Donald Trump is an evil man

I hope - and please remember that I said this - I hope that none of the things I'm worried about with Donald Trump as president of the United States comes to pass.  I want to be wrong.  Nevertheless, I must prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.

When it first became apparent to me that Donald Trump was going to be the president of the United States, my first instinct was to hide.  I told all of my children whom I could reach to be very careful what they said and to who they said it and to not put anything in writing that could remotely be considered as negative to Donald Trump.  That would definitely be the safest course of conduct for me and my family.

But, then, I heard about the people who were protesting in the streets.  "No Trump, no Pence, no wall, no fence," they were shouting.  And I read that Greg Casar, an Austin City Council member said he would keep resisting and he would try to get the City of Austin to resist.

And I was inspired.  I was a little bit ashamed of my first instinct.  I decided I had to resist, no matter what the personal danger to me or to my family.

I'm not by nature a marcher.  I don't generally join protests.  Maybe I should, but I don't.

My resistance comes through my words.  So, here they are:  my words.

Hillary Clinton got it right when she said that Donald Trump was going to be our president and he deserved an open mind and a chance to lead.  I believe that.  However, an open mind does not mean closed eyes.  Here is what I think with my eyes open.

Donald Trump is an evil man.  Either he believes the racist, misogynist, bigoted things he said during the campaign or he doesn't believe them and said them anyway.  Either way, he's evil.

Evil men are dangerous.

Hillary Clinton was wrong to say that fifty percent of the supporters of Mr. Trump were deplorable.  No one can know whether it's fifty percent or more or less.  But, I am convinced she was right that some portion of Mr. Trump's supporters are deplorable.  Not irredeemable, but deplorable.  They actually agree with the things Mr. Trump said during the campaign and that's deplorable and it makes them deplorable.

But, I know people who I consider to be good, honest, hardworking, intelligent people who supported Mr. Trump.  I still consider them to be good, honest, hardworking, intelligent people.  The only way I can understand this is to remember that many apparently intelligent people were fooled into spending a lot of their hard-earned money on Trump U.  They were conned by a master con-man.  So, I have to conclude that the apparently good, honest, hardworking, intelligent people who supported Mr. Trump were conned by a master.  Or else, I have been conned by all these people who I consider to be good, honest, hardworking, and intelligent.

All that said, what bothers me the most is that, after the election, the press - and I include the television and the newspaper press - has tried to analyze this election as if it were just another election.  And they've treated Donald Trump as if he were just another man who has been elected president.

Neither of those is true.  This was not just another election.  And Mr. Trump is not just another man who has been elected president.  There is not just a difference of opinion on his policies, or even on whether he should become president or someone else should.

Donald Trump is dangerous.  The press should be treating him as dangerous.

Many of the things he has promised to do are illegal.  They violate either international law or U.S. law.  Many of the things he has promised to do are immoral.  And, potentially, he will have no check on his efforts to do them.

Three of his primary advisors have been among the meanest men I know:  Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, and Newt Gingrich.  Any one or all of them could be in his cabinet.

He has a Republican congress and he will get to appoint at least one, and probably three or more, Supreme Court justices.  Potentially, he will control both of the other branches of government.  It is entirely possible that neither of those branches will be willing to stand up to him when he begins to try to do the illegal and immoral things he has promised to do.

When I pointed this out to a friend of mine, his response was "Yeah, but only until 2018 [the next election]."  My response to him was, "What makes you think there will be a next election?  Under the Bush Doctrine, the Constitution does not apply to the President when he is acting in his role as Commander in Chief.  If one part of the Constitution doesn't apply, then why not another part of the Constitution?  Federal elections are Constitutional.  What makes you think that President Trump won't 'suspend' the next election?"  He didn't have an answer.

So, this is why I have to resist.  All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.  Please, don't do nothing.