The impeachment trial of Donald J Trump is a gruesome reminder for those of us who watched, of the abuse we all experienced by white supremacists, racists and bullies by Trump himself, and by extension his followers.

Some of the jurors would not look at the evidence revealed during the proceedings. Some people in America probably did not look at the impeachment at all. As ugly and revealing as the evidence put forth by the impeachment managers was, I have to wonder— if we refuse to face the good, bad and ugly in the world and within ourselves, we will never mature in the spirit of honest inquiry.

The cult of Donald J Trump and Donald J Trump himself: how did this happen? Are they a mass hallucination? Or are they a radical terrorist cell, similar to Isis in the middle east? Or both?

I toyed with the idea of not watching the impeachment proceedings. I am of the hopeful opinion, after watching it, that Republican minds will be changed. Some Republican minds. How many Republicans in the US are leaving the party en mass? Maybe in the end, there will no longer be a Republican party, especially since the party has lost its soul.

One of the insurgents on the capital was arrested near my home. He is an ex-marine and beat up an officer of the law. So much for Blue Lives Matter. Several more have been arrested in the county where I live.

When our liberty is threatened in America, history shows that Americans push back as our freedoms are assaulted. Our country was founded on the grounds of the repudiation of tyranny. I hope this trial is a wake up call to take back our country. The wake up call has potential to reignite what it means to live in a participatory democracy. We must choose what we carry forward from the past, and what we need to let go of.

We have no other choice. OM