No, I wouldn’t claim every accident, breakdown or disaster has a silver lining. Even so, silver linings are a real thing. This year I’m noting plenty of them.
The pandemic’s silver lining is clear enough. The world can no longer avoid seeing communist China for what it is. China’s lies and its grotesque bullying after the virus went global have forced an otherwise punch-drunk West to look at Beijing's behavior through a different lens. And sane people are aghast at what they see.
As for that other grave illness now plaguing us—i.e. Trump Derangement Syndrome—I’ve recognized a new silver lining there too. I say “new” because the original TDS silver lining is of course the frenzy Trump provokes in our left. This frenzy has time and again prodded them to show their true colors. Which is good information to have.
But I’m writing today of a new or second silver lining. Namely: Seeing TDS and its effects has proved a useful warning to me never to end up there myself—never to become politically deranged.
Sure, I opposed Hillary and hated the thought of her winning. But had Hillary won, would I have enthusiastically joined my voice to every possible lie to take her down? Would I ever have cheered anything so transparently fake as Russiagate?
No.
Hating the thought of Hillary in the White House, would I have seen those Covington Catholic adolescents bemused and smirking at the Indian man drumming in their faces, would I have seen them in those news clips and thought: “Nazis.” Would I have demonized kids for basically being kids, just because they were wearing, say, Hillary teeshirts?
No.
Had Hillary won, would I have pretended to believe Chinese propaganda, or spread a totalitarian regime’s talking points, in hopes of shaving a few points off her approval ratings?
No.
Would I have supported the burning and looting of American cities, the destruction of historical monuments, if only it might lead to her loss in the next election?
No, no, and no.
Thing is, most of us Trump supporters have been repeatedly mind-blown these past years to see otherwise sane friends or relatives, even supposedly well-educated people, foaming at the mouth as they spread canned, unvetted stories just to make Trump or his supporters look bad. The stuff I’ve seen has deeply impressed me. In a bad way.
TDS is real, and it is very very ugly. Some of my good friends will forever carry an ugly scar. I'll never be able to unsee how eager they were to believe or, worse, pretend to believe obvious lies. I’ll never forget the signt of them jumping to spread such lies, and later, sometimes mere days later, when the lie is entirely debunked, they still won’t retract it. Typically they're already onto the next MSM lie—hoping against hope that “This one will stick!”
But as I say, there’s a silver lining in this depressing spectacle. It’s a lesson. Watching these people, I tell myself: Never go there.
Check out my Idiocy, Ltd. and begin the long, hard reckoning.
