Maybe there was one day a few years ago around the time of the 2020 election and its aftermath when you had some fantasy that maybe the scourge of Trumpism was over, there would be no more MAGA bullshit and you could look forward to not giving a fuck about politics anymore. That like when the Allies repelled the German Nazis’ final offensive in the Ardennes in 1945 was the last gasp before their destruction, so too was democracy repelling the American Nazis’ final offensive on the United States Capitol in January 2021 the final gasp before MAGA’s destruction.

That was a fun few weeks before the reality of Red America’s continued (and accelerated) commitment to unreality sank in and now, over two years later, we’re stuck once again in this fucking time loop, forever fighting the red-hatted forces of darkness, hatred, and corruption.

There’s no way out. You and everyone around you are trapped without hope of rescue on a ship of state drifting rudderless toward another apocalyptic election year. Other events may intervene, but for now the course is set for a Biden Trump rematch and all the frightful anxiety that comes with it.

Every moment of your political life for the next 18 months will be stalked by the possibility that the “retribution” of a failed dictator will come to fruition. His legal peril will only embolden his supporters more as they see every “attack” on him as an “attack” on them. This fascistic line of thinking is quite literally the first words you see when you open his goddamned campaign website.

There’s no way out of this. We would love to be wrong. His name will be on the ballot in all 50 states in 2024 and no indictment or even conviction will prevent that. The law is coming for the fat fuck however the hour is far too late for it to materially affect his eligibility to run.

The violence and peril of a criminal trial during the campaign will likely come at least once during the next 18 months. His cult will maim and kill wantonly in their rage while the mainstream media writes “Biden’s Age is a Liability: Here’s how he can’t fix it” and “Democracy in Peril: Here’s why Democrats share a lot of the blame” and all sorts of other stupid bullshit. You will see those headlines every single fucking day and there will be nothing you can do about it other than unplug from politics.

Face it. You cannot stay informed and avoid this shitshow at the same time. Might as well enjoy it.

There’s the ethical case for optimism. The choice you make to develop internal positivity and spread it around to others – especially the neurotic libs pathologically incapable of doing so – is yours to make and yours alone. That said, cheer the hell up. Just because the other guys’ morale is complete shit (and it is, just take a look at Breitbart comments) doesn’t mean yours has to be too.

Then there’s the empirical evidence supporting optimism, which we’ve already documented and don’t need to rehash again. Advantage and momentum is still with good guys despite some of the choppy, shitty national polling you might’ve seen and been nauseated by recently.

There’s no way out of the 2024 news cycle. Barring some good or bad miracle, or your own conscious decision to unplug and leave all this shit behind, we’re all trapped here together. There’s going to be a steady and escalating flow of outrageous and disgraceful behavior National Zero will have no choice but to deliver to you morning, noon, and night: A QAnon resurgence, the destructive Trump-DeSantis primary battle, clownish third tier GOP candidates making assholes out of themselves, mind-bogglingly stupid propaganda and merchandise, and plenty of surprises too.

Let’s have some laughs, be hopeful, and do whatever we can to fight the good, dirty fight for the future of democracy with whatever means we have together. We have no choice in the matter.