I recently imagined what my liberal, drifting toward Marxist, friends do when I am not speaking with them, when they are living their perfectly overwhelmed, privately inconsolable, perpetually anxious, anti-Trump lives. As a conservative, I feel empathy for them, even if not understanding.
I have tried to understand their sense of displacement, disorientation, their long commitment to things not true, and the reckoning that must have to happen when someone finds they are wrong.
Beyond the trivial, beyond feeling outfoxed, angry, or undone by Trump’s wide appeal, and not understanding – perhaps from willful disinterest in understanding – how he could be so popular, there are deeper ravines, dark places, with which America’s Progressives must deal.
Speaking from compassion, and I mean this, it must be hard. What does one who bought into gender transition, irreversibly damaged their precious child do when the truth of this horrible perversion emerges, and they realize they have forever hurt their child? How do they manage?
What does a Progressive do who has pushed others to kill children in the womb, or made that choice – in places like Maine, at birth – and suddenly the hard truth, that they have ended a human life, sweeps them? How does one address the self-doubt, self-dislike, even self-revulsion?
On a lesser plane, what happens when one is forced to confront the consequences of an error in judgment, perhaps political overzealousness, entirely human but ideologically driven, that suddenly changes their whole life? An illegal alien or drug trafficker takes a loved one?
What happens when a veteran they admire is homeless because of policies favoring illegal aliens, or astronomical property taxes take a friend’s home? Or vital prescription drugs become unaffordable, and the reality is right there – the immoral level of taxes is killing people?
What does the Progressive, Marxist, or Democrat do when – after years of deriding those of faith – they get a terrifying, life-or-death diagnosis, realize prayer, God’s mercy, is their only hope?
What happens to these people when all the “bad” Trump said would be found, is found – that all the waste, abuse, public corruption, anti-constitutional lack of accountability, is proven?
What does the liberal, whose head was spinning before Trump reemerged to enforce laws and accountability, restore security, cut costs, see in the mirror – her own moral bankruptcy?
I imagine my friends trying to square the circle, make their life convictions – so long reinforced by immoral media, social media, paid political agitators – wandering around their house, condo, or apartment, and talking disagreeably to themselves.
“I know this is all wrong, it has to be, or I am all wrong, which I cannot be … where is it? Oh, stop, you are sounding crazy, where is it? Like the keys and sunglasses, it will turn up. Oh God, is there a God, am I asking that, oh my…oh hell, oh for my sanity’s sake, where is it?”
And they wander some more, pause for another swig of latte, or was it a double mocha, triple shot, oat milk, olive oil, low calorie, Beverly Hill special? No matter, they start hunting again.
“I know it is here, must be, God I hate Trump, how did he win, why is he always right, how does he do that, why don’t we have anyone who can do that, is the climate collapsing, is he building a border wall, why can’t we love felons, I love felons, no I hate them, or do I? Where is it?”
Then they return to start – do not “pass go,” do not collect 200 dollars – just flummoxed. “Where is my mind? I have lost my mind, I think I have lost my mind…It must be here somewhere…”
I feel empathy for them, really do. But they own it. They took the turn, around the bend, headed for the cliff…I do hope they find their minds. A mind is a terrible thing to waste – or to lose.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).
What you have to understand RBC is that most of the truly chronically depressed and angry “progressives” are simply projecting outward their own internal anger and hate of themselves for their own inadequacies and failures in life. They are extremely pessimistic people, who despise anyone or anything that represents any form of success on any level. They always seem to be looking out for ways to lash out at anyone they come across that is even slightly more successful than them. They are extremely envious of others.
When I talk with some of these folks on occasion, they truly seem to revel in being able to cause other people pain and suffering. That’s their real joy and goal in life, that they experience from so-called “social and economic justice”. Some of these folks actually break out in a smile, when they are talking about “getting” someone along the way. All because now that person is more miserable than them.
These are NOT people who you should feel empathy for, but rather these are genuinely mentally sick people that require medical intervention to keep society safe from them. They are certainly NOT people that should ever be allowed near any sort of seat of political power or influence in this country.
The first and biggest problem for people who want to call themselves “progressive” is that they have believed and embraced the lie about what that term, “Progressive” REALLY means and where comes from. “Progressive” is nothing more than a “softer” feel-good version of MARXIST/COMMUNIST IDEOLOGY, and has the exact same agenda and ultimate goals, which is ABSOLUTE CONTROL OF AN AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEM OF POLITICAL POWER, and the term “Progressive” is nothing more than a way for MARXIST/COMMUNIST POWER-ZEALOTS to masquerade as something more acceptable to a large segment of the populace. Most people in the U.S. who want to call themselves “Progressives” have no historical perspective about the where that term comes from and where it was designed to lead.
Empathy NO! They are getting exactly what they deserve! Even you can’t call them what they are – LIBERALS not progressives. There is absolutely nothing about liberals or democrats that is progressive.
I do hope that someday they wake up (and some have) and can cope with the change in outlook. But I fear that they will cling to their beliefs and become more adversarial, more unhinged, even violent. We’ll see what happens.
Labeling the radical, satanic, leftist a “progressive” is like calling an ILLEGAL ALIEN an “undocumented immigrant,” or the WUHAN VIRUS “covid.” Let’s ditch the political correctness and call a spade a spade. I don’t care if it offends someone. Nevertheless, I agree with those who posted that these unhinged creampuffs chose to be who they are and live on the dark side, so they deserve their misery. I welcome them to come to the light side, otherwise they can take a flying leap if they’re content with waking up each day and looking for something to trigger a meltdown.
I’ve thought similar things too. Thanks for your comments. I pray for those who are smitten with the leftist propaganda. I pray they find Jesus and let Jesus change their life like He did mine!
Lighthouses and Lightships and the people who operated Lighthouses and Lightships did remarkably good work as Aids to Navigation for many years before being replaced by electronic instruments . What is needed here in the United States of America is some sort of system that shows how people are either off course or on the right course in the political, economic and social sense. The examples of the far off course Progressive, Marxist , Democrats ways of thinking in this article indicate that collisions caused by corruption, and distorted values need to be dealt with intelligently, need to be prevented whenever and wherever possible
If responsible behavior is to be expected by those who are presently on the wrong course then a system needs to established that indicates , clearly, the right way to go about handling matters that are part of living with a sense of purpose and living by a code of conduct.
The collisions that are a threat to civilization can be expected if there is no resistance to that irresponsible outlook.Part of a new sort of Lighthouse and Lightship system would show what the right way of thinking is all about and would include developing a high level of intelligence , based on truth and honor , having courage , and being resourceful . Keeping the principles of Faith, Family and Freedom in mind . Very good article RBC — An aid to navigation for sure !
So very insightful and well said, the only thing I can add is I agree and thank you Robert Charles!
They live in their delusion but somedays that delusion questions their sanity.
That’s when they reach for their anti-anxiety and depression meds.
The saddest part of this is that their bad decisions on this earth will have eternal consequences, and there will be no going back. They refuse to see the big picture.
Sad but true.
I do not have Empathy towards this WOKE TYPE OF THINKING.
It’s destructive!
I’m not playing!
Gees, this is well written! RBC, you’ve outdone yourself. I have deep empathy for them too, and I pray for them everyday, especially the progressives in my family. They are living in the dark. But what did the Lord Jesus say of Himself when he began His ministry? He stood up in His home synagogue, unrolled the scroll of isaiah, and read the beginning of chapter 61 as a declaration of who He was. “The Spirit of The Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,..” There are other places in Scripture that promises that the Lord is blowing away the cobwebs of lies that have covered people’s eyes, ears, and minds. (Isaiah 59). Believe!
If it’s not right in the head it can’t be right anywhere else. That is the problem plus the fact that they insist by force if necessary that the rest of us see what they see which is not reality . Clueless and dangerous.
Nothing will or can happen that can change a mind closed to TRUTH.
A majority of leftists are relativistic: Meaning they think predominantly in subjective terms of “my truth, your truth, our truth”.
If there is no grasp to the reality of absolute truth, there is no reason for value, but only subjective shades of perception.
Only when the reality of the value of THE TRUTH can be established, will a mind be opened to see the worth of subjective relativism is a dismal existence at best and terrible failure at worst.
They are simply discovering for themselves the immutable fact that their socialistic belief system will always be destined to failure and has never and will never work! This is assuming a legitimate intent to help improve other people’s lives in the first place!
It’s just the leftist is try demoralize us and push their agendas, even back 1960’s the same message is being push
Of all the things the Left has lost, they miss their minds the most!
The comments here do be retarded though.
While this is a very well thought out illumination of the truths left wing nuts are missing, I doubt very much if many, or even a few, come to this realization when it’s so easy to just come up with another lie to bolster their fantastical delusion.