Truly a fruitful article and a vibrant discourse in the attached comments. I however was a little lost. Initially I thought you were only referring to Trump, his ever inflating ego, and his plethora of numb myopic minions who are too distilled in their own orange God's righteousness to be able to discern fact from fiction, but I began to think your references may well be more encompassing. Could not the maniacal mad man, who wishes to abuse a once great country to his own twisted morals, not be substituted with any number of supposed 'messiahs'. The despot in North Korea chomping for war while his subjects starve and he sips whiskey? Is not Putin an equal and amicable fascist to Trump? Is not Netanyahu pursuing his own agenda to ensure his political career and avoid prosecution against the majority of thought in Israel? Do we need to include the twisted minds of religious zealots in the Middle East whose subjugation of the masses through fear of reprisal dominates all freedom and supposed dissenting voices?

The blindness, abyss of conscience, and irresponsibility of moral thought is what led to the murder of millions through the Pol Pot regime, holocaust, the crusades, the ottomans, the Romans etc..

Leaders whose sole/soul focus is their self-glorification inevitably lead down a path of sadness. Would it be too much to ask that Americans turn from the media infested madness and avarice of greed to be a country that could shine a light for others in the world to stop the madness or shall we, like lemmings, all race, if not to a wall to be shot then to a cliff from which to jump in despair.

If there ever was a time for a population to live up to its anthem now is the time for conscientious Americans to be the land of the free and home of the brave.

Yours is a sterling article that provokes thought, the mark of quality journalism, (in my opinion.) Thank you