I've been reading a number of Medium writers who talk about how their parents or grandparents have been sucked into the Deep State conspiracies, and all the rest of the insidious stupidity that infects people today. They have had to come to the horrifying recognition that there is no cure for this kind of brainwashing, this kind of dangerous stupidity. A friend- a dear Millennial friend of mine- told me that he argued for two hours, a great scream fest with his grandmother, who shares this kind of terrifying ignorance.

We are a nation in decline, and those things which are decaying and rotten around us are frightening to those people who compulsively hang onto the shreds and tatters of an idea that not only never was, but cannot survive into a very different future. I have a very bright ex-friend (to your point in this article) who slid into anti-vaccer and conspiracy theories when his business and life began to suffer from changes out of his control. He simply had to come up with reasons why things weren't going his way. Good people can go stupid. We see plenty of it. However that doesn't change the fact that thanks to Trump, the rotting foundations on which this nation was built are now obvious. The truth doesn't give a flying shit whether or not you and I like it. It is simply the truth.

As I march towards seventy, I have had to slice off forty year friendships- not just a few years, Brianna, but four decade long friendships- because my moral imperatives lead me in a very different direction. However, the best possible news in all this is that by doing so we make room for new taproots to be established with people who feed us, nourish us, link arms with us, and who can and will weather the storms. My BEST friends call me on my shit, my stupidity, my blindness, whatever it is that is beneath me and they know it. Because they know I want to be better. If that means I have to divorce family (and I did, like Sarah, my dad was toxic in certain ways) or long term friends, then so be it. This is hard work. Brave work.