Either Or

To a guy like Trump, the whole world has to be divided into two factions - everybody is either friend or foe. There's no middle ground, and there's no crossover except when he decides to change somebody's designation.

His friends are expected to pay him fealty at all times, and do whatever he requires of them, even though they know he'll never reciprocate in kind if it's inconvenient for him.

His foes (ie: everybody who won't bend to his whim) are de-humanized, and deserve every shitty thing the worst of his "friends" can think of doing to them.

It's a total Manichean proposition. Everything is either all and only one way, or all and only the other way.

I know, I know - you know all this. But it bears repeating, and must be repeated until a much bigger majority of Americans understand what we're up against.

I'm also willing to accept the possibility that I'm overstating the problems I see with Creeping Authoritarianism and the alarm that I feel at a very basic, visceral level.

But hey -

I may be paranoid

but that don't mean

nobody's out to get me