“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?”

What have you done to yourself, America? John Lennon is rolling over. He was a victim of a country that he loved dearly. This is the anniversary of his death, Dec. 8, 1980.

It’s been 44 years, doesn’t seem possible. And still, folks who shouldn’t have access to firearms are still getting them. He grew up with an unhappy childhood, went through an angry, rebellious time, and came out an advocate for peace.

Wish that was the case with Donald Trump. “Only the good die young” as Billy Joel said. It’s because we allow them to be targeted. I certainly don’t want to see anyone a victim of gun violence, good, bad, or ugly, but, aside from Trump’s ear, it seems to be lopsided. We’ve shot too many good leaders over the years in this country.

The current situation in the United States is nothing short of insane. We have elected, not by a landslide like he wants to believe, a convicted felon. A rich old man who didn’t want to go to jail. The popular vote tally to date is 74,777,835 for Harris, 77,176,074 for Trump. He didn’t even receive 50% of the vote.

Close to 90 million Americans who were eligible to vote, did not. That’s more potential votes than either candidate received.

Evidently, a majority of our voting population doesn’t care if we live in a democracy or an autocracy. So guess what we’re getting? We’re getting an Idiocracy.

Idiocracy: A society governed or populated by idiots, per Merriam-Webster. As far as the population, societal influences that have compounded in recent history have led to a population that are not necessarily idiots, but for a large part are poorly educated, surrounded by sources of misinformation, are consumed by the difficulties of day to day living without time to be politically aware, and have lost the ability to consider a bigger picture and beyond the concern for gas and egg prices.

And so, a charlatan who promises them all kinds of crazy stuff that he can’t and won’t deliver, gets their vote. They think he’s a good businessman because he was on a reality TV show, but he’s had numerous failed ventures, bankruptcies and lawsuits in real life. He hawks everything from Bibles to gold sneakers and they buy it. He’s entertaining and convincing, a showman, so they fall for it.

I could say that this dumbing down of America has been on purpose, but that would sound too much like a conspiracy theory. So what if Project 2025 wants to eliminate the Department of Education. The head of that department in Trump’s first term was Betsy DeVos, a billionaire who favored private schools over public schools, so only those who could afford it would get a good education.

This time around, it’s Linda McMahon, a pro wrestling magnate, who as chair of the America First Policy Institute is all for dissolving the Department, because what is more intellectual than pro wrestling? I do believe that Trump’s choices for his administration are purposely geared toward wrecking our established democratic republic and installing himself as a dictator, choosing candidates who are against what the department is supposed to do. RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary, for example.

Trump’s other picks for his administration show a pattern of simple nepotism, and reward for loyalty. So far, many of his selections have been either incompetent, or convicted criminals, having served time and been pardoned by him so they could be partners in crime once more.

Speaking of pardons, which many are doing right now, how dare anyone fault Joe Biden for pardoning his son, Hunter! I say good for you, Joe, you did the right thing! I don’t even want to hear some of the democrats whining that he has given up their righteous higher ground by going back on his word.

How much influence do you think keeping promises has on Trump and his ilk? Blame Joe for giving Trump a reason to cheat, lie and break promises? It’s not like he hasn’t already been making a habit of that.

Trump will do whatever he wants, regardless.I believe that had Harris won the election, Biden would not have gone ahead with a pardon.

The situation is different now, and desperate times call for desperate measures. With Kash Patel nominated for FBI director, Hunter would be in danger of permanent incarceration for a conviction that normally does not even incur jail time. Patel has been consumed with Hunter’s laptop for some time now and wouldn’t hesitate to drum up charges on Hunter. What is the worse sin, going back on a couple statements made to the media, or throwing your own son to the wolves?

Trump’s thirst for retribution will also put many other democrats in harm’s way, as he plans to go after his opponents. Our democratic representatives need to toughen up, someone has to since republicans are capitulating to him.

How about the pardons that Trump gave last time around: Michael Flynn, who as National Security Adviser, lied to the FBI over Russian contacts, Roger Stone, who lied to Congress about his contacts with WikiLeaks, Paul Manafort, convicted of financial fraud, Steve Bannon, who served time for fraud related to a border wall fundraising campaign, Charles Kushner, who had a prison sentence for witness tampering in a most disgusting way and tax evasion, now given Ambassadorship to France.

All these have found a place in Trump’s current administration, no surprise there. It’s completely crazy and exactly what Trump has been saying he’d do all along. Reports from Mara Lago have him threatening other world leaders now, he believes himself to be the most powerful man on the planet.

This should have ended long ago, when he mocked a disabled reporter, or when the Access Hollywood tape came out, or many times along the way. He has been impeached twice, and got out of it. He was charged with 91 felonies, convicted of 34, and will get out of all of them. How can we explain this man’s presidency except for Idiocracy. Hitler, may I remind you, was actually voted in to power, whereupon he just took over.

A movie was made in 2006 called “Idiocracy.” The premise was that a pair was put in hibernation for a secret military experiment and woke up in 2505.

I don’t think it’s going to take that long. Although meant to be a comedy, it has a scary resemblance to what is happening to our country now. Commercialism and lack of care for the environment, incompetence in leadership, lowering of standards of grammar, speech, and education, distrust of science, like our flat earthers and anti-vaxers.

If we don’t take this slide seriously, this is what we’ll get. John Lennon Imagined a world without borders, possessions, divisiveness and conflict. Something to aspire to, not lower ourselves to. Electing Trump – again – is idiotic. Lennon would be appalled. He lived in NYC, he was aware of what Trump was like back then, and sadly, he has only gotten rottener with age.

Susan Bigler is a Sheridan resident.