Hopelessly Hopeful / Delusionally Dangerous

 

For months now, on the corner of a well-trafficked highway in New Jersey (across the road from a mega-WalMart and in front of a strip mall of stores) a small crowd of people have been gathering on weekends in support of Donald Trump as the 2020 presidential candidate. 

This photo was taken on Sunday, January 17, 2021. Joe Biden has been officially declared by the overwhelming majority of voters and by the official electoral college as the incoming president. In just a few days, he will be sworn in at a toned-down (COVID-19 safe) ceremony with heightened security measures. Donald Trump's challenges to the legitimacy of the election have all been exhausted in the appropriate courts -- many with judges he, himself, seated at the bench; his claims of fraud disproven outright. An insurrection at The Capitol building that left five people dead and an entire nation horrified was the basest possible expression of loser discontent, all fueled by hatred and lies and fear. By this day, Donald Trump has also been historical impeached for the second time in the House of Representatives; the process to be taken up by the Senate next to, among other things, prevent him from ever holding office again.

It's done. Donald Trump is done.

Not only will he likely not ever hold office again, but he's also facing significant legal woes that could very well include prison time.

And yet these people still gather.

They still yell at passersby who laugh at them or challenge them, or, to be fair, wave at the people who honk in support.

WHY?

For what purpose?

What do they hope to accomplish?

I'm so grateful that they are there peacefully. It is, most certainly, their right to be there. But I can't help but wonder: Do they really believe this is the best use of their Saturday and Sunday afternoons? Surely they understand that Donald Trump will not be president for this term or any other. Why not apply their energies to a more productive and hopeful avenue? A letter-writing campaign, for example. Fundraising for their next candidate, as another. What about Donald Trump, in particular (because, let's admit - this is not about being Republican -- this is a very different beast entirely), that fuels them to give so much of themselves -- be it their time on a New Jersey street corner on weekends or their very lives at the Capitol?

I'm baffled. I'm intrigued. But certainly not curious enough to get close and ask. This level of hopelessly hopeful is too delusionally dangerous for my taste.