. On the other hand, Trump supporters tend to see him as a demigod who should never be criticized for any wrong thing he does. Trump is either a target to his foes or teflon to his friends. Why?
Donald Trump is neither a targeted devil nor a teflon demigod to me. I believe he has done some good things for our country. I also believe he has been more unfairly treated by the press and unjustly treated by his political opponents than any president in American history. I would add to this that he has been, at least in his policies, as good a friend to Christians, particularly evangelicals, and to Israel as any president in my lifetime. Still, I'm not so blinded by all of this that I've climbed into his corner to defend him at all cost against every woodenheaded thing he says and every wrong thing he does.
When Trump recently suggested that injecting a disinfectant might prove to be an effective treatment for the coronavirus, his critics jumped on him like a duck on a June Bug. At the same time, his champions denied that he even made such a suggestion, despite the fact that he admitted it personally, but attempted to pass it off as a joke intended by him to fluster the “fake news.” Now, this, unlike other things abreast in America today, is of little importance; unless, somebody decides to give it a whirl, which the Lysol Company feared, a fear proven by their attempt to ward off future lawsuits with a quick public announcement: "Don't try this at home!”
While the above may be cited as a good example of how Trump Derangement Syndrome makes a mountain out of a mole hill, let’s consider how it can also make a mole hill out of a mountain. Our county, under the presidency of Donald J. Trump, has been transitioned, for all practical purposes, into a socialist police state. Furthermore, it's been done, for the most part, without a peep of protest from Trump antagonists, who are overjoyed by it, or from Trump advocates, who are oblivious to it. Neither Joe Biden nor Bernie Sanders could have ever dreamed of pulling this off in a two-termed presidency, but here's Trump, who's done it overnight.
Granted, Trump supporters will argue that he has done it unintentionally, feeling forced to do it in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Still, the incontrovertible fact is; he’s done it. Again, Trump loyalists will argue that he intends to return us to our previous representative republic as soon as possible, but; the truth is, we can never go back. Now that Trump has set the unprecedented precedent of government seizing control over our lives anytime our political leaders perceive the need to do so for our protection, we will henceforth live under the constant threat of government’s seizure of our civil rights and suspension of our Constitution.
Albert Einstein, no dummy for sure, once warned, "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” What do you think?