Though Trump lost his 2020 re-election bid, the fact that he polled so well throughout the anything-but-United States clearly shows the “Party of Trump”—today’s Republican Party—is leading us towards something far more sinister. The Republican Party of our parents’ generation would never have elected such a damaged person to the highest office in our land. Trump’s narcissism, ineptitude, lying, corruption, nepotism, divisiveness, etc. has been an unmitigated nightmare these past four long years. If you haven’t watched it yet, I suggest you take the time to view the three-part documentary series Rise of the Nazis airing this month on PBS Wisconsin. There are parallels to what is happening in the U.S. today, and it is chilling.
As for the voters who continue to support this charade, we are witnessing in living color government by people who don’t believe in government—or good governance. The landscape looks pretty bleak in this country for progressives and intellectuals for the foreseeable future. Might want to leave while you still can.
Has the whole country gone mad? Well, not all of it. Here are the ten states where Trump and Trumpism were most soundly rejected in the 2020 election.
| Rank | State | % Voting for Trump |
| 0. | District of Columbia | 5.40% |
| 1. | Vermont | 30.67% |
| 2. | Maryland | 32.44% |
| 3. | Massachusetts | 32.49% |
| 4. | California | 34.24% |
| 5. | Hawaii | 34.27% |
| 6. | Rhode Island | 38.70% |
| 7. | Washington | 38.76% |
| 8. | Connecticut | 39.21% |
| 9. | Delaware | 39.78% |
| 10. | Illinois | 40.14% |
And here are the ten states you’ll probably want to think twice about moving to if you’re a progressive.
| Rank | State | % Voting for Trump |
| 1. | Wyoming | 69.94% |
| 2. | West Virginia | 68.63% |
| 3. | Oklahoma | 65.37% |
| 4. | North Dakota | 65.11% |
| 5. | Idaho | 63.81% |
| 6. | Arkansas | 62.39% |
| 7. | Alabama | 62.15% |
| 8. | Kentucky | 62.13% |
| 9. | South Dakota | 61.77% |
| 10. | Tennessee | 60.73% |
Now, let’s return to the ten states that most soundly rejected Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Which county in each of these states had the smallest percentage voting for Trump?
| State Rank | State | County | % Voting for Trump |
| 1. | Vermont | Chittenden County | 21.25% |
| 2. | Maryland | Prince George’s County | 8.77% |
| 3. | Massachusetts | Suffolk County | 17.8% |
| 4. | California | San Francisco County | 12.72% |
| 5. | Hawaii | Hawaii County | 30.63% |
| 6. | Rhode Island | Newport County | 34.07% |
| 7. | Washington | King County | 22.22% |
| 8. | Connecticut | Hartford County | 35.39% |
| 9. | Delaware | New Castle County | 30.72% |
| 10. | Illinois | Cook County | 24.03% |
Polarization is tearing this country apart, but the blame does not equally fall on both sides. How do you talk with someone who all-too-willingly embraces conspiracy theories rather than reason, who derides science and scholars, who mistrusts or worse yet hates anyone who has a different spiritual viewpoint, let alone is a humanist, agnostic, or atheist? Who shows little or no interest in understanding perspectives other than their own?
May I submit for your consideration, the March 4, 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone, “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”.
Figure One
Understand the procedure now? Just stop a few of their machines and radios and telephones and lawn mowers…throw them into darkness for a few hours and then you just sit back and watch the pattern.
Figure Two
And this pattern is always the same?
Figure One
With few variations. They pick the most dangerous enemy they can find…and it’s themselves. And all we need do is sit back…and watch.
Figure Two
Then I take it this place…this Maple Street…is not unique.
Figure One
[Shaking his head.] By no means. Their world is full of Maple Streets. And we’ll go from one to the other and let them destroy themselves. One to the other…one to the other…one to the other—
Narrator’s Voice
The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices—to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children and the children yet unborn. [A pause.] And the pity of it is…that these things cannot be confined to…The Twilight Zone…
Written by Rod Serling