Let's make America Grate Again.

[calamus]

I think that one reason people in the US tend to be "all-in" on one side or another of the spectrum is that the political climate here has become so polarized. I voted for Trump, and I like much of what he's done, but I still cringe almost every other time he opens his mouth. But since there is so much hostility against him, particularly from the left, I generally find myself defending him when a discussion turns political. I will agree with a reasoned objection to specific points if the person I'm talking with is reasonable, but there is an enormous amount of unreasoned hatred and demonization that colors most of the opposition to Trump. Trump supporters and conservatives (and they're not always the same camp) generally regard Hillary Clinton as evil, on the other hand, but I believe that their objections tend to be based more on objective reality than the media-manufactured anti-Trump hysteria is. Much of the latter is ridiculous -- people hate him "because he's a nazi and it's racist to expect people to show identification in order to vote or to have secure borders" according to the prevalent narrative, which is absurd. But Clinton really did look the other way and refuse support at Benghazi, and the Clintons are unquestionably corrupt. Also, a staggeringly large number of their political opponents have suddenly showed up dead under mysterious circumstances, as have an appallingly large number of journalists who've investigated those deaths.

During the last election, when people asked me how I could possibly vote for Trump, what I told them was that it looked like it was a choice between a sociopath and a psychopath, and with a choice like that, the more prudent course would be to vote for the sociopath.