I cannot stress enough how Donald Trump is the personification of *everything* I was taught to fear growing up by the right, and was told was nothing more than a paranoid delusion, one which would never happen in an advanced, modern free nation by many on the center and the left.

Of course, the overwhelming majority of those people on the right who (rightfully, I might add) instilled a deep-seeded fear of tyranny in me, as it is never as far away as it seems, are now running interference for Trump on an hourly basis.

I was told to gravely fear an executive who legislated via decree, subverted our institutions and abused them for their gain, installed cronies into positions of power in order to avoid accountability, and profited off the dealings of foreign diplomats and leaders.

I was told such a leader would place themselves as the absolute authority, above all else - constitution, law, separation of powers, the courts, all of that. That they would mesmerize a large swath of the public with populist demagoguery, emotional appeal, and tribalistic screeds

Such a leader would pit Americans against each other by any means necessary, using inflammatory, identitarian rhetoric, both to keep the country divided and unfocused on what is actually undergoing, but also likely to dish out punishment based off the leader’s personal grievances

Whether that be towards people of a specific faith, ethnicity, nationality, gender or sexuality, etc.

And above all, I was warned this person would have the undying support of their party officials - they would stand with such a tyrant no matter what happened.

For maintaining power was their only concern, and that’s all they’ve ever cared about.

And they were absolutely right. Except on one issue. I was *always* told that this person would arise from the left. On this, and this alone, they were wrong.

While historically there are certainly authoritarian leftists who fit the bill, and I would at no point preclude such a leftist from ever amassing a following and gaining power here, in the present situation it is our *Republican* President who exemplifies all that I described.

And now, virtually all of these sworn defenders of the constitution, those who so voraciously proclaimed their undying support for liberty, that swore up and down that nothing took priority above the preservation of the republic, are debasing themselves for this very man.

They may criticize him for being overly rude or blunt, and might raise some process complaint every now and then, but on every single controversy and point of contention where it *really* counts, they act as I imagine state-owned media in North Korea would regarding Kim Jong-Un.

Well, the message they espoused might be lost on them, or perhaps they never truly meant or believed in it, but I sure as hell did. And I still do, perhaps more than ever before. I have never been this infuriated, and at the same time impassioned, in my entire life.

I will vote against Trump, and I will vote against any sycophant who has enabled Trump. This isn’t news for people who follow me, but my resolve, and righteous fury, have never been stronger.

Thank you for teaching me the importance of liberty. Fuck you for abandoning it. /end