It really is hard to see how we survive this

Up until inside the past decade or so, I always fancied myself a fairly affable guy. Growing up in New Jersey and working in newspapers as an adult demanded a certain degree of tolerance and a wicked sense of humor.

Everybody had their flaws, but we were all in this mess together, so I figured let’s go for the laughs and make the most of it. I was willing to give anybody a chance.

Not anymore.

These days, if I even whiff the foul scent of Republican on you, I’m either going the other way, or right through you.

Lately, I hate Republicans. I mean IreallyHATE them. I don’t necessarily like that I really hate Republicans, but there is nothing to recommend them. They are just flat mean, morally busted, and are actively trying to kill us. Worse, many of them are doing it with a smile on their face.

How many more hundreds of thousands of Americans would still be alive if we all simply listened to the science, wore masks and got vaccinated? How much more stable would our democracy be if a defeat at the polls was accepted through gritted teeth and graciousness, instead of threats and insurrection?

Instead, Republicans have doubled down on their heinousness and placed an anti-vax ghoul in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. They have made scientists the enemy, instead of our friends tirelessly searching for answers.

Rather than defend and replenish the lifeblood of any democracy, our vote, Republicans are doing everything in their power to kill it. It’s not a matter of IF Trump deploys the Insurrection Act but WHEN, to put down people who don’t like him or disagree with him, which we know from last weekend alone is an astronomical number.

It really is hard to see how we survive this without an all-out war. More than 7 million patriots were in our streets last Saturday peacefully sending the message that they’ve had enough of this dangerous, abhorrent Republican fascism.

The grotesque, orange would-be king responded by posting an AI video of himself literally s------g on those protesters. Republicans, as always, were just fine with this. Completely normal. Nothing to see here.

The corporate press, which has gone out of its way to enable this madness, barely gave it a mention.

Like I said, this is not sustainable.

It was quite a surprise then, that when I rolled out of the rack today, I resolved to find a better way to talk to Republicans. I’m sure it had something to do with a recent epiphany, but more on that below.

Something has to change …

I didn’t always hate Republicans. Hell, I used to vote for ’em every now and then.

Are you still there …?

A number of my oldest friends are Republicans. We’ve been around several blocks together. These are the people I grew up with; got in trouble with; fought for; whose pockets were stuffed with my secrets … the people I loved.

I know where my old friends came from; how they were raised; whether their mother or father was an ass; where the skeletons were buried … Nobody knows more about you than an old, trusted friend.

Lately, I don’t much recognize too many of my old friends anymore. I reckon I look pretty hazy to them, too. I see the stuff they load up on their Facebook page, and wonder how it is we ended up living on different planets when we used to share the same bed.

This all started with Trump, of course. The guy brought out the worst in all of us. It’s his singular talent. Everybody around him is miserable and angry.

I realize I’m not splattering you with any big revelations here. We’ve all gone through this. Not a one of us hasn’t been touched by this negative, soul-crushing force.

Used to be we could trade political insults. Poke fun at each other. In the event it got too heated we could turn the flame down by simply agreeing too many of our politicians were full of crap. They were just going to screw us all in the end no matter what. There was money to be made.

Much better to believe in a friendship that had stood the test of time, than some political party that would test your patience.

Those were the days ...

Today was going to be different, though. Today, I was going to be the bigger man. I was going to reengage. Bridge the gap. Start anew. Find some reason amid the ashes of these torched relationships …

I blame Barack Obama for this.

I don’t know about you, but I do most of my above-average thinking while lying in bed. There’s not a more honest place than safely underneath the covers, head nestled in a pillow.

Just before I closed my eyes Sunday night, I remembered something the two-term, scandal-free president said on a campaign trail way back when while stumping for Joe Biden. I’ll paraphrase, and guarantee you it was even smarter than I’ll type it. But it stuck, and here it goes:

“Look,” Obama said in his ascending tone, “If I tell your Republican friends they should consider voting for something or doing something, they’ll look at me and laugh. They don’t like me! But if YOU tell your Republican friends they should consider voting for something or doing something, they’ll listen! And they’ll listen, because-they-like-you! They might even LOVE you! So sit down. Talk with them!”

See what I mean? If FDR deserved four terms, this guy should have got at least that many. Imagine how much better off we’d be for it.

Except we don’t allows kings in the country …

Now, here I was this morning, refreshed and ready to bring it. There were holes to patch and old friendships to cement. I would be the better man, and cautiously extend a hand. Maybe, just maybe … I could reconnect with a few of these lost souls.

I figured there was nothing to lose, because everything has already been lost. If nothing else it might add perspective, and make for a half-decent column.

I poured a cup of coffee, plugged into a comfy chair, cracked open the local paper, and said this out loud: “Awwwwwwwww fuuuuuuuck …”

HEADLINE: “GOP Tries to Weaken Law Shielding Whales, Seals and Polar Bears”

Whales, seals and polar bears????? Holy hell, are there three more lovable and majestic creatures on this earth?

Whales, seals and polar bears?????

Is there ANYTHING these detestable Republicans won’t put their filthy hands on and strangle to death?

Here’s the lede of this important story:

BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Republican lawmakers are targeting one of the U.S.’s longest standing pieces of environmental legislation, credited with helping save rare whales from extinction.

Conservative leaders feel they now have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, enacted in 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears and other sea animals.

Turns out this story was filed last week and got very little damn attention, because Republicans are coming at us with both barrels. They intend to end America as we’ve known it since the last Civil War.

It’s impossible to keep up with it all, and process this madness, which is all part of their destructive design.

The Republican Party is anti-life, anti-American, and anti-good.

The party that said boogeymen were coming for our cats and dogs, are literally coming after our whales, seals and polar bears.

How damn much more of this are we supposed to take?

So, hands shaking, I put the paper down, and raged to the point of tears.

I decided talking to my Republican friends could wait for a bit, and until I could do it without wanting ’em all dead.

• (D. Earl Stephens is the author of Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here.)