We’ve all heard the term Trump Derangement Syndrome. Allow me to explain how it works.

First, let me say that for the upcoming election, I will not be casting my vote for Kamala Harris. I won’t explain in detail here why I will not be voting for her; suffice it to say I believe that if she were President of the United States, her presidency would likely be a colossal failure. Vladimir Putin President of Russia) and Xi Jinping (President of the People’s Republic of China) would treat her like a finger-puppet, she doesn’t understand economic matters, I see her as very soft on crime, and I think she is far too inarticulate to inspire the populace. I could be wrong. But that is what I believe.

However, having said that, if a friend of mine told me they had decided to vote for Kamala Harris, for whatever reason (or for no reason) I would not fly off the handle. One of my brothers is going to vote for her. That will not hurt my relationship with him whatsoever. I disagree with his choice but I honor his right to exercise his civic duty and vote for whomever he deems to be the best candidate for the job.

I recently posted a meme on my Facebook wall. The meme was titled “Why I’m Voting For Trump.” It captured my own views rather well. Here is the text of that meme:

“For those of you who say, ‘I can’t believe you are voting for Trump,’ I’m not just voting or him. . .

I’m voting against socialism.

I’m voting for the 2nd Amendment.

I’m voting for the next Supreme Court justice.

I’m voting for the electoral college and the Constitutional Republic we live in.

I’m voting for the police and law and order.

I’m voting for the military and the veterans who fought and died for this country.

I’m voting for the right to speak my opinion and not be censored.

I’m voting for secure borders.

I’m voting for legal immigration.

I’m voting for the right to praise my God without fear.

I’m voting for every unborn soul the Democrats want to murder.

I’m voting for liberty, freedom, and the American dream.

I’m voting for good against evil.

I’m not just voting for one person, I’m voting for the future of my country.”

Now, does every single idea found in that meme align perfectly with my own sentiments? No, but it’s close enough.

To illustrate Trump Derangement Syndrome, let me tell you about Kevin.

I met Kevin in 7th grade. Kevin was a nice guy. He was kind of nerdish slightly, and he was into drama and acting.

Sometimes we played “kick the can” at his place and I always liked Kevin. In fact, during our senior year in high school, after studying Shakespeare’s Macbeth in our English class, Kevin and I came up with this silly, geeky skit about Macbeth, complete with a song and original lyrics, which we performed in front of the class. It’s somewhat embarrassing to think about now because it was so corny, but it was fun at the time.

In spite of all of that, I wouldn’t say Kevin and I were close friends. I’d describe our relationship as “casual” friends – but still friends nonetheless. It’s just that we didn’t hang out together all that often but were always on good terms.

Today, as I write this column, Kevin made a rare visit to my Facebook wall, read the meme on why I am voting for Trump, and then he wrote the following on my wall:

“No, Ara. You are voting for a Traitor in every possible definition of the word. To his wives, to his country, to his oath of office, and to you (especially), one who wants to believe his motives could possibly be beyond anything but himself. You have my permission to unfriend me and never contact me again.”

Of course, I wouldn’t unfriend him for that, nor could I, because he evidently unfriended me right after he posted that.

That is an example of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Kevin didn’t loathe Donald Trump prior to June 16, 2015 (the day Trump announced he was running for office.) Almost no one today who possesses shrill, apoplectic hatred for Trump ever felt that way prior to that date. But because Donald Trump, a man of unusual drive and will power, made it clear that his policies were not Left-wing policies, the Left went bonkers. All of Trump’s other character flaws (i.e., his combative, bombastic nature, his petty need to win every argument, his thin skin, his past dalliances, his crude, locker room talk, his fast-and-loose, shoot-from-the-hip overstatements, his ego-centric obsessions with nonsense such as inaugural crowd sizes, etc) became, all of them, unforgivable sins while Democrats who would openly lie (think of Obama’s whopper of “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor” – a lie that truly mattered; or think of Kamala’s recent lie at the debate that Trump said Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville were ‘very fine people’ – a complete and total lie of what was actually said by Trump re. Charlottesville) get zero acknowledgement from Trump-haters.

Kevin is a good guy. He’s decent. I have no ill-will towards him whatsoever. But if I see him at our high school reunion in 3 years and I extend my hand, I would not be surprised in the least if he turned his back on me and walked away. He suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome. To him, it’s an existential crime that I am voting for Trump. I don’t think Kevin would feel any more outrage than if I was found guilty of abusing children, or torturing cats, or assaulting women. To Kevin, I, along with the millions upon millions of people who will vote for Donald Trump in this election, are scum, unworthy of civility, bereft of morality, guilty of treason. I, and the other millions of Americans who will vote for Trump, are evil in the eyes of those who suffer from TDS.

That is what Trump Derangement Syndrome does to a person. It clouds their sensibilities, alters their ability to think or reason clearly, and, like quicksand, steadily pulls them down into a labyrinth of unrighteous indignation.

And that, my friends, is the latest elephant in the room.