I remember how as a child my mother would say to me “Pleasant dreams” when she wished me good night. Mercifully, when we close our eyes, we often have just that.  But what if our dreams are not pleasant?  What then? Then, we have what is called a nightmare, which is a most unpleasant dream. I’ve had them and likely so have you.

If you look up the etymology of “nightmare,” you’ll learn that the term goes back to the twelfth century and refers to a spirit or demon (particularly a female wraith termed “mare”) that sits on the chest of the sleeper at night and seeds their mind with images, ideas and so on.  The sleeper becomes haunted by the specter.  Sometimes, this sense of haunting continues long after the sleeper awakes.

The Mayo Clinic lists common elements to a nightmare, including

• [The] dream seems vivid and real and is very upsetting, often becoming more disturbing as the dream unfolds.
• [The] dream storyline is usually related to threats to safety or survival, but it can have other disturbing themes.
• [The] dream awakens you.“

There you have it! Some of us can readily remember dreams and nightmares in vivid detail.  My nightmares as I recall them are only snips and bits of a nonsensical, but foreboding story line.  Yet, the sheets on my bed reveal that I have been recently perspiring in my sleep, and the disarrayed blankets suggest I have been more than a little restless as well.  Last fall, I actually fell out of bed in the throes of a nightmare!

While nightmares are heralds of psychiatric problems such as PTSD, anxiety and depression, they are not considered to be a mental health problem in and of themselves.  Yet, they can make the sleeper even more sleepless, disturbed, haunted. Even hypertensive.

In some cases, dreams and nightmares are so vivid that they almost seem lifelike. And sometimes life can be so troubling that they make you wonder if you aren’t living a nightmare.  But a bit more context.

By training, I am a political scientist.  It’s been quite a while since I ran data sets from ICPSR on SPSS, but I remain a keen observer of elections in the U.S. and abroad.  The fact that I’ve had taught U.S. elections to undergraduate students since 1988 only reinforces the interest to me (and hopefully to my former students.) But I remember Presidential elections even before then, and as a child once had an “I Like Ike” button from 1956 among my treasured belongings.

This brings me to the point of this post.

Yesterday, a second would be assassin named Ryan Wesley Routh prepared to fire his assault weapon presumably at Donald J. Trump before the Secret Service interrupted his plans.  The aspiring assassin may have had a Constitutional right to possess and carry his weapon up to the point when he first planned the elements of the crime (as he most assuredly did.) I cannot say with certainty whether he had the legal right to have such a powerful weapon of war because the few facts that have been discovered and released indicate the suspect had previous skirmishes with the law.  Nor do we know at this point how he happened to possess an assault weapon.  My personal position on assault weapons is clearly defined elsewhere in my blog, however.

Politicians of both parties and people of good will from all walks of life quickly condemned the attempted shooting, including Mr. Trump’s political opponent (VP Kamala Harris.) All the expressions of concern that I read included thanks that Mr. Trump was not harmed.  Many noted that Americans should not let violence decide our choice this November. Congresswomen Elise Stefanik (R, NY) whose district is only a ten-minute drive from where I live suggested according to CNN that the country now had a duty to vote for Mr. Trump. I would not go quite that far for any candidate.

The point is that, for me and for the people I know personally and for many whom I read about and correspond with, life in general and this election cycle in particular are becoming increasingly nightmarish.  Where does the hate and the violence end?  When do we wakeup? Even as Springfield, OH is currently paralyzed by threats of bloodshed because of an unfounded rumor that was repeated by people with little regard for the actual truth, my own local school districts have likewise suffered from similar threats of violence this past week (at least six menancing calls directed at one school district alone!)

Then, there is the specter of promised mass roundups and deportations of people in this country who are not lawfully here if Mr. Trump gets elected.  Numbers like 14,000,000 to 20,000,000 are being causally tossed about. Taking the lower number as a point of discussion, that is more than 9,500 people per day, forcibly shipped to who knows where?! Add to this perhaps another 2,300,000 “Dreamers” Then, factor in the prospects of mass arrests of Mr. Trump’s political enemies. He and his minions have already opined who would be included and the enemies list consists of journalists, media personalities, attorneys, political operatives, donors, people engaged in getting Ms. Harris elected (and therefore, getting Mr. Trump defeated) and pesky Democrats in general.  Basically, anyone Mr. Trump deems as corrupt.  Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has recently given a President who is charged by our Constitution with enforcing the law the power to actually break that law, perhaps it’s time for a President to spread his wings and see how far he can go?  What he can get away with?  Unjustly imprison his enemies? Perhaps personally enrich himself by selling pardons?  Nullify elections?  Sexually assault women with abandon? That President, I fear, might be Donald J. Trump.  Perhaps I’ll receive a lettre de cachet as well for my posts?  If I do, I’ll be sure to share it on my blog.

We’re told by researchers that nightmares occur during REM sleep, particularly during the last third of the sleep cycle.  They usually last up to twenty minutes in length, but can go on for the better part of an hour.  Having said that, I have to wonder when (and how) this Nightmare will end for our country?  Because of Ryan Wesley Routh, the whole calculus for the coming election has been turned on its side (as if the outcome was even clear to begin with.)  This is absolutely uncharted ground.  Textbooks and contemporary history books will have to be extensively rewritten and we still have roughly seven weeks to go before the election.  I cannot think of a more contentious U.S. general election since the 1860 election when that great American Abraham Lincoln was elected President, and Donald Trump is no Abraham Lincoln.

No doubt, Donald Trump will once again emerge thinking God has once again preserved him (TRUE), to carry out Mr. Trump’s chaotic, vengeful polarizing agenda (FALSE.) And if Mr. Trump hasn’t thought of this yet, no doubt the people around him have.  By “the people” I mean the Republican leaders in Congress, the <ALT> right talk show hosts and the often politicized evangelical clergy will have thought of it.  I fear we’ll see the retribution he promised many months ago descend on our heads with a vengeance and the net cast so wide that many innocent and hapless Americans might be snared.  Maybe including me?  Maybe even you?

 Let me finish by repeating the opinions that my Christian faith and experience lead me to:

• There is no room for violence in our society.  God has socialized believers to think of themselves as sheep, not as wolves.
• Assault weapons should be banned in the U.S. because they are not being used to hunt bear or elk, but to stalk children (and ex-Presidents.) My proposed ban is not found in the Bible, but it seems intuitive enough. It’s common sense.
• I do not wish any harm to come to Donald J. Trump, his family or his followers.
• I do not wish any harm to come to Kamala Harris, her family or her followers.
• I pledge to respect and accept unconditionally the wishes and will of the People in this upcoming election, and I challenge Mr. Trump and his followers to do so as well, though he has not pledged so likewise to date.

I have a different vision for America and I’ll vote for candidates that share that vision.  My vision isn’t built on drama, intimidation, ridicule and threats. My vision is welcoming, embracing, justice for all Americans, and critical thinking and common sense. I plan to vote this November, and I hope you do as well.

p.s.  God wisely does not trust mere mortals with vengeance.  He reserves it for Himself (Deuteronomy 32:35.)

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In a bit of irony, the Guilford County Sheriff’s department held a press conference Monday afternoon (9/16/2024) bringing the public up-to-date on the intended assassin Ryan Wesley Routh. Representing the prosecution was U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe (pictured right.) Lapointe is a former Marine who served in the Gulf War before earning his JD and becoming a highly successful attorney. According to the Justice Department website, Lapointe was “the first Haitian-born American lawyer to serve as U.S. Attorney.” He received his appointment on September 15, 2022 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 6, 2022. Now 56 years of age, “He grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where his mother worked as a street vendor and his father as a tailor.” He moved to Florida with his parents when he was 16 and says he loves his country (the United States.)

This is another striking example of what a person can be in this land of opportunity when given a chance. Presumably, Markenzy eats the same fare as any other American.