Think for a little while

 I had an epiphany today; I finally felt compassion for Trump supporters.  They have missed their chance to follow Jim Jones, drink the Kool-aide, or die in flames with David Koresh.  They’ll never put on their special tennis shoes and meet the mother spaceship with Marshall Applewhite and the Heaven’s Gate people They will never be invited to a Trump Tower or to Doral Country club.  

I came to this moment of understanding as I confronted my own weakness.  I was standing naked before my little fish pond and I was considering what the 50 degree water and the tangle of pond weeds would feel like if I jumped in as I had intended when I stripped off my clothing.  I stood there a long, long time.  What have I gotten myself into?  Is this right?   I've come this far, should I turn back?  I had to think.  I thought of the Trump supporters.

I considered their position of standing on the brink of their intentions.  They too, might be looking at what they’re about to do and what their future will bring.  Some of them can imagine a plunge into the deep end of their commitment to Trump’s three terms as president or his dictatorship, or they may wonder if they have the courage to follow up on their naked Rambo fantasies of what will really come next if they commit to a civil war to make that happen.  I imagined that a few of them were wondering who their enemies are.  Some surely realize that their participation in a Rambo movie might not include happy endings for them personally.  A few may have looked at their overweight wives and thought what Trump would have to say about them.  If you stop and think for awhile, lots of things come to mind.

My compassion was for those people who have those doubts about their rhetoric, bluster, and their actions to this point.   I hope that they'll think for a little while.  I don’t know what they will do.

But I jumped in to that cold, cold water.  After having thought for a while, it seemed like the right thing to do.

Then again, a few minutes in very cold water isn't anything like more years of a Trump presidency.