Madness

 A shadowy Democratic party cabal is responsible for kidnapping, molesting, and eating children. School shootings in America were 'false flag operations'. Parents, family members, and officials who say that children died are lying and have safely hidden away the children. The California forest fires were caused by a secret Jewish space laser. The 2020 election was fraudulent despite the findings of multiple investigations, recounts, and court judgments nationwide. 

These are the fevered imaginings of tenants in a lunatic asylum, right? 

No, they are the views of our Republican congressional representatives, and at least some of which are held by millions of others in our terminally sick society. With threats lurking such as these in which they believe, no wonder they need their guns--although, to redirect a phrase used by one House Representative, a bullet to the head would be quicker. 

Quicker than what? Quicker than trying to make people see the simple truth--for one who truly believes in these twisted fantasies is forever lost to the simple truth. 

I cannot help but remember my old friend Mike in this connection. Mike started out as a pleasant enough man, a good friend, and yet in the course of time he became increasingly fixated on wild conspiracy theories, to the point, finally, that he would talk of nothing else. Every day it would be a new theory, or a new twist in an old theory, each trapped in an increasingly convoluted, self-negating, contradictory web of alternative realities. It was like being fixed on the number 23, as in the old Jim Carrey movie. All of these derangements were somehow truths, and would somehow explain themselves eventually. If I tried to hone in on one fallacy, Mike would simply shield it by shifting to another fallacy altogether, which, as often as not, directly contradicted the first. But, you see, at this point, contradictions don't matter, logical analysis doesn't matter, proof by example doesn't matter--because the truth, you see, the ultimate truth is hidden from all except the madman, and the rest of us are just part of the problem. 

"God damn arrogant American!" Mike shouted the last time we parted, then stormed away on his bicycle like the wicked witch of the west. 

Truths, facts, sober counseling are not effective tools against delusion, for they only threaten and anger. There is no cure. 

I'm sorry to tell you, but there is no cure for this. 

I've seen Mike on the street since that time, some years ago now, but we did not speak again until just recently when we both happened to pull into a small grocery store lot at the same time. 

Awkward, yes. "Hello, Mike," I said as I removed my helmet. "How's life?" 

And do you know what Mike's response was? Mike's response was to instantly bring up yet another conspiracy theory. Not hi. Not how are you. Not a bit of small talk. No. Something about a stolen election and a lot of trouble coming soon. 

Good Lord. 

I'm afraid that we cannot wait for people to be enlightened. To be deprogramed. To be reasoned with. No. The only answer, sadly, is expulsion.

And that's the bad news really, isn't it, as far as the infection in our own government goes, because the Republican party has clearly shown that it is not big on the idea of expelling nitwits from the ranks--even the one who incited a mob to attack our capital.