This brief essay points out that a great many Americans are anticipating governmental chaos as the Trump administration comes into power. It is not just the Executive Branch, but a corrupt judiciary and a do-nothing Congress that collectively might trigger global recession. America needs to find its moral compass to find a new path before we reach the political cliff.

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I think that most Americans today are afraid. Trump marketed his campaign on what the late Hunter Thompson called "fear & loathing." Alas, most people cope with fear using denial. Trump always builds on that denial by offering a string of bogus fantasies to reassure them that even though THEY do not know how to cope - HE DOES. Once we deport all the migrants, and shut down foreign competition, America will be great again. We'll all be rich! Vote to make America great again! Most voters did just that.

Of course, those of us whose brains still have functioning gaslight detectors have seen ample evidence that Trump is a clueless jerk who lies, cheats, and steals to con people into thinking he is a brilliant business tycoon rather than the felonious business buffoon he really is. Sadly, by voters boarding the MAGA train to nowhere, they have increased the odds that their worst fears and loathings will come to pass.

All of my economist friends see recession on the horizon once Trump starts tinkering with tariffs and removing federal guardrails on banks, monopolies, taxation, the Federal Reserve, and finance. Sadly, when that starts happening, fear will likely not trigger action. MAGA voters will pull the proverbial covers over their heads in denial so they do not have to look at the quality of their lives trickling up to the new oligarchs in charge like the DOGE Boys. But that cannot last for long before household financial reality kicks in and they can no longer afford to ignore their mistake last November. But that mistake was engineered by both parties.

It is difficult to overlook that just like in 2020, 2024 voters really had no significant alternative other than, the lesser of two mediocre candidates: Trump vs the un-Trump - Biden then Harris. That situation was co-engineered by the Democratic Party. We now know that the Dems knew Biden was in mental decline almost from inauguration Day in 2021. They refused to Article 25 him to hold on to power and hid the fact from the American people (Gee, like the GOP did with Reagan?). That was probably because the DNC had no plan for what-next. However, when the TV debate unmasked Biden's dementia, the coverup was blown and Dems had to offer voters an alternative - VP Harris - more of the same. Alas, by next New Years Day 2026, everybody will likely realize that more of the same was their better option.

This will all boil down to one inevitable conclusion. Both political parties are corrupt as heck. So also is our court system and our incompetent do-nothing Congress that is the direct result of Citizens United. That all needs to be fixed. It might help if people return to their churches for a moral compass tune-up, and reject the greedy oligarchy that has overwhelmed our Democracy. Hopeful New Year!

Authors Bio:

I'm a psychologist and retired Navy Captain. In 2000, I joined NIH as a national research program official, science officer, and faculty member. Before retiring to Happilyeverafter on the Florida Coastline, I have lived in 20 different places including the West Coast, Mid-West, South-West, Deep South, and DC in addition to SE Asia and Europe (where I still live part of each year). My scientific publications are mainly focused on improving organizational morale, effectiveness, and efficiency for DOD, OPM, various federal departments and agencies, as well as the White House. My latest book with Prof. Carl Leukefeld at UKY is Grantsmanship for New Investigators (Springer, 2019).