The driving narrative in American politics, at least since I started paying attention, has been that someone is going to save this country.
After 9/11, only W could save us from the terrorists. And then Obama came along and was going to save us from W and everything he represented to liberals.
Barack Obama was socially liberal mainstream technocrat whose administration significantly expanded W's surveillance state, worked assiduously to crush real dissent at home and started four new wars that we know of.
The Tea Party was not real dissent. It was just the opposing party's bid at retaking power. That doesn't count.
Barack Obama deported more people than any previous U.S. president and drilling for oil and gas expanded under his watch. He went to war with America's trade unions over the Trans Pacific Partnership. He was anything but the savior his disciples adamantly insisted that he was.
And yet they insisted, despite readily available and abundant evidence to the contrary.
It was the same with Donald Trump. The savior narrative has grown so strong that there are people who actually believe he is a Davidic King anointed by God who is going to save them from everything and everyone they fear despite readily available and abundant evidence to the contrary.
The religious phenomenon that is QANON (because yes, that is exactly what it is), is perhaps the strongest manifestation of the savior narrative to date. Its adherents believe that Donald Trump will come out of nowhere to return to power, suspend the Constitution and use the U.S. military to systematically kill everyone who opposes him.
After this great cleansing, they believe, a sort of American paradise will commence.
The liberals have crafted their own savior in Joe Biden, who saved them from Trump the way Obama saved them from W.
The story goes on. And on. And on.
We, as a country, want a savior. And we will believe anything to get one.
But that belief will never be rewarded.
And we are almost certainly not going to save ourselves. Most of us can't even imagine what that would even look like, beyond some vague notion of winning, whatever that means.
And even if we could articulate that, too many people are unwilling to do what it would take to save us.
No one is coming to save us.
No one.