A conservative friend (call him Sam) and I were discussing the bizarre but common phenomenon of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS).  As we did so, Sam expressed his growing frustration.  Each of us has, on occasion, whether online or off, attempted to reason with sufferers of TDS, but to no avail.

Those with the syndrome have a computer-like repertoire of ready replies to everything.  If you debunk their first accusation, they pull out one more from their list and continue as if the first one was never challenged.  Thus, Sam's utter frustration.  One cannot have an honest discussion with a computer that is preprogrammed to stonewall.

The tenacity these people demonstrate makes one wonder: why did they never apply their tactics to challenging the corrupt Obama presidency?  Why do they interpret every minute detail of Trump's words and actions in the darkest, most negative possible light, while Obama got the benefit of every doubt, even when no reasonable doubt existed?

I calmed Sam's frustration by giving him my take.  The TDS crowd are not victims of their syndrome.  They are soldiers, soldiers on the wrong side of a clash of worldviews that has been going on for millennia, perhaps since Cain slew Abel.  The reason they cannot be persuaded is because they are not debating; they are fighting.  They are not arguing for their beliefs, they are battling for what they perceive as their self-interest.  Their ideology is not a system of belief, but a fortification from which they can launch their attacks.

Consider:  is Congresswoman Maxine Waters a serious scholar of our constitutional system?  Would any sane person attempt to persuade her to forfeit her position of power?

Our opponents are not mere opponents.  They are resourceful, intractable, and immune to reason.  Expose their corruption, and they accuse you of doing what they did.  Debunk their argument and they change the subject.  The one and only thing they have going for them is power.  They have lots of it, and their aim is to get all of it.

For those who might underestimate the degree of their ferocity, take a look at this anti-Trump website here.

Note the portrait of Trump as the Devil himself, the picture of the pink handcuffs, and the relentless false accusations.  Are these people interested in persuading you, or simply overpowering you?

There is no point in getting angry at them.  Just defeat them.

Image: Frederick Dennstedt via Wikimedia Commons.