Politics hasn't done anything to people; it's more like what people have done to politics. Politics is just a way for people to express how they want the world to be. When a messiah comes along and promises them their vision of utopia, the result is what you saw in 1939 and what you are starting to see today.

You can soft-pedal it with phrases like 'winners and losers' but down in our hearts we know that's not what it's about; it's about an appeal to either our 'better angels' or our 'worst demons', a world or civility and mutual respect or a world of hateful rhetoric, bullying, scapegoating, and pitting one group against the other for money and power.

I guess if I had to choose between the true haters and the apologist, I'd probably choose the haters; at least they stand for something, however despicable. I was just looking at the latest statistics on hate crimes since this administration took over. The increase in hate crimes among all targeted groups, Jews/African-Americans/Muslims/LGBTQ, is appalling. Who or what do you think emboldened these hate groups? Actually, that was a rhetorical question. It is incredibly painful for some of us to watch the progress we've made on so many fronts, civil rights, gender equality, environmental protections, educational and economic opportunities for all, freedom of (and from) religion, etc., dissipate and disappear in the course of two short years.

chas, a patriotic 10yr veteran