The Trump attraction persists, but why?

What has happened to us? Not to all of us, but a lot of us. How did we get so lost? It’s saddening and frightening to me that millions of Americans, tens of millions even, still want Donald Trump to be the next president.

The list is almost endless of the awful things he’s said and done and wants to do if he gets elected.

Like build concentration camps so he can get rid of his enemies and the “vermin” and the immigrants who would “poison the blood of America”

He makes no bones about it. He wants to be the dictator of America. Really? And millions of us think that’s OK. What happened to us?

Lots of people have tried to explain it. They talk of the fear that some people have about being replaced by immigrants, that their whole way of life and self-image is threatened and that’s why they look to a “strong man” to fix things.

They talk of the formation of a cult mentality around this “strong man” who uses the words of Hitler. They talk of all the disinformation, outright lies and conspiracy theories that abound on the internet, all of which has a huge influence on people’s way of thinking.

They talk of the religious right that wants to install Christian nationalism. They talk of the spineless Republican politicians, national and local, who fear for the loss of their jobs and their power and will support even someone they know absolutely to be a liar, a bully, a convicted sexual offender, someone with no moral compass and no real concern for people other than himself, someone who is willing to do anything he thinks he can get away with, even to lead an insurrection against our government, against our country and our democracy.

It’s some combination of all of the above and more, no doubt. What a sorry and sad state of affairs. God help us, and pray the rest of us get out and vote for Joe Biden. Whether you like him or not, Biden is the only alternative right now to make sure the dictator doesn’t come to power.

David Pascale lives in Las Vegas, N.M.