I have Asperger's so I have only three real friends.

[markodochartaigh]

One has retired back to India and two have retired back to Germany. They are all solidly Democratic, although definitely not as far to the left as am I. They are horrified at what is happening here, although now that the social media of people entering the US is being scrutinized discretion is the better part of valor.

Thankfully we have no Republicans in our family, although one cousin's wife could best be described as a libertarian. I won't go into what the genuinely socialist older members of our family said about her beliefs a half century ago when she and my cousin were married. I have only one niece and one nephew and neither of them are going to have children. My niece married a Muslim guy from Morocco when she was working in France and they are now planning to return permanently. We are all sad, nauseated, disgusted, fearful, etc. of what is happening and what is shortly to come.

When I meet people who say that I pay too much attention to the news or worry too much, I tell them that ignorance and apathy are the Achilles' heels of democracy. One of the main reasons that our country is in the state that it is in is because so many people pay more attention to sports and entertainment than to politics and current events. If you have an electorate that doesn't know and doesn't care it is inevitable that you will get corrupt and vile political leaders who will take advantage of their foolish electorate. And here we are.